Please pledge now to enable us to prepare a timely budget for board approval.

Pledge on-line by clicking here or you can return your pledge card in the offering plate.

Matching Funds Available for Increases!

We are fortunate to once again have $10,500 in matching funds available to encourage people to increase their pledges this year. Any increase from your prior year pledge will be matched dollar-for-dollar. If you increase your pledge $500, the fund will provide an additional $500 for this campaign.

From the Canvass Co-Chair: John Schaefer

Community means something different to each of us, yet most definitions include people who are in the (virtual or physical) presence of others AND connected by a common belief or value. We operate within communities every day, whether that is family, work, the town we live in, or the larger world community and natural community that we are all a part of. 

Creating and nurturing a community takes work. Part of this work is exposing at least some part of who we are. In exchange, we may find others who will honor that piece of our self. Having the love and support of people who care about us can help us get through difficult periods.

This canvass we are trying to remind everyone how amazing the MPUUC community is, in hopes of challenging each of us to see what we can bring to make us even better. 

It is truly amazing how much this small and mighty group of people has already accomplished. We are blessed to have tremendous staff and leadership that commits fully to our community. Our members and guests bring pieces of their essence with them to be nourished, to be loved, to be supported and to share in joy and victory and growth. And yes, our members also provide the financial support that we need to grow ourselves, to strengthen our community and to enable us to spread the love and wisdom that has been building in the past 30 years of Mission Peak’s existence.

Special thanks to Julie Ganzlin for her role as Co-Chair of this year’s canvass!!!

From your President, Beth Schaefer

Greetings dear Mission Peak members and friends, 

There’s so much going on at Mission Peak! As you make your pledge we hope you’ll consider these goals and projects your Board has curated for next year. Here are our five points of vision:

Get excited about our thriving music and religious education programs. Ariel has brought tremendous energy; heartfelt caring; and unique activities for children, youth and adults this year. Choir members have reported that they love having Von at the helm this year. He has brought his musical expertise to hone the choir’s music-making, and it’s been delightful to hear. Let’s support the blossoming of these areas!

Continue and develop our crucial social justice programs. Our social justice actions have grown and deepened, helping us truly walk our talk. Our Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression team (ARO) helps to coordinate and lead the way on many fronts, including accompanying our new asylum seeker; helping register thousands of local high school students to vote; writing hundreds of elections letters; and leading MPUUC to publicly support the California Reparations Task Force. Let’s keep the powerful energy flowing!

Let our staff know they are integral parts of us – and that we’re delighted to have them. We have outstanding staff in Sandra Lange, our Congregational Administrator; Ariel Smith-Iyer, our Multigenerational Director of Education; and Von Bringhurst, our Choir Director. We’d like to show our gratitude by updating their hours and their compensation to keep current with cost-of-living trends. Let’s support our partners!

Keep ourselves all on the same page. The organization of our committees and leadership structures has gotten quite unruly in recent years. No fewer than 30 committees and groups have been reporting directly to the Board. This is a very flat and inefficient configuration, and Rev. Greg and the Board have new visions to make us run more smoothly and reliably. Let’s keep up our momentum as a great organization!

Reach out and share our new good energy. We share the vitality of Mission Peak and Unitarian Universalism with the larger world through online media presence (Facebook and our wonderful website), newspaper and TV coverage (We got TV coverage of Sergio’s family’s arrival!), and by inviting people outside the congregation to join us for services and events. Let’s continue our publicity, reaching out to share all the great things we’ve got here!

Fellow Mission Peakers, as you make your pledge this year, please think about how these visions are important to you. The view looks exciting from here!

From Your Minister, Rev. Greg Ward

I want to tell you why I love Mission Peak and why I support it with my whole heart.  I also want to say why I hope you will support it, too.  

I came to Mission Peak, leaving a successful ministry in Santa Monica, CA, because I love my wife, Lucy.  Her job is here, so this is where I needed to be to be with her.  Mission Peak was the nearest church looking for a minister when I was looking for a place to serve.  Simple… but there’s more.    

I came here with a lifetime commitment to Unitarian Universalism.  I grew up with a profound faith that UU communities are capable of teaching a special brand of love the world desperately needs.   So much of what is good in my life has been taught to me directly from UU process and practice and people.  I know I’m not done learning about love, nor is MPUUC done being a place that teaches it.  

I originally came for Lucy, which I hoped would be enough.  But then I met the search committee and fell in love with them, too.   I talked to Rev. Barbara and Rev. Chris (who I’d known for years) and their love for you helped kindle the spark I would soon feel.  Then I met Sandra Lange, one of the very best Congregational Administrators I’ve ever known.  Soon, I loved her.  This past year, we hired Ariel Smith-Iyer (who I’d met in my ministry with UU Berkeley years earlier).  Even though she’s brand new to serving as a Religious Education Professional, everyone loves her – especially the children, youth, and families.  She is a dream come true for MPUUC.  And anyone who loves our Music Program has been saying the same about Von Bringhurst, MPUUC’s first ever paid musical professional.  He is a true joy and a real difference-maker.

That’s how I came to love what we’re doing here and love you.  It’s been no secret that MPUUC has been through hard times.  The recent transition and the pandemic forced us to learn a lot about ourselves and what’s truly important.  There’s still more we have to learn.  But if there’s one thing I’ve discovered for sure it’s that love is the best teacher.  And, I know I want to be where it’s being taught.  If Mission Peak wants to rebound from its transition and pandemic set-backs and become a new source of love and learning, you can’t possibly ask for a better staff – or a better time – to do it.  

Just by showing up and opening my heart to the possibilities, I’ve already grown by leaps and bounds.  Is there a part of you that is ready to choose love and open to new possibilities?  When we support this place, these people, and this important moment, I know we will all be the richer for it.  

2024-25 Budget Income & Expenses

The board will create a 2024-25 budget based upon the income that we expect to receive from pledges, our auction and other sources of income. That budget will be presented to the congregation for approval on June 9th.

Pledges

Your pledges are essential to our financial well-being since they account for 86% of our income. 

Last year our budget included pledges of $227,000. This year, due to increases in compensation and rent, we are hoping to obtain pledges of approximately $238,000, an increase of about 5%.  This will also enable us to use the full $10,500 that has been committed as matching funds.                            

We are very fortunate to have a few large donors, which helps bring our average pledge to $4,371 per pledge unit across 53 pledge units. We hope to become less dependent on these large donations by adding more members and encouraging those who are able to increase their pledges to do so.

Pledge Sizes – 2023-24

Every pledge is important to us. We recognize that many people also give generously of their time and talents to support Mission Peak. Thank you for all your support!

Expenses

Most of our expenses are fixed: 71% of expenses are personnel related and 15% are facilities related. Our Board and committees are very judicious in managing all spending. Additional details on spending will be provided during the budget approval process that will culminate with a congregational meeting to review and approve the budget on June 9.

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.