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CHANGE “Our Change Changes Lives”
A RECURRING NEWSLETTER
Message from the Board President Sarita Redd, Board President, reflects on where UTO has been and where it can go now! Page 3
The Watonga Dance Ground in Oklahoma UTO Board makes a grant site visit to an amazing community resource in Oklahoma. Page 7
FALL 2012 Roberts Rules of Order Connie Skidmore talks about the responsibilities of a Board during the Fall UTO Board Meeting. “Our Change Changes Page 10 Lives” Reflections on the power, the challenge and the reality of change Page 2
The Little Blue Box A surprising event is on the horizon--the Blue Box is putting on its digital face! Page 4
TANZANIA Visted A hospital for women and children brings hope to Tanzania and an opportunity for UTO. Page 6
New Times New Technology New Grant Process "We have a choice. The stones in our path can become a wall or they can become a bridge."
(Posted by a friend on Facebook)
The members of the United Thank Offering Board spent some 7me this fall reflec7ng on walls that separate and confine us, as well as bridges that provide a means to cross over to another place. The next few months are a bridging 7me for the UTO grant process. Like highway construc7on UTO has a bridge in place while the Grant CommiFee establishes a new, shorter 7meline from grant applica7on, to grant awards and to have it accomplished electronically. During October through December, we invite you to use the following “Marks of Mission” to focus on crea7ng bridges to self sustainability in your diocese, and companion diocese where there is a need for life changing and life empowering ministry. Please consider what need may turn into a ministry, be a place where transforma7on takes place that will fit the guidelines for a UTO grant. What bridge will you be building?
A bridge built of prayer stones by the 2012-2015 UTO Board
Marks of Mission: “ To respond to human need by loving service” and “ To seek to transform unjust structures of society”. November 2012 -‐ Grant criteria will be available; January 1, 2013 -‐-‐ February 28, 2013 – The Grant applica7on will be available online; February 2013 -‐ Each diocese must use a Diocesan Screening CommiFee that includes the UTO
Diocesan Coordinator; February 28, 2013 -‐-‐ Applica7on and all required suppor7ng documents must be received electronically in the UTO office (this gran7ng season there will be no excepAons); March 2013 -‐ UTO Grant CommiFee will review each grant for compliance; March and April 2013 – Grants are to be researched by UTO Board members; May 2013 – United Thank Offering Board Gran7ng Session and Board Mee7ng. (UTO Board members will not be able to inform you of the grant status un>l no>fica>ons have been distributed); June 2013 -‐ Award and declina7on leFers will be distributed. For further informa7on please contact: Barbi Tinder, Grant CommiJee Convener, utoprov1@gmail.com or Michelle Jobson, UTO Grant Associate, UTO Office, mjobson@episcopalchurch.org. Barbi Tinder-Province I - Grants Committee Convener UTO Change
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The History Corner The United Thank Offering is a long term ministry of the Episcopal Church with its true beginnings in 1871 when the Board of Missions was authorized to create a Woman’s Auxiliary, a department of the Board, in their budget. The stated goals for the Auxiliary were: 1) to increase funds for the Board of Missions; 2) to circulate missionary publications: 3) to educate missionaries and their children; 4) to make, collect and distribute articles of clothing for missionaries and their families. There are two important facts here; women were introduced to a specific place in the Church for the first time and women were charged to raise funds for the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of (The Episcopal Church) to support mission both far and near. In 1872 Miss Mary Emery was hired as the first secretary of the Women’s Society and Auxiliary. In 1874 the first Triennial Meeting was held in New York City, called the General Annual Meeting of the Women’s Auxiliary. Held at the same time as General Convention, this allowed women to travel with husbands! The Triennial Meeting laid the groundwork for a more active role for women in the Church, but it would be about 100 years later (1970) when women were seated in the House of Deputies and allowed to vote on Church affairs. In the intervening years, the voices of women were limited in role and responsibility. Yet the women never gave up. They stayed on course, making t h e m s e l v e s k n o w n t o t h e C h u rc h , especially through their most successful efforts to raise funds for mission-‐-‐The United Thank Offering “The History Corner” is a regular feature of UTO Change. We hope the information found here will be useful in dioceses, churches and presentations. The purpose is to discover and spread the good news about how giving thanks really works, bringing tangible results to so many. “Our Change Changes Lives” Anne Gordon Curran Vice-‐President United Thank Offering Board 2
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Our Changing World A Message from the Editor
Families are full of myths and legends; we rarely really know a story from the person who lived it—we know it from the tale handed down through generations. My grandfather was born in 1895, my grandmother in 1989. When they were married, they traveled by horse and buggy from the lush green of South Texas to the harsh, windswept plains of northwest Texas where the wind never stops blowing to make their home. This was a dramatic change for the young bride, who also left behind her huge extended family of 9 brothers and sisters and many cousins, aunts and uncles.
