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A Message from Our Moderator

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It is my hope that all will give generously and without hesitation to this year’s annual Pledge campaign.   Our future depends on people just like us!
Scott Hayman, Moderator

It is pure coincidence that this week happens to be my turn to share a perspective on Stewardship only a few days after the 75th anniversary of the 1938 Hurricane that blew through Worcester and, among many other buildings, pulverized our very own sanctuary beyond recognition.  Imagine!  People reported that the recently renovated steeple swayed back and forth in 100 mile an hour gale winds causing our Paul Revere Bell to ring out and clang until finally the structure could not withstand the fury. The roof of the church and the steeple imploded into the sanctuary and the organ fell through the balcony floor to its destruction.  Nothing but the front façade of the sanctuary was left! 

But the remarkable point is what came next and how our congregation rallied without hesitation to rebuild our church. Our minister at the time, Dr. Savage, wrote the following in the Unitarian monthly magazine: 

In one day after the crash the Prudential Committee met. In one week the Parish met. In one month with no build up, the money needed, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, was pledged, not by a few but by hundreds and hundreds…One woman gave up a trip planned for the following summer, another woman who could not afford money sent in her old heirlooms.1

The sanctuary, the very one we gather in now, was, miraculously, rebuilt and rededicated only one year after the Hurricane hit on September 17, 1939. During this same year Hitler’s Nazis were taking over Czechoslovakia and invading Poland.   Now this is a very fine example of Stewardship at work in our congregation, during very troubling times, and one we can all be very grateful for. 

Of course the Pledge Campaign funds pay for the annual program costs of the church, not for bricks and mortar.  BUT (and everyone deserves to know this) if we don’t pay for our program costs with our annual pledge campaign, then we risk draining our endowment and not responsibly funding repairs, and maintenance of the church. 

If we don’t give more generously, and even increase our annual giving, then we handcuff ourselves when it comes to offering attractive and competitive compensation to our next settled minister.  The list goes on.  I realize this sounds negative but I am only sharing facts. 

So this year’s Pledge Campaign challenges us to share our time, talent and treasure.  And it challenges everyone to get involved and take action without hesitation.  I know that I have shared a considerable amount of my time, some talent (because I only have some) and over the years of our family’s membership, our treasure. In fact, we have given larger portions of our annual earnings in recent years in direct response to our better understanding of the program finances, and also to our deeper appreciation for them.  We are truly grateful!

It is my hope that all will give generously and without hesitation to this year’s annual Pledge campaign.   Our future depends on people just like us!

Sincerely,
Scott Hayman
Your Moderator

Footnote
1.      From The Fruits of our Labors, Walter Donald Kring. Quote from the Christian Register, written by Dr. Maxwell Savage.

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