UU Congregation Marks $10,000 in Giving

UU Congregation of Northern Chautauqua celebrates giving $10,000 to charities

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Northern Chautauqua (UUCNC) recently celebrated over $10,000 in giving to area nonprofits. One Sunday each month, congregants give the offering to a designated agency or organization. From left to right are Jefferson Westwood, treasurer; Virginia Horvath, president; Janey Wagner, Social Action Committee chair; Joan Houck, who coordinates selection of the recipient organizations for the Social Action Committee; and Reverend George Buchanan, consulting minister, who began serving the congregation in January.

Members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Northern Chautauqua (UUCNC) celebrated a milestone in giving in mid-February, when they gave their Sunday offering to the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry. Since 2009, when UUCNC started sharing one Sunday’s offering each month with a local nonprofit, congregants have donated over $10,000 to these causes.

Though they originally gave half of the offering to the designated organization or agency on “Share the Plate” Sundays, in 2013 the congregation decided to give away 100% of the offering on each designated Sunday. The Social Action Committee selects each recipient organization and invites their representative to speak briefly on the Sunday the collection is received.

Recipient nonprofits are selected whose missions align with Unitarian Universalist principles:

  • The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
  • Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
  • Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
  • A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
  • The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
  • The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
  • Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

A wide array of community groups have benefited from these gifts. They include organizations that help neighbors in need; animal welfare organizations; groups that serve youth; those that provide support for LGBTQ individuals, their families and friends; and organizations that address environmental issues. Giving has also supported Unitarian Universalist congregations and individuals affected by floods in Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters.

UUCNC meets at Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Fredonia Grange Hall (58 W. Main St.). Upcoming offerings will support the Westfield Community Kitchen located in the First United Methodist Church of Westfield; Solar Chautauqua, a coalition to solarize Chautauqua County that facilitates opportunities for residents, farms, and small businesses of Chautauqua County to install solar power; the NAACP Dunkirk Scholarship Fund; and the Pet Pantry in Dunkirk. Read a comprehensive list of past recipients.