Dear UUCE Members, Friends, and Supporters,

We have achieved so much this year. Thanks to your pledges we closed our anticipated budget gap and presented a more balanced budget at our Annual Meeting. Also, due to an outpouring of generosity we made our final mortgage payment this week. Wow! We did it!

As a community we also gathered to play and work; to mourn and give thanks. We welcomed new friends and said goodbye to those who moved away and passed away. We opened our doors to community partners who share our values and helped individuals in need of shelter, food, and loving kindness.

Your generosity of time, talent, and treasure made all of this possible. As we move into the 2025-26 church year, many of us are feeling nervous about what the incoming administration will bring. In uncertain times, our congregation is called to be a beacon of hope and action.

Rather than getting stuck in fear or exhausting ourselves by doing everything all the time, UUA President Sofia Betancourt, invites us to “channel the heightened awareness we’re experiencing into things that help us prepare for the long haul.”

Those things include strengthening our capacity for mutual aid, building stronger relationships with community partners, and providing sanctuary for all who are threatened by the rise of injustice.

As we look towards next year’s budget, we anticipate a 9% increase in expenses over the current year. Most of the church budget is spent on our staff team, so our priorities reflect our responsibilities as an equitable employer.

BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR 2025-2026

1. Cost of Living increases for staff: Wages have been flat for three years. It’s time to give our staff across-the- board wage increases. We are also moving toward the goal of a $20/hr minimum wage by 2027.
2. Budget for a part-time Assistant Minister: We currently have a three-quarter time minister, but a church of our size should be working up to one and a half or two ministers as we grow.
3. Pay our “fair share” to the Unitarian Universalist Association: We have not been able to meet our obligations since 2021. Paying our pledge to the UUA is one of our responsibilities as a member congregation to promote our faith.

We invite you to be part of this year’s Pledge Drive in any way you can by considering your “sweet spot”. That’s where the amount you can afford meets your commitment to our mission and the future of the UU faith.

Thank you for continuing (or beginning) to pledge your time, talent and treasure to this spiritual community. Completing the enclosed pledge form helps us to plan confidently for the future.