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 * What is Our Share? **

Our challenge for the fiscal year to come is embodied in the phrase “Living Out Our Mission”. We want to become stronger as members of the Community Church of Chapel Hill Unitarian Universalist so we may be helpful to other members and to the outside community we serve. Almost all of us are by nature generous people. We give of our time and money to causes and institutions supporting a way of life in which we believe. The Community Church is now and may have been for a long time an important one of those institutions. We are being asked to pledge a donation to the operating fund of the church for the fiscal year 2011/2012. Pledging is important! Without knowing what the annual pledge amounts will be, the Board of the church would be unable to responsibly establish a budget. Our individual financial commitment is vital to maintaining and increasing the value of our church to us and to the community. We, the church, have worked long and hard to establish and invigorate critical ministries and programs. Imagine how happy you will feel to know your financial support makes possible, for example, our music, the SEA, the RE or the Pastoral Visitors.

We make two important choices with respect to our generosity. First we decide based on our financial circumstances how much we will allocate to donations each year. Second we make the choice about which causes and institutions will get those donations and how much. When we make the second choice let us please consider how worthwhile a donation will be to the operating budget of The Community Church. Our donation to The Community Church supports the visible programs and ministries as well as the less visible keeping the lights burning and the heat on.

As members or friends of the church we are owners of the success of the church. There are very few recipients for our generosity that allow us to be close to the result of our giving. Here in our church we can be as close as we want and are able. The opportunities to help make a difference in our own lives and in the lives of others, both inside the church and in the outside community, are numerous. Many of us were drawn to the church in search of just such opportunities.

Not everyone is able pledge and donate the same amount. It is, however, important to recognize that the average pledge, for the 375 members on the roll, to the operating budget needs to be about $1,250 for the church to have a successful fiscal year 2011/2012. The average pledge in the half-year 2011, annualized, was $1,175 per member (even though 75 members did not pledge). Many of us have seen the Fair Share Giving Guide (FSGG) in previous stewardship campaigns. It has been used to suggest an amount for pledging to our church based on our ability to give and on the level of our commitment. That guide is still available on our Web site at http://www.uua.org/documents/congservices/stewardship/fairshareguide.pdf or our reference.

So, please support The Community Church. Realize the joy of exercising ownership in an institution that has few peers in the good it does for our fellow members and our community. Make your pledge today.

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