Click here for the pledge form: 2015 – 2016 Pledge Form.pdf

February 22, 2015

Dear Members and Friends,

You’ll find me using the phrases, “UU community,” “liberal community” “our community” pretty often. But what is a “community”? A non-profit corporation? A loose collection of members bound together by rules and bylaws? A network of informal relationships? People? A Place?

Of course a community is all of the above – and another thing: it’s a living, organic thing. And like any living thing, a tree for instance, it needs nurture. Plants need good soil, organic matter, sun and water. Communities are nurtured by the tender attention of its members and friends and their gifts of time, talent and treasure.

Starting this month, our community, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Emerald Coast, is asking you to consider once again making a monetary pledge to support the mission and work of our community. In her letter to you, Board President, Jane Park, has outlined some of the important aspects of this work. I know that they mean a lot to you, too. In the few months I’ve been here, I’ve also heard many of you say how important it is for there to be a UU congregation, a liberal, religious community growing here in the conservative soil of NW Florida. Others of you find it to be the one place where all people are welcomed and affirmed. Still others of you value this community for its capacity to nurture friendships and loving kindness, to provide learning opportunities, to encourage spiritual adventuring and to remind us how to help others in need.

Money may not be everything, it’s true. Yet money is one of those important gifts you can pledge now and for the coming fiscal year. Others before us gave to plant and nurture this Fellowship more than fifty-five years ago; still others gave so it would grow healthy and strong for more than a half- century. It’s our watch now.

Please consider as generous a pledge as you are able – for now and for the future of the UU Fellowship of the Emerald Coast.

In faith – hope and love,

Rev. Karen Matteson, Interim Minister.