Generosity Ministry Team • Giving Away the Plate

How we choose to be present to others in our community, individually and collectively, speaks volumes about the values that fuel our faith journey.  Unity Church has had several designated Sunday collections for many years. Since  October 15, 2006 Unity Church has been giving the remaining Sunday collections to non-profit agencies within the larger community. Through this Generosity Ministry these community organizations are being nurtured by that same oasis of compassionate embrace that draws us into the circle of Unity Church Unitarian.             

Beginning July 1, 2007, the start of the new fiscal year, thirty percent of each Sunday plate goes toward the support of the Outreach Ministry of Unity Church. The remaining seventy percent is placed into the hands of the chosen community recipients. 

At its October 2007 meeting the Generosity Ministry Team decided to establish relief collections when local and state emergencies occur. One hundred percent of the money collected in these emergency collections will go directly to targeted disaster relief.

The Generosity Ministry Team oversees the distribution of the Sunday plate.  Members of this team for church year 2007-08 are Dick Buggs: unuseddreams@msn.com, Matt Brown: mhbrown@usfamily.net, Rebecca Flood: rebeccaflood@visi.com, Pat Haff: pat@unityunitarian.org, and Kate Heider: kate_heider@hotmail.com. The Generosity Ministry Team members want to hear form you. Please bring any concerns/opinions you may have have to their attention. To nominate a plate recipient, please complete the nomination form available on this website.  Send that completed form to any team member. To nominate a recipient for a second time, please resubmit the original nomination form. 

Offering recipients: May 2008

May 4—Witness for Peace

Witness for Peace is a non-partisan nationwide grassroots organization of people committed to nonviolence. It presently supports peace, justice and sustainable economies in Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Guatemala, Bolivia and Colombia. This offering will go to their work in Colombia. Over 3 million Colombian refugees, mostly women, children and elderly, have fled from internal country atrocities into large city slums with another million fleeing abroad. This offering will be given to the Witness for Peace Upper Midwest group to help cover educational expenses and summer delegations to Colombia. Sigrid Bachmann, member of Unity Church, has been an active member of Witness for Peace for many years. www.witnessforpeace.org

May 11—Friends of the Mississippi

Friends of the Mississippi (FMR) advocates a new vision for the Mississippi River, especially in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Through active leadership and education, FMR seeks to preserve and restore the river’s fish and wildlife, its vital floodplains and scenic bluffs, its natural and cultural treasures, its beauty and its romance. Founded in 1993, FMR works in a non-partisan way to enhance water quality protection in the 72 miles of the Mississippi River in the metropolitan area. Rebecca Flood, member of Unity Church, has participated in numerous FMR activities, including removal of invasive species, tree planting and bird watching events. www.fmr.org

May 18—Living Justice Press

Living Justice Press, an all volunteer organization, publishes books on restorative justice that powerfully support healing, transformative work in families, schools, churches, businesses and communities. Founded in 2002, they have published four books (several are available in the Unity Church bookstall) and focus on two areas: on the peacemaking circle process and on applying restorative justice principles and values to addressing harms between peoples. Unity Church members, Louise Wolfgramm, Eric and Laurel Lein, and Unity Church Restorative Justice Outreach Ministry team members have all supported the work of Living Justice Press. www.livingjusticepress.org

May 25—Johnson High School Habitat for Humanity Team
“Get ready to make a difference and be changed in the process” characterizes the goals of this St. Paul Johnson High School Habitat for Humanity trip to Guatemala, June 7-16, 2008. This team, made up of 20 students, three staff members, and four adult volunteers will be working with Guatemalan volunteers, as well as future homeowners themselves, to help families achieve their dream of having a simple, decent place to live. Beyond the important value of the work itself, there is equally tremendous potential for this trip to make a life-changing difference in the lives of the Johnson Students who participate. Johnson High is an urban school located on the East Side of St. Paul. Each trip participant has been responsible for making monthly payments toward the trip total but given many of the students’ financial/family situations, there is a gap between what they still owe for the entire trip. This offering will go to bridge that gap. http://johnsonhabitatteam.googlepages.com/