Winter Chalice Lighter Call

sign at First Unitarian Church Cincinnati Ohio

We’re pleased to announce that the recipient for the 2020 Winter Chalice Lighter Call is the First Unitarian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Located in a diverse and fast-changing urban neighborhood, First Unitarian hopes to grow the congregation by making improvements in the church’s digital media infrastructure. Better digital media infrastructure will help the congregation: extend the reach of their anti-racism work; support their anti-ableism efforts; retain elderly members; bring First Church to over-scheduled, stressed-out families; increase rental income; and better use UUA resources and meeting technology.

Through this project, the congregation will

  • Upgrade their sound system microphones, speakers, and control board.
  • Add screens in the sanctuary and other parts of the building.
  • Add video cameras, switching, and video recording capacity in the sanctuary.
  • Employ a neighborhood-based, ethnic minority, high school digital media student as a production intern.
  • Add audio and video feeds from the sanctuary to other parts of the church.
  • Upgrade their server and internet connections to allow for streaming.
  • Upgrade their FM audio assistance system.

You can contribute to the Winter Chalice Lighter Call now at https://www.uua.org/midamerica/giving.

In addition to supporting First Unitarian’s Digital Media Upgrade Project, the MidAmerica Chalice Lighter Program is also supporting the Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist in Palatine, Illinois, plan to convert a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house that is adjacent to their main church building into transitional housing for immigrants seeking asylum. Chalice House is a shared project of Countryside Church and the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants, a non-profit, faith-based organization called to respond actively and publicly to the suffering of all individuals and communities affected by immigration detention, deportation, and post-detention through pastoral care, advocacy, public witness and other activities. Chalice Lighters will contribute 10% of the total amount Countryside Church receives for their campaign. Individuals can donate to this important work through Faithify.

If your congregation has a growth-related project you’d like Chalice Lighters to support with a grant of $10,000 or more, the deadline for applying for the 2020 Spring Chalice Lighter Call is Saturday, February 15, 2020. You can apply for a Chalice Lighter Grant online. For smaller grants, consider starting a Faithify campaign. Chalice Lighters will support select campaigns by donating 10% (up to $1000) of the final amount raised by a successful campaign. For more information visit https://faithify.org/.