Friend,

The recent rise of a new strain of coronavirus weighs heavy on our hearts and minds. It’s a good moment to take a big breath, turn to one another for support and renew our commitment to the communities we serve.

The support you have given to the UUA is a testament to the ways in which we hold each other in community. Your generosity strengthens our congregations and provides crucial support at a time when we are called to live into our Seventh Principle: that we are indeed an interdependent web of all existence.

As UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray noted in her recent statement, "Even if the coronavirus’ impacts are greatest for older adults or people with pre-existing health concerns, it is still a health crisis for us all. Marginalized people are always the most vulnerable during any period of heightened fear and anxiety. Be mindful that your language does not label anyone as disposable."

We are also closely monitoring the situation around each of our UUA sponsored events, including General Assembly, that are scheduled in the coming weeks and months. We are moving quickly to create new supports and communication structures for congregations and leaders. 

As many of you are involved in stewardship and budgeting in your own congregations, know this: In times of uncertainty members feel the value of their congregations most deeply. This is a good moment for congregational leaders to reach out to members and underscore the value of belonging and giving. This is a time when community bonds naturally solidify. 

In the meantime, please take good care of yourself, your loved ones and your communities.

Faithify's 100% success rate

Faithify, the UU crowdfunding platform, has extended its months-long streak of achieving a 100% success rate. Since its start in 2014, Faithify has historically averaged an impressive 80% success rate with its campaigns to support congregational projects, service trips, ministerial ordinations, social justice initiatives, and more. 

UU Action New Hampshire recently found success with its $6,000 I Hope to Find a Way Out campaign for the New Hampshire Bond Fund, to bond out asylum-seeking immigrants. Detainees are often held in deplorable conditions without access to family or legal assistance. Although many immigrants are eligible to be bonded out, the cost of doing so is minimally $1,500 and may be many times that.

"The big news is that working with one of our key partners, the Immigrant and Refugee Working Group of the NH United Church of Christ Conference, we’ve used the Fund to bond out two men from detention. All of us who had worked on this project felt great!"

Over the past nine months Faithify has paid out nearly $160,000 from more than 1,300 individual donors to a total of thirty-one successful campaigns!

Explore Faithify's current roster of active campaigns, which ranges from a Church of the Larger Fellowship Military Ministry project to helping the heavily rain damaged UU Congregation of Charleston, WV.

Rasman points out that "Wisconsin is a critical state in the national elections, with other important down-ticket races—and has become a battleground state in experiments in privatization and eroded social services." Learn more at uuthevote.org.

In the months ahead, we will keep you informed on relevant changes to this very fluid situation. While we have no crystal ball, we are cautiously optimistic and encourage you take good care of yourselves and one another. Learn more at UUA.org/ga.

Seasons of Giving is the quarterly e-newsletter from the UUA's Stewardship and Development Office. Questions should be directed to Suzanne Murray at development@uua.org or (617) 948-4392.