Be Fearless Embracing Change
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went from flying little bi-planes to commercial airlines, to walking on the moon. When we were kids, we would lie on blankets in the front yard and watch for satellites flying over— the first kid to spot one got $20.00—as did each subsequent kid! He loved technology and taught us to love it too.
Change is the Nature of Life So now we talk about a rapidly changing world, as though this has never been human experience before; I look at my grandfather and his lifespan and think, “This has always happened. “ The world is and has always been in a state of rapid change that demands courage from the human race. If you think of your own life, you too are always in a rapid state of change—that is called living, and for most of us living fully. Now I look at The United Thank Offering. I have known about the UTO all my life; one of my beloved aunts—my grandmother’s sister was a UTO sponsored missionary in Japan--she was fearless. The UTO has constantly changed as the world has changed—this has been an active, hand in hand relationship, UTO and Change.
Our Change Changes Lives
My grandfather was fearless in embracing change. He demanded and got that courage from my grandmother as well. My grandfather owned one of the first ModelT’s, and was waiting in line to be one of the first hundred people to drive to the top of Pikes Peak, in Colorado—America’s Mountain, which Zebulon Pike claimed no man would ever climb—the 67th car in a parade of 100! (We have the certificate of that accomplishment still!)
“Our Change Changes Lives,” our new tag line gives us a challenge to reflect on the spiritual fact of change. Our coins in the Blue Box are change that goes out into the world in the form of grants to change the world—to make it a better, safer place. Our coins in the Blue Box offer to change us—to make each of us more aware of living life with gratitude and thanksgiving. Those of us serving as missioners of the United Thank Offering, whether in our Congregations, our Dioceses, our Provinces, or our Church in the wider world are given the gift of being agents of change—change that changes our lives as well.
My grandfather was a radio pioneer—he helped develop radio communication during the First World War. He built the second radio station on the air in the nation, and the first three stations in the state of Texas. (All of which are still on the air!) His goal was not fame—his goal was to make communication better in the world!
This newsletter, a revitalization of the newsletter called “Daily Thanks,” is called UTO Change— the hope is that the stories in these pages will be inspirational, educational, practical and useful. There are no promises yet as to how often UTO Change will appear—perhaps it depends upon the change that demands it. You are welcome to share this journey of change that changes lives with us. We hope you will change with the journey!
His world was always rapidly changing! In his lifetime, cars became as powerful as more than 100 horses; television came to life and went from black and white to color; men
Robin Woods Sumners UTO Change Editor Province VI Representative Communications Convener UTO Change
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A Rainbow For The LiJle Blue Box Beyond every storm is a brilliant rainbow filled with the love and grace of God, as in following every trial, test, stumbling block, disappointment or change, a new beginning arises. In 7me everything must change, but a giled legacy, must be preserved. Whatever the charge or changes in this life7me, we must remember God is the beginning and He is the end. In His grace and mercy He created His children (you and I), so that we might be in rela7onship with Him and in service for others. God wants us to offer our love, life, service and joy therein to Him and our neighbors. Do you know that your neighbors are the individuals who cross your path day to day and not just the people who live in the house next door to you? Do you know that you are charged by the grace of God to love yo u r n e i g h b o rs w i t h o u t co n d i 7 o n s , restric7ons or limita7ons as He loves each one of us? Building one’s rela7onship with God is a day to day ministry, as is the ministry of “UTO”. A ministry built daily through love, prayers, understanding, thankfulness, faith and hope. Love con7nues to strengthen our paths as we give the gil of service to others. Do you know answered prayers allow us to do God’s will? In order to do His will, we must understand the need for service, kindness and compassion, for its cost is very liFle and y e t , t h e r e w a r d s a r e e n o r m o u s . Thankfulness is bestowed through the blessings of the liFle “Blue Box”. The UTO Change
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blessings are the coins placed in the liFle “Blue Boxes” with love and gra7tude. Those blessings are distributed through awarded UTO grants touching lives throughout the world, everyday. May our faith, con7nue to embrace His holiness in the hope to be worthy servants, serving others as we live in the life of service. Living the life of service and mee7ng the compelling needs of others is living a life of significance, purpose and understanding. Those that serve the needs of others are truly blessed. The one served is blessed by the services rendered and the one who serves find life, love and joy in being a servant of God. Service rendered for others is a priceless gil and an act of selflessness. We all hope for the “service of enough”, enough to improve the lives of our brothers and sisters in need. Serving others is an opportunity to make a posi7ve difference in the life of one another. The founda7onal path to peace and joy is to love God, love your neighbor and to serve others. We must love enough to touch the hearts of God and others through service. God’s grace con7nues to finds its way to UTO through prayer and gra7tude. Mercy embodies the strength of prayer, love, thankfulness and the gils of the liFle “Blue Box”, those gils forever our gils to God.
