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September 2010

From this House to the World
Chris Crosby Schmidt, Pledge Team

As I write this, the sun is setting on a beautiful Minnesota summer day. The long, hot, sticky days have finally broken, not with violent storms, but with strong but gentle breezes. The day was cool, sunny, and dry—perfect.

I moved to Minnesota from Texas 14 years ago, and I still haven't quite come to terms with the sense of pressure summer elicits in me. In San Antonio, winter simply meant temperatures in the 30s and 40s -- not enough to curtail most activities (although sand volleyball, once my passion, was a little tough). Almost any project you wanted to undertake could be done at any time of the year.

Here in the Great White North, though, the sounding of the school bell in June is like a starting gun to me: Go NOW, because there are only so many days until the snow and freezing temperatures shut things down, when all outdoor projects must end and indoor hobbies begin again.
When the weather was hot and sticky and (I'm embarrassed to admit, given my roots) almost unbearable, it was easy to believe that summer would last forever. Today's cool edge, though, reminded me that change is just around the corner. Time to switch focus again.

Big on my list of Fall Stuff is the 2011 Pledge Drive. We'll kick things off in late September, with a series of events featuring the wonderful Meg Barnhouse. Starting September 24, she'll sing, speak, read, and preach all weekend, culminating in Sunday's services.

Then things begin in earnest: Canvassers will begin contacting members of the congregation to meet and talk about pledging for the 2011 budget year. These conversations can take place anywhere: in someone's home, at a coffee shop, at the church, wherever is comfortable. Our goal is to have a face-to-face visit with everyone who participates in the life of the church. The in-person conversation is important: It further strengthens the already strong ties within this community, and helps people focus on what Unity Church means in their lives as they make decisions about their monetary support. We hope that everyone will choose to participate in these visits.

There will also be new ways to make your pledge to Unity. We'll have more information about that as the time nears.
The pledge drive will wrap up on October 31, in time for the new pledge information to be included in the operating budget and presented to the congregation in late November.

Fall brings the resumption of responsibilities, true. But even as it marks the end of summer, it also brings the perennial promise of new beginnings. In a similar and very real way, the pledge drive carries the promise of the coming year for the church. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to reflect on the unique place Unity holds in their lives, and the work it does in the world.