Dear MidAmerica Chalice Lighter,

Chalice Lighter grants are funded by small donations from Unitarian Universalists across our large MidAmerica Region of the UUA, pooled together to help congregations with specific growth projects.

The MidAmerica Regional Chalice Lighter Committee, comprised of representatives from all three of the former districts, considered the single application that was received. We are pleased to announce that the application from the Michael Servetus Unitarian Society in Fridley, Minnesota was approved for full funding.

• The congregation has asked for funding to add summer ministry by hiring a minister for the summer to provide and oversee worship services, offer adult education and offer pastoral care. It is a congregation that has undertaken very intentional and careful planning leading up to this point, understanding that summer is a time when many families are “shopping” for a religious community. Since they are located in an area with many young families, they feel that adding a summer minister along with programming for all ages on Sunday mornings will support their growth efforts.
• Since there was only one application, funds raised over the amount needed for the above-named grant will be put into our “New and Emerging Congregation” Chalice Lighter fund. We will be contacting the ten congregations that formally affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association within the past 10 years to invite them to apply for these funds for a project. We will keep you posted on any grants issued to these new congregations!

For this Winter 2017 Call, please donate by March 31, 2017.

We thank you for your support of the growth of Unitarian Universalism in our region!

There are several ways you can participate in the Chalice Lighter program, with four suggested levels of donation: $20 Believer / $50 Builder / $100 Benefactor / $250 Beacon.

These are amounts that would be donated three times each year upon receipt of the Call Letter in Fall, Winter and Spring. If you’d prefer, for tax purposes, to make one donation per year (please send the $60 minimum donation or any greater amount to be divided among the next three Calls) you can send in your check now, and we will hold the funds and divide them equally across the three Calls. If you want to make an annual donation, please be sure to note “Annual” in the memo field of your check.

You can donate by either of these methods:

• You can go to the Chalice Lighter webpage and click on the Donate option of your choice; or
• Please note – ALL CHECKS MUST be made out to MidAmerica Region. Please note “Chalice Lighters “Winter 2017 Call” or “Annual Donation” in the memo line and send it in the enclosed envelope to the MidAmerica Region, 2355 Fairview Avenue #312, Roseville, MN 55113.

For those of you who are annual donors, you are receiving this Call Letter and will receive subsequent letters to keep you updated on what your funds are being used for. You are not being asked to send more money once you have made your annual donation for a given calendar year unless you wish to do so.

We know that many of you prefer to receive U. S. mail notices and send in your checks three times a year for each of the Chalice Lighter Calls. We will continue to gratefully handle your donations this way. However, if at all possible, we would like to convert the majority of both announcement letters and donations to electronic, since this saves the program money and time. You can find more information on this on the Chalice Lighter pages at www.midamericauua.org.

Thank you again for your generosity!

Sincerely,

The Chalice Lighter Committee

Emily Jaycox, St. Louis, MO; Heidi Lackmann, DesMoines, IA; Jennifer Thomas, Bowling Green, KY; Daniel Talhelm, East Lansing, MI; John Blevins, Kansas City, MO - with staff support from Rev. Phillip Lund and Dori Davenport Thexton