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received. The giled legacy preserved. UTO is looking forward to a future of new 7mes, new technologies and paths filled with prayer, thankfulness, coins for change in the liFle “Blue Box” and the con7nued support of you, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Know that without you, there is no success awai7ng UTO. To you, our brothers and sisters in Christ, we ask for your con7nued support as we take steps towards the rainbow. We the members of the United Thank Offering Board are the ambassadors of the ministry of mission. Mission is the strength of The Episcopal Church. We must be mindful UTO encompasses the same tools needed to build a day to day rela7onship with God. The tools are and the journey is simply built on daily prayer, thankfulness and service to others. Your service, your prayers and your gils of love are needed and will touch a life somewhere around this world everyday! Bless you for your prayers, thankfulness and coins for the liFle “Blue Box”! The members of the United Thank Offering Board applaud your service to others. Please remember the rainbow in the box.
If you are not a follower of UTO or offer daily prayers of thankfulness or extend your gra7tude through the gil of the coins for the liFle “Blue Box”, I would like to leave you with this one ques7on of hope. Will you give of yourself, your prayers and your coins of UTO has transi7oned from the UTO thankfulness in service to others? CommiFee to the United Thank Offering Board. The charge of the INC055 Special Task Strength and Honor, Force -‐ Ad Hoc CommiFee study has been Sarita Redd, UTO Board President 3
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Mauris egestas lacus sit ame Vivamus pulvinar, purus ultricies ultrices ullamcorper, dolor diam euismod nisl, vel consectetuer eros mi sit amet lorem. — Quisque Massa
The Blue Box Enters the Digital Age The first United Offering took place at the Woman’s Auxiliary. The money was to be divided between domes7c and foreign missions. At that 7me, the women called it “box work.” Since 1889, the “United Offering” has only had one name change which was to “The United Thank Offering”, in 1919. To this day, the “Blue Box” is well known and is used throughout the world. There are many “Blue Boxes” of various colors. The older boxes were dark in color. As the years shiled, the Blue Box has been seen becoming brighter and more colorful. Today, the United Thank Offering con7nues to work using the “Blue Box.” Wait! I just received a note! What is it? Oh, no! I heard there may be changes that are about to happen! Everyone, listen! Do you hear anything? Uh, oh! I can’t believe it! There is a huge truck coming down the street. What is it? It doesn’t look like anything I have ever seen. Now they are bringing out a funny piece of equipment. What is it? “Can you see what it is?” It looks like something I have never seen before! It looks like they are bringing in a large machine, and it looks like it’s Digital. Why-‐-‐ are we going digital? The United Thank Offering is about to introduce a new “special box” and a whole new look! The box is special, because it will be done with digital design to enhance the appearance and appeal of the Blue Box. On our new box, there will be a tag line which reads: “Our change changes lives.” The Blue Box is very important to the mission work done by the United Thank Offering. It doesn’t maFer what “your” Blue Box looks like, because no maFer what it looks like, it makes a huge difference in the amount of change collected for its mission.
By Cindy Dillon Province III Rep 4
UTO Change
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Supplies Supplies Supplies You Talked!!! We Listened!!! This is a list of our NEW materials at this @me.
