Friend, you are receiving this email in gratitude for your recent support of the UUA. You can update your preferences or unsubscribe at the bottom of this email.

Friend,

Take a big breath. This is hard. 

As we navigate these demanding days, it’s easy to feel that we are not enough, that we are not doing enough. If you are among those who wrestle with this anxiety, know that you are in good company. The most gifted leaders I know, both lay and professional, are wrestling with it, too.

Thank you for being in the fray, for responding to these uncertain times with whatever measure of wisdom, creativity and courage is at your disposal. This is messy work.

Two months ago, our congregations shifted gears rapidly in response to the emerging public health crisis. The needs were immediate: How can we produce services online? Who needs help in the community? What should we do about our spring pledge drive? 

Take another big breath. We’re at a transitional point in the current crisis. As we pass the two-month mark, it is appropriate to shift to long-term planning. 

The reality is, it may take a year or more for our congregations to fully re-open. UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray advised UU leaders last week that the UUA recommends congregations plan for virtual operations through May 31, 2021. While there is much public conversation about “reopening,” public health officials consistently predict a long trajectory for this pandemic.

Our hope is that by naming this heartbreaking reality, we can encourage congregations to plan ahead and imagine the coming year in collaborative, spacious and creative ways. If conditions are such that congregations can open safely sooner than we expect, we will all celebrate together.

UUA regional staff are at the ready to help congregations work through the challenges and opportunities of the coming year. Together, we will guide our beloved communities through these difficult days. 

Together, our communities will continue to serve the greater good.

Disaster Relief grants of up to $5,000 each have been awarded to UU congregations working with local partners aiding marginalized communities, such as (partial list):

• South Hayward Parish Advisory Council, Hayward, CA: Providing emergency food aid to individuals and families who are food insecure.
• Center for Worker Justice, Coralville, IA: Providing food and shelter to low-wage workers in Eastern Iowa across race and immigration status.
• Safe Streets McElderry Park & Amazing Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, River Road, MD: Providing food assistance for residents of McElderry Park, Baltimore.
• Spokane Alliance, Spokane, WA: Providing assistance with COVID-19 contact tracing, support, and medical monitoring to people without access to health care.
• Family Promise Interfaith Hospitality Network, Cheyenne, WY: Providing safe housing and food assistance for those with housing and food insecurity.

In this time of pandemic many UU congregations are naturally concerned about their financial health, given the remarkable stressors on our communities. At the same time, demand for the UUA’s services and support has never been greater. UUA staff has offered guidance, resources and tools regarding virtual worship, staffing, finance, ministry to children and youth, and so much more.

As a faith, we are all doing things we never thought possible. The Annual Program Fund is, and always has been, an honor system rooted in a covenant of trust and mutual support congregations make with one another. We trust that congregations will contribute their fair share, as they are able.

Whatever a congregation’s giving capacity during this crisis, the UUA remains a partner in ministry. This, too, is an expression of the covenant that binds us together and will be necessary if we are to make it through this together.

In a world turned upside down by coronavirus, this year's special collections are more important than ever. Learn more about the GA collection beneficiaries.

In Wisconsin Nora Rasman, our State Lead Organizer, reorganized her field plans for activities like door-knocking and public events to respond to the threat COVID-19 posed to our communities and our democracy.

Our Wisconsin team joined Yes for Milwaukee Public Schools to make calls to absentee ballot-holders during the chaotic April 7 primary where election rules were literally changing by the hour—and UUs from across the country signed up to make calls from their homes. Learn more at uuthevote.org.

Seasons of Giving is the quarterly e-newsletter from the UUA's Stewardship and Development Office. We are publishing monthly during the COVID-19 crisis. Questions can be directed to Suzanne Murray at development@uua.org or (617) 948-4392.