Link to Pledge Now

To pledge online, click 2023-2024 Canvass Pledge for Mission Peak Members and Friends. Our Goal is to complete Canvass pledges by April 15th, so the Board can prepare the new Budget for the Annual Meeting.

   “BETTER TOGETHER” is a phrase you might have heard before and one that I firmly believe is true about being in community here at Mission Peak. When we are together we have music, poetry, fellowship, good food, spiritual growth, fun, solace, time to share with the children who are growing up here (and have grown up here) as part of our community.

   Each of us can experience any one of these things as an individual, in isolation, but that experience is different. It’s like going to a scary movie by yourself (and this world can be like a scary movie.) By yourself, there is no one to tell you “things get better”, or to hold your hand, or jump at a loud noise with you and giggle because you both jumped. It is a different experience when you are alone. Here at Mission Peak, when we are TOGETHER, engaged with one another , virtually or in-person, we can speak of awe, fear, love, loss, anger, justice and injustice, yearning, joy and find someone who will listen, giving us space to be heard, without judgment. This is our aspirational Covenant together. Being TOGETHER in Community makes our lives BETTER.

   For the coming congregation year, we have a vision for more opportunities to be together in Fellowship. Our “virtual community” is strong and we are practicing/finding new ways to maintain our ties to one another whether in Cole Hall or on Zoom, because we are BETTER TOGETHER. Our future is exciting, with our new Religious Education Coordinator and Choir Director, we can create opportunities for outreach of programs within the Congregation and in the larger community that will engage our values in efforts to grow spiritually and take actions to dismantle oppression in all its forms. Anything that happens at Mission Peak will be better for your membership, your commitment, your participation, your support, your presence – because WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER!

Valerie Stewart, Canvass Coordinator, canvass@mpuuc.org

2023-2024 VISION FOR MPUUC

Choosing our direction is important. Together we can bring the love we want to share, to ourselves, our Congregation, and our community as we go forward together in our Beloved Community. After consulting the various leaders of Mission Peak UU Congregation, the vision for the coming year focuses on these key areas:

FELLOWSHIP Being together to renew the sense of engagement, fun, learning, and participation that fosters new connections and builds compassion, laughter and appreciation among people -within and beyond the congregation – creating Beloved Community.	GROWTH and OUTREACH Supporting existing members and programs with a multicultural outlook, intentionally engaging the community with our values leading our efforts to dismantle racism and oppression and grow spiritually, offering support, solace, meaning and care to one another and our communities, and welcoming new members and stakeholders.

We have messages from our Board President Suzette Takei, our settled Minister Rev. Greg Ward, a section on the current budget of the congregation, and the Fair Share Guide to Giving.

And we have matching funds again this year! Click here for more info.

Suzette Takei, President

Dear MPUUC Members and Friends,

   The past few years have been full of change in our congregation and the world. I am so grateful to have found MPUUC and each of you. I’ve witnessed so many of you doing extraordinary work for our congregation and the larger community. You bring hope to my heart and encourage me to aspire to greater involvement in the world. MPUUC’s warmth and welcoming spirit truly embraces our goal to love the hate out of this world and to support one another on our various journeys.

   I am writing today to ask for your pledge for our 2023-24 fiscal year. We are better together! The work of MPUUC in each of our lives and in that of our community is only possible through financial support combined with volunteerism. In our congregation, your financial contribution goes a long way. Where else can a single donation fund an organization that fights for equity, shows up for service and justice, builds lasting friendships, and grows our capacity for love and wonder? Your pledge does all of this. Every dollar you give goes directly to our shared ministry and living our values in the community.

   Our operating costs remain about the same as previous years, but the budget is based on your pledge. I encourage each of you to consider increasing your donation to help ensure that we can continue to operate without a deficit. If all pledges remained the same as 22-23, we would be about $23,000 short. Ideally, we need everyone to increase their pledge at least $115. I realize that is not possible for some; so I ask that each of you consider what is financially responsible for your household and give accordingly. Please submit your pledge via the google form in your email.

   While our congregation has shrunk a bit in size, the hearts have only expanded. I am humbled and honored by the passion and generosity of this congregation. It has been a pleasure getting to know all of you this past year.

From Your Minister, Rev. Greg Ward

   I see it happening as we go. In every Sunday service, every meeting, phone call,
check in, and email that brings news of your lives, all of you who help carry this community forward become more and more dear to me.

   It shouldn’t be so surprising. It’s a repeat of an old song that I’ve learned by heart. I was born into the church, embraced and dedicated in its nursery by parents too numerous to name; taught by Religious Education volunteers, challenged and cherished by peers, adulted in OWL, mentored and cheered through Coming of Age, counseled by advisors and prayed over by its care teams. I found my voice when you brought me to marches and called me back into the pulpit.

   It’s true that I am thinking of more than one place and more than one community. But there is nothing from those early churches that isn’t here. And just like then, I know that now I can’t expect to be the person I am without the community you are.

   In South Africa they have a word that describes this: Ubuntu. ‘I am because we are.’ And who we are is getting better every day. There is no doubt in my mind, we are better together. I hope you will join me in deciding how to take what has been passed on to us and passing it forward so a new generation can know what it means to be welcomed, mentored and blessed. We have the opportunity to show the world what it looks like to be better together.

2022-2023 Budget Income & Expenses

Our 2022-23 budget passed last year in June, 2022 by the congregation has a projected income of $278,350 and expenses of $280,777 for an operating budget deficit of 0.9% or $2,427. The vast majority of our expenses, 86%, are fixed.

Pledge Data for MPUUC

Just 5% of pledges provide 1/3 of our income.

Our average pledge per household was $4,329 (excluding the extraordinary top pledge group).

► We need $4,445/pledge per household for a balanced budget, an increase of $115 over last year.

For more detailed information, we encourage you to read Stewardship at MPUUC 2023-24.

Here is the link to the Canvass Pledge Form to submit your pledge for 2023-2024.

We have Matching Pledge Funds again this year!

We are very pleased to announce that three generous households have provided MATCHING FUNDS of $15,000! Increases in pledge amounts from last year will receive a $2-to-$1 match, and every pledge that maintains its current level will have a $100 match.
Please keep this in mind when you think about how much you will pledge.

The Fair Share Guide to Giving

During the annual Canvass Campaign each year, we include the Fair Share Guide to Giving,
which is one of the stewardship resources from our denomination, the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Moving toward a Fair Share financial commitment, whether quickly or in a steady, intentional way builds community and instills a spirit of personal stewardship. It reminds us all that this is Our congregation and Our UU movement and that we are together in Beloved Community.

Fair Share Contribution Guide