UTO 2012 Grants List (poster)
UTO Pocket Change Purse
UTO Bookmark \(UTO Contact InformaAon English/Spanish)
UTO Litanies-‐English
UTO Prayer Book Volume IV
UTO Bookmark ( Blue Box Mission Statement English/Spanish)
UTO Coordinator's Resource Guide
UTO Post-‐It Notes (10 pack)
UTO Theology of Thankfulness (English/Spanish)
We s7ll have UTO Blue Boxes, UTO Stamps (white and blue). Don't forget our UTO Memorial & Gil Trust Fund brochure (25 pack). When ordering please keep in mind there is a shipping fee. Most of the new materials will be a nominal cost and some are free. Ordering materials: www.episcopalmarketplace.org/products/united-‐thank-‐offering or call 866.937.2772 to order materials. If you are experiencing any problems or difficul7es regarding UTO supplies, please contact Marcie Chérau at marcie4uto@bellsouth.net or Michelle Jobson in the UTO Office at mjobson@episcopalchurch.org. We ask for your con7nued support as we develop more UTO goodies! Thank you so much for your support,
UTO Change
Georgie White Member At Large Asia and Pacific
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UTO In Tanzania A Hospital for Women and Children by Anne Gordon Curran At Large Representative for Africa
St. James Anglican Hospital for Women and Children In the gran7ng session of April 2011, the United Thank Offering Board awarded $43,791.78 to build the first phase of St. James Anglican Hospital for women and children in Dar in Salaam, Tanzania. Dr. Henry Ziegler and his wife, Priscilla (a nurse), were recruited as Episcopal Missionaries in 2005 to revitalize a health program at Buguruni Anglican Health Center. In recrui7ng this couple, Bishop Valen7ne Mokiwa was hoping to find a way to realize his dream to build a hospital focused on women and children and AIDS. The name of the hospital is a memorial to the bishop’s son who died as a child from birth injuries. The Zieglers, from the Church of the Holy Cross, Dun Loring, in the Diocese of Virginia, revitalized the clinic into good working order with a significant increase in pa7ents served from 18 per day in 2005 to 200 or more a day currently. In 2009 Dr. Ziegler met with Dr. Deo Mtasiwa, Chief Medical Officer of Tanzania, who also wanted to see the Buguruni Anglican Health Center develop into a full hospital. With Bishop Mokiwa’s dream and Dr. Mtasiwa’s commitment, the Zieglers moved ahead. Bishop Mokiwa has now become archbishop and his investment of 7me and energy has only intensified, as he is anxious to see the only Chris7an hospital as a resource in an area serving over 4 million people. As in the clinic, no one will be turned away due to an inability to pay, hence serving the poorest of the poor. This hospital is also unique as it is the product of several en77es coming together: the hospital is being built on land owned by the diocese; the government will be providing personnel and funds for medica7ons; and funds from the United Thank Offering are used for construc7on. The grant request was $50,000 and since UTO could not fund the full request, the Zieglers and their team of architects and designers have modified and reconsidered some details to cut costs. To date the hospital is under construc7on with a comple7on projec7on for January 2013. In June 2011 construc7on to modify a shell building originally built with Canadian Anglican money was begun for use as an outpa7ent facility. This was completed in November 2011, approved for use and the first pa7ents seen. It presently is being used for out-‐pa7ent well-‐child, prenatal, postnatal and family planning services while the hospital is being constructed. Another service this hospital will offer is training of local people for jobs in the hospital, so it is a resource for employment. St. James Anglican Hospital will be a vital resource in this part of the world where there is certainly compelling human need. It is already becoming a center where primarily women and children are being served for basic health needs, but these women soon will be able to deliver their babies and have c-‐sec7ons in a hospital with appropriate facili7es and skilled treatment op7ons, and their premature and sick babies will receive much needed medical care. This is an example of how your blessings serve to bless thousands of others well into the future, a place where our change brings change in peoples’ lives. Thanks be to God. 6
UTO change
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Oakerhater Dance Grounds In 2010, the UTO granted Whirlwind Mission and the Oakerhater Dance Grounds $86,000 to restore the Dance Grounds and build a storage building for heavy equipment for maintenance of the site. The UTO Board recently visited the site to see for themselves the finished project. On Saturday, September 8, 2012, the 2012-‐2015 United Thank Offering Board traveled to Watonga, Oklahoma to celebrate the Feast Day of David Pendleton Oakerhater (1847-‐1931) and Na7ve American Ministries in the Diocese of Oklahoma. Oakerhater, a great Cheyenne warrior and leader of the Cheyenne people, in 1985 became the first Na7ve American to be recognized in the Calendar of Saints of The Episcopal Church. The Twenty-‐Sixth Annual Honor Dance and Celebra7on of the Holy Eucharist at the Whirlwind Mission of the Holy Family Episcopal Church highlighted this special day. The Reverend Jim Kee-‐Rees, Vicar of the Whirlwind Mission of the Holy Family Episcopal Church and the Na7ve American Missioner of the Diocese of Oklahoma, warmly greeted the United Thank Offering Board and gave us a tour of the grounds. This site was of par7cular interest to the Board as at this site a sizable UTO grant of over $86,000 was awarded in 2010, to build the Oakerhater Dance Grounds (newly named Junior Starr Memorial Dance Grounds) and a large storage facility to hold heavy equipment. Approximately $57,000 was used to construct the Dance Grounds and to build a permanent covered