Generosity Ministry Team

Each Sunday, thirty percent of the offering goes to support of the Community Outreach Ministry at Unity Church and seventy percent is placed in the hands of the chosen community recipients.

In October 2007 the Generosity Ministry Team established 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 are Dick Buggs, Matt Brown, Molly Gust, Laney Ohmans, Patricia Ohmans, Rebecca Flood, and Lisa Friedman. 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.

June/July Offering Recipients

June 2 & 23: Slow Food Minnesota 
Slow Food Minnesota fosters equitable access to food through programs and events that help Minnesotans value diverse food cultures and healthy farm ecosystems. This collection will help Slow Food Minnesota engage with more people by providing scholarships for underrepresented individuals to attend local programs with the goal of becoming a vibrant citizen organization committed to a shared vision of food equity and access. Unity Church member Ann Kirby McGill is chair of Slow Food’s board of directors.

June 9 & 30: Unity Church Chalice Camp
Chalice Camp is designed to provide a unique opportunity for children in grades one through eight deepen their connections to Unity Church, Unitarian Universalism, and the wider community. Camp this summer will include worship, small and large group activities, and time for fun. This collection will support scholarship opportunities for church families. Unity Church member Hannah Eller-Isaacs is Chalice Camp Director. 

June 16 & July 14: Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop
Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop (MPWW) serves one of the most marginalized groups in society by offering creative writing classes to men and women in Minnesota correctional institutions. After completing a writing class, students are eligible for a mentor program in which they are paired with experienced writers on the outside for written feedback. MPWW participants find writing to be a rehabilitating practice that sharpens their self-expression skills and empowers them to tell their stories.

July 7 & 28: Lower Phalen Creek Project
The Lower Phalen Creek Project (LPCP) was the driving force behind the establishment of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary at the foot of Dayton’s Bluff. This area was a sacred site for the Dakota Nation who gathered frequently in Wakan Tipi Cave, aka Carver’s Cave. After years of neglect and desecration, LPCP has undertaken the restoration of this historic site with plans to open Wakan Tipi Cave as a gathering place and visitor facility where its rich cultural and historical significance can be told and celebrated. This collection supports the design team and staff working to make Wakan Tipi Cave a go-to place to relive St. Paul’s rich cultural history. Unity Church member Jane Prince, City Council woman for Ward 7, submitted this nomination. 

July 21: Frogtown Green
The mission of Frogtown Green is quite simply to make Frogtown the greenest, healthiest, and most beautiful neighborhood in Saint Paul. To do this, Frogtown Green advocates for greenspaces, promotes sustainable activities, and manages several parklets, urban farms, and gardens throughout Frogtown. To date over 270 trees have been planted. Unity Church member Patricia Ohmans, a Frogtown resident for over 35 years, is the founder and part-time director of Frogtown Green.

Offering Principles

If you would like to nominate an organization, please fill out the Offering Recipient Nomination Form at right.

Offering Principles
The Unity Church Generosity Ministry Team and the Executive Team developed the following  criteria for Sunday Offering nominations from congregation members. Potential offering recipients must meet the following principles:

1. Potential offering recipients should meet the following criteria:
2. Their mission/values must reflect the core values of Unity Church.
3. Recipients must have a connection with Unity through shared work or church support.
4. The offering will be significant in relation to the size of the organization’s or project’s budget.
5. The bulk of the recipient budget goes to meeting the mission of the organization instead of overhead costs.
6. All nominations are considered. However, the Generosity Ministry Team places a  special emphasis on smaller non-profits whose annual budget is $500,00.00 or less.

Download and Print

If you prefer to download and print a PDF form to fill out or save it to your computer and fill it out as a Word document, here are the files.
Nominate the Sunday Offering Form PDF
Nominate the Sunday Offering Form WORD

2016 Reverse Offering Stories

Read all the Reverse Offering stories shared by members and friends of Unity Church.