Meetings and consultations with creative people have produced a new Share the Plate Program for us to offer support to other organizations.
The program:
A weekly 50% share of the offering between the church and the designated organization;
o Every week, all cash and checks in the plate are shared 50% unless designated otherwise. Ex: cash in the basket is split 50/50. If the cash is in an envelope and marked 100% for either the church or the designated organization, those funds will be shared as directed. Likewise, a check may be marked to go to one or the other
o Texting and Breeze can be utilized with a STP designation
o This does not impact funds fulfilling stewardship pledges
o Clear, and simple directions will be verbally given at the time of the offering and noted in more detail in the OOS and weekly newsletter
Why weekly? This proposal for weekly, rather than monthly, helps fulfill our commitment to living our faith as a generous and connected community. We are a part of an interconnected web of existence, and we believe in a world community that relies on one another for an engaged love that creates change and justice for all. The emphasis on living our faith and generosity is generally well received by visitors and long-time members, adding meaning and activism to all of our lives.
How are organizations chosen? Our much-loved programs that are embedded within our church will be standing recipients for six months of the year: Khasi Hills, PIIN, UUJusticePA, EECM, Habitat for Humanity, and UUSJ. The other six months, we will ask you, the members, to nominate a recipient and members can vote on them. Ordinarily, we’ll vote at the annual meeting in May; this year, it will be earlier. The top six votes will then be cycled into the calendar each year, with new ones nominated every year. The person who nominates the organization will need to provide brief written testimony and a contact person.
Management: Two or three volunteers are needed to contact speakers for the recipients who will be invited to offer a 3-4 minute talk about their organization on the first Sunday of the month. We’ll also feature the organization in the newsletter, website, and Facebook.
Prepared by: Rev. Kate, with input from Mary Denison, Karen Burns, Ebe Emmons, and Kyle Gracey