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We at the UUA are in the final phase of preparation for General Assembly 2021.

In Stewardship and Development, that means we are preparing to receive the gifts GA participants make through special collections. The Living Tradition Fund, for which we take up a collection at the Service of the Living Tradition, has a special place in my heart.

In 2007, I was recently married, pregnant, and starting my first year of ministry. Seminary left me saddled with over $80,000 in student debt—a vast sum, especially given that my full-time assistant ministry position paid just $37,000. My husband, who was in his second year of ministry, also had student loans of more than $80,000.

Enter the Living Tradition Fund and its debt relief program, which offers debt relief grants to ministers early in their careers. That assistance helped my family make it through a precarious time. Fourteen years later, my husband and I are both still UU ministers. Our family has grown and our ministries are thriving.

The UUA advances its mission through the good work of its staff and through the administration of funds like this one. Certain problems—like making the path to ministry more accessible—we can only address effectively by coming together.

Last year the UUA received a generous $300,000 bequest designated for the LTF from UUs Doris and Lowell Blaisdell at a time when the Fund was at an historic low.

If you have ever made a gift to the Living Tradition Fund or helped organize an LTF special collection with your congregation, thank you. Your generosity helps us recruit and retain a pool of gifted ministers who can be called to serve our congregations and communities.

Did you know the Living Tradition Fund…

• Offers support to clergy, religious educators, musicians, administrators, other church staff, and spouses of deceased clergy.
• Is primarily funded by the collections taken up at the General Assembly Service of the Living tradition and at the UU Ministers Association's Ministry Days—as well as collections taken throughout the year at ordinations and installations.
• Awards debt relief grants to new ministers between $100k - $200k annually, depending on the level of generosity to the fund in the previous year.

New Fundraising Option for Religious Education Expenses

Most crowdfunding campaigns on Faithify.org need to reach a set fundraising goal before any of the pledged donations are processed, aka "all-or-nothing" funding. This general practice leads to more successful fundraisers, in part because it encourages reasonable goal-setting and the enthusiastic promotions of campaigns by their funders.

However, some projects are best served if funds are immediately processed, with no strict fundraising goal. For example, Disaster Relief campaigns and campaigns that offset General Assembly attendance are exempt from the all-or-nothing requirement.

Based on feedback from religious professionals and others, campaigns that support religious professional credentialing and development have been added to the exempt list. The definition of Religious Professionals includes seminarians, religious educators, community ministers, musicians, ordained ministers, membership professionals, and administrators.

Double Your Impact Today

General Assembly: Submit a Photo for Banner Parade

Banners will be shown as a slideshow video, accompanied with music and some introductions from our regional leaders. Submitted photos will also be uploaded to the GA app. We can’t wait to see your banners online and celebrate our congregations far and wide! ​Submit your congregation's banner image online by Friday, April 30. 

UU@UN Spring Seminar co-hosted with UU Ministry for Earth

The 2021 Virtual Intergenerational Spring Seminar, held from April 9 through April 11, was co-hosted this year by the UU Office at the United Nations (UU@UN) and the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE). The Spring Seminar aims to instill in Unitarian Universalist youth and adults a commitment to global engagement and the skills to take action locally to address global issues. This year's theme is All in For Climate Justice: Food Equity and Sustainability.

In addition to the UU@UN Spring Seminar, there are a number of other ways to participate in UUMFE's "Spring for Change" series, running from March 20 through May 23. These include opportunities to join the UU Project Drawdown's EcoChallenge, attend PowerShift Network Youth Climate Convergence with the UU Young Adults for Climate Justice cohort, and more. Details are available on the UUMFE site.

Earth Sunday worship coming soon from UU Ministry for Earth

UU Ministry for Earth is producing a robust and beautiful virtual worship service for use in full or in part by participating congregations. 

Earth Sunday Worship Resources are available for use through May 23.

The Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner, the settled minister at the UU Church in Reston, Virginia, published an opinion piece in USA Today last month titled, Lights, cameras and Zoom preaching: How I kept my church connected during a year of COVID.

Rev. Debra Haffner's remote worship recording setup at the UU Church in Reston, VA. 
Follow Rev. Haffner on Twitter @revdebra.

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

Check UUA.org and UUWorld.org, as well as UUA regional websites, for the latest updates.