Minister's Letter
“Steer By the Compass of Your Soul”
Dear Folks,
I offer you a warm welcome to a new month and a new monthly theme: Worth and Dignity. September is also the month of our Annual Generosity Campaign and Membership Confirmation during which we gratefully receive your pledges for 2021 so that we are able to plan our budget with integrity and confidence. As you are able, we invite you to consider what amount is right for you. Last week, we mailed the pledge packet which contained a letter from the minister, a new pledge form (which is also online), and a bookmark/ticket to our upcoming Generosity Campaign Gala which will be emceed by our own Director of Music, Kaarin Record Leach. The night will feature music, humor, and fellowship. Your ticket notes an unlimited buffet (based on whatever you’ll be preparing for yourself in your own home). If you did not receive the packet, please let us know.
Folks have been working on the Gala for quite a while, so let’s honor their efforts by joining in the festivities and giving them a great audience!
The Generosity Team wishes to thank you for your continued support during this strange time in the history of our world. Your giving in July was a tangible witness to your commitment to Piedmont Unitarian Universalist church as income exceeded expenses. Rental funds and plate offerings have been affected by the pandemic. The gap between income and expenses is felt all over the country right now; thus, we are not alone in lifting up a call for increased giving to bridge the gap for 2020 and move us successfully through the new year.
Our monthly theme is a timely reminder of the important message of our liberal religion — even as we mourn yet another shooting victim, Jacob Blake, who is paralysed from the waist down after being shot seven times in the back at very close range as his three young children and the world watched this execution style shooting. Clearly, the officer held no recognition of the dignity and worth of Jacob Blake. And this is the story we hear again and again against a backdrop of “Black Lives Matter.”
The systems in our country that have protected some groups while devaluing and making targets of others must be transformed through a revolution of love — a revolution of liberal and loving religion. More than ever, our presence is needed in Salisbury, Charlotte, and beyond as we live into who we say we are as Unitarian Universalists.
We honor your worth and dignity. We love you. And we plan to systematically make this world a better place for all beings. May this be so, beloveds. May we make it so.
As you contemplate this months theme, we are pleased to share with you a new monthly offering called Touchstones Journal. You’ll find articles (Rev. Victoria Weinstein’s article is particularly timely), stories, and even a family activity. Each month will offer a quote for each day along with questions for thought and discussion. May this publication nurture your spirit and shore us up as we seek to honor all aspects of our mission.
Blessed be, and be of good heart as we move ever forward!
~Rev. Mary Frances
The most important human endeavor
is the striving for morality in our actions.
Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it.
Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life.
—Albert Einstein
