UUSM - Newsletters - Monthly Features - December, 2003
Featured Articles - December, 2003
Stewardship Story
Short column this month as the year winds down. Just a few things to share.
First, you haven’t missed
your opportunity to fill out a pledge card for 2004. Yes, we have a “continuing
pledge” policy, so if you don’t make any changes to your pledge,
the church considers your pledge unchanged. And that means that if you don’t
want to take the time to contemplate your commitment to the church, you don’t
have to. I want to encourage you, though, to go through the process if you haven’t
already.
Think about all the ways this church touches you – Judith’s sermons,
the choir and music in Sunday services, an enriching religious education program
for the kids, and the people you’ve met and developed relationships with
in Forbes Hall, Courtyard Connections, adult RE classes and Dining for Dollars
events, to name a few.
Think about how you’re a better person and feel connected to a community
because of what you get from this church and what you give to it, too.
If you’ve already done the thinking and translated that into action by
filling out a pledge card, thank you very much. We’ve received 120 pledge
cards so far, and the average increase by those who were already pledgers in
2003 is 12%. Your generous pledges have made this drive successful in the face
of so many challenges (rising unemployment and uncertainty about the economy).
I suspect the success is the result of a variety of factors such as the growing
strength of our programs and an increased feeling that commitment manifests
itself in a variety of ways, including pledging.
If you’ve done the thinking (or not) and you haven’t made the
translation, there’s no time like the present. Your pledge materials probably
sit in a heap of things you’ll get to someday right next to your pen cup
on your desk. If not, you can pick up more at the church office. Thanks in advance.
A different note of gratitude—this one specifically for George Brenner,
who’s headed the pledge drive for the last five years and decided last
month to hang up that hat. He’s been a great asset to the church —
as the numbers will attest — and I’m grateful for his continued
commitment through this drive. Thankfully, he’ll still serve on the Finance
Committee so we can tap his expertise there.
Finally, season’s greetings and happy new year. May your light shine
in these dark days bringing comfort
and warmth to those around you!
In faith,
Jacki K. Weber
Judith Meyer Thanks Peggy Butler
This was Judith Meyer’s statement to Peggy Butler at the November
14 reception honoring her for her years of service to the church.
 Peggy, the group that is gathered here today is only a small representation
of the people who have benefited from your service to the church over the years.
You will never know how many lives you have touched. But you can be sure that
many people have a good feeling about this church and our faith because of you.
The warmth of your friendly voice on the phone, the patience with which you
dealt with all the different people you served, the accurate and concise explanation
of Unitarian Universalism you gave over and over again to all the people who
inquired are also only a small sample of the good work you did with us. You
also brought unerring good judgment and compassion to the pastoral needs of
our members. You always knew what to tell me and when. I guess that means you
also knew what not to tell me!
Peggy, you have my heartfelt appreciation for your loving service to our church.
Thank you for the years of working together to provide ministry to our congregation,
friends, and strangers who came through the front door. You were there for everyone.
You were there for me. We shall always be grateful.
(View more pictures of this event!)
Internet Survey Results on Website and FIA Bulletin
This continues the report in the November newsletter giving the results of
the survey of congregational opinions of our internet communications.
Website
Of our 72 respondents, 52 people have visited the church’s website,
uusm.org. Of these, 24 said they use the site fairly regularly, and 22 use it
every few months. Those who visit the site most often look at information about
services and sermons (30 respondents), special events (30), the church calendar
(25), activities (18), contact information (17), newsletters (11), sermon texts
(10), and RE and ARGL classes (7).
Faith in Action Bulletin
The Faith in Action Bulletin is a relatively new publication, and we’ve
been looking for input that will help shape its future. Of our survey respondents,
most of whom do not currently belong to any of the FIA groups, 32 people would
prefer to see this publication issued quarterly, and published both in print
and on our website. Seventeen people said they’d be happy with a web-only
publication, which would be updated continuously instead of quarterly, and four
people said they’d prefer a strictly print-based, quarterly publication.
Conclusions
Based on these results, including the newsletter results published last month,
it seems to make sense for us to continue our current method of publishing our
newsletter online: post the full version, but distribute the URL only to a subscription
list, without making the file publicly available.
To make it easier for members, friends and casual web surfers alike to find
out what’s going on at our church, however, webmaster Liz Fuller has begun
posting even more of the newsletter’s content on individual pages within
the website. This information, which includes things such as sermons, our calendar,
ARGL offerings, and information about activities and meetings of special interest
groups, is available to anyone who visits our site, while sensitive information
from
the newsletter, such as phone numbers and children’s names, remains unpublished.
Finally, thank you to everyone who responded to the survey. The results will
help shape the development of our online communications, which are becoming
increasingly important to our church. Also, if you have not yet taken the survey,
but would like to, you can still find it at http://www.uusm.org/survey2.html.
We’d love to hear from you.
-- Liz Fuller
“Plant trees” for the Future of the Santa Monica Church
“I have found comfort in the shade of trees I did not plant. I will
plant trees that others might find shade.” —Anonymous
Planned giving is arranging for a portion of your assets to be applied to
enduring beneficial purposes after you pass on. For our church, planned giving
is a way of perpetuating our community and nurturing growth of our principles.
Planned giving can be a bequest provision in your will, an income annuity gift,
or naming UUCCSM as a beneficiary of your retirement or life insurance policy.
The recent bequest by Earl Morgan has given us enthusiasm for our building program
and is a sterling example of how Planned Giving can benefit our church community.
The object of planned giving is to make an enduring contribution, not to simply
help pay for routine expenses. Toward this end, the Planned Giving, Stewardship
and Finance Committees are developing a proposal, for congregational approval,
to establish an endowment fund to be a recipient of planned giving contributions.
Your input will be a central part of this democratic process.
An endowment fund is a fund maintained and accounted for separate and distinct
from the operating budget and all other church funds, such as general savings
and designated reserves. An endowment fund is a financial resource in perpetuity
whose earnings may be applied to enhancing our capacity to fulfill our mission
and purpose.
To help in our planned giving development or to meet with a committee member
about donations, please contact Ron Crane or call the church
office at (310) 829-5436.
Plant a tree.
-- Ron Crane, Planned Giving Committee
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