As we enter this new year, my thoughts have been dwelling on the concept of generosity and how it affects our lives. Of course, generosity also reflects my commitment to the 2015 pledge campaign for our beloved community.
I have been reading Mark Ewart’s Generosity Path and transforming my understanding of giving and receiving in the context of how we, as Unitarian Universalists, approach our community and its mission. According to Ewart, “….giving naturally builds connections between people…,” “being part of a community that supports and prompts generousness add dimensions of engagement that would otherwise not be possible.” In addition, Dr. John Buehrens, UU Theologian and former president of the UUA, notes, “Generosity is not only a sign of spiritual growth, but a path towards wholeness and maturity.”
In my own experience, having come to UUFH in 2007 with no recent religious experience, I not only experienced values and ideas about the world that I could support, but found personal and spiritual growth through giving. As I committed more of my time and money to UUFH, my connections and spiritual growth accelerated and deepened. Being generous has brought greater engagement in spirit and wholeness in my life.
This year I am using that engagement to support the 2015-2016 pledge team, further deepening my relationships with my fellow congregants, and helping ensure that the values in which I believe continue to thrive and spread in our Fellowship and in the wider community of Hendersonville and beyond.
This year’s pledge campaign will begin on Sunday March 15 and will be followed after service with a kick-off event in Fellowship Hall immediately after the service. Please make a note on your calendar to be there. In the meantime, please consider your own ideas about generosity of time and money in support of all you want to see in our lives and in the world.
Our theme for this year’s pledge drive is “…LET IT SHINE.” Our UUFH light is something very special and unique in our community and our world and it’s our job to not only “LET IT SHINE,” but to see that this flame is strengthened and grows under our stewardship.
Quoting the Buddha: “Giving brings happiness at every stage of its expression. We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous; we experience joy in the actual act of giving; and we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given.”
Bill Elder
Pledge team co-chair, 2015-2016