Skip to main content

Our Response to a Stewardship Visit

By

Aaron and I both really appreciated the Stewardship Visit from Lee Reid and Steve Knox. It was nice to talk quietly and make personal connections, and it was good to see what the financial goals of the church were. We had talked through some thoughts about how Aaron and I could contribute to the church community. Lee and Steve seem very connected to the different people in the church, and I know that I appreciated the recommendations for personal introductions. -- Jennifer deWinter


Aaron McGaffey and Jennifer deWinter
Aaron and I both really appreciated the Stewardship Visit from Lee Reid and Steve Knox. We joined the church hoping to form communal bonds (among other reasons), and we came to realize that people were driving in from all over, so connections outside of church times were harder to form casually. It was nice to talk quietly and make personal connections, and it was good to see what the financial goals of the church were. Lee and Steve seem very connected to the different people in the church, and I know that I appreciated the recommendations for personal introductions. Coffee hour seems particularly difficult to talk with new people (especially when we are worried about what are children are doing at any particular moment).

We had talked through some thoughts about how Aaron and I could contribute to the church community, and I know that I have felt that talent has been a particularly under tapped category (at least for me). There are a number of things that I am able to do and have done in support of academic and non-profit institutions, including grant writing, study tours to Asia, help with job search materials, and the like. I wonder if there might not be a way to discover the talents of individuals in the congregation and mobilize those toward civic and spiritual ends. While I understand that it often falls to people to take initiative, sometimes it is difficult to identify what initiative would be welcomed and how that might fit into the larger structure of the community’s goals.

Again, we are grateful for the Stewardship Visit and the time taken in talking with both of us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Member Stories: A Conversation with Linda Tartaglia

By
A conversation with Linda Tartaglia about joining First Unitarian and getting involved in the church community. Brian Shea: How long have you and your family been members of the church? Linda Tartaglia: About 2 years now. My husband Jim attended first, and then I started in the spring about a year later and by the end of the summer/early fall, that’s when we became members. Brian: A few months ago I was ushering and Jim was the welcome person in the front of the church. So we were just kind of chatting and it was funny because I think our family joined around the same time your family did, but I just assumed you had been members for a long time. You know when you go into a new place you assume that everyone has been there for a long time? So he was like, “oh yeah, we just joined relatively soon”. And he had mentioned, that he was brought up in the Catholic Church. Linda: Yeah. Me too. Brian: My wife and I as well, so we were kind of chatting abo
Post a Comment
Read more

New Member Stories: Emily Miller and Jim Burakiewicz

By
"We wanted to be part of what made the Church a place we were drawn to." This week's post is an interview with Emily Miller and Jim Burakiewicz about their experiences as new members of the First Unitarian community. Before you began attending First Unitarian, had you been attending another church or other faith community? No, not since childhood. Emily had explored Unitarianism before, but had not found a place that fit. Jim had been brought up Catholic and had not attended church for years. How did you hear about First Unitarian and what made you decide to visit? Emily had initially found First Unitarian and was interested in its history. We were both looking for a deeper community here in Worcester and decided that First Unitarian was a place to look for it. Why did you decide to become active participants in the church community? We found that everyone was so welcoming and friendly that we wanted to become contributing members of the church. As a path of
Post a Comment
Read more

An Outstanding Day One for the Annual Pledge Drive

By
" It is rare indeed that people give.  Most people guard and keep. "  If this observation from James Baldwin, one of our contry's most respected philosophers and novelists, is true, then the opening Sunday of our Annual Stewardship Pledge Drive was a rare one indeed.  Consider these day one  statistics : Total amound pledged: $96,628 (32% of our $300,000 goal !) Number of pledges: 62 (6 of these were first time pledges !) A whopping 56% increased their pledge over last year ! Let us keep the momentum going!  If you have not yet sent in your pledge, do so today.   This is truly a wonderful beginning, and it was made even more special by our interim minister's homily.  If you missed Tracey's message, what follows are a few of her memorable and moving insights.  We come through these doors in search, in need, in hope, in prayer. We come looking for something to make our lives better; to make the lives of our family, our friends, our neigh
2 comments
Read more