2018 Spring Call

Dear MidAmerica Chalice Lighter,

It’s been five years since the Chalice Lighter programs of the former Heartland, Central Midwest, and Prairie Star districts were combined to form the MidAmerica Region Chalice Lighters Program. In that time, congregations from around the region have received thousands of dollars in grants funded by your generosity. The time has come to reassess the program, which we’ll be doing over the next year.

Our goal is to reformulate the program so that congregations can receive even larger grants for starting new congregations, acquiring meeting space, securing a minister, religious educator, or other professional staff, or providing for outreach and public relations. And as part of the selection process, the committee will be looking for proposals that are feasible, sustainable, and accountable. We’ll keep you informed about any changes in the program in the 2018-19 Chalice Lighter Call letters.

For the 2018 Spring Call, the MidAmerica Region Chalice Lighter Committee received eight applications—a record number! We are pleased to announce that these three have been chosen for this Chalice Lighter call:

• The Bismarck Mandan Unitarian Universalist Fellowship & Church in North Dakota will be receiving funds to hire a half-time clergy to provide ministerial support and guidance with the goal of developing a thriving congregation.

• The Open Circle Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, will also be receiving funds to assist the fellowship in moving their quarter time minister to half time.

• And the Second Unitarian Church of Omaha, Nebraska, will receive grant money to build two accessible and gender-neutral bathrooms.

For this year’s Spring Call, please donate by June 15, 2018

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 $100 Benefactor
$50 Builder $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 Donation” in the memo field of your check.

There are two ways to donate to the 2018 Spring Chalice Lighter Call:

  • You can go to the Chalice Lighter webpage
    and click on the Donate option of your choice; or
  • Write a check out to MidAmerica Region. Please note “Chalice Lighters Spring 2018 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