April 2020
Dear MidAmerica Chalice Lighter,
This spring has been a difficult time for all of us as we—individually and collectively—have been forced to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. The good news is that our congregations have learned to conduct most (if not all) of their face-to-face events virtually. And while they’ve been doing a terrific job of using the internet to connect us through worship on a weekly basis, many of us miss spending our Sunday mornings worshiping together in the familiar spaces of our beloved UU congregations.
For our Spring 2020 Chalice Lighter call, we’re asking you to help support the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus, Indiana, as they prepare for the time when their members will once again be able to gather on Sunday mornings to lift their voices—and spirits—in song. The congregation is aware that music is an essential ingredient to Sunday Services, spiritual development, congregational vitality, and intergenerational community. That’s why UUCCI is seeking to upgrade their professional staffing by increasing the pay for Sunday morning piano accompanists and by hiring a music director to lead regular choir rehearsals and performances on Sunday mornings. Through this Chalice Lighter grant, coupled with a strong budgeting process over the next couple years, the congregation will have the opportunity to discover how transformative—socially and spiritually—a music program can be!
How to Give
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 use the form on our Giving page or
Write a check out to MidAmerica Region. Please note “Chalice Lighters [Season] [Year] Call” or “Annual Donation” in the memo line and send it to the MidAmerica Region, 2355 Fairview Avenue #312, Roseville, MN 55113.
In Faith,
Phillip Lund, Congregational Life Consultant, and the Chalice Lighter Committee
Faithify
We received five applications for the Spring 2020 Chalice Lighter call—all of them worthy of our support. Unfortunately, we could choose only one congregation to receive a grant. However, one of the applicants, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is moving forward with a Faithify campaign, which Chalice Lighters will support by donating 10% of the final amount their campaign raises, up to $1000. The congregation is seeking funds to support Roundtable Revival, an emerging nonprofit that has a vision of engaging various stakeholders and developing programming to better meet the needs of citizens on probation or returning after a period of incarceration in jail or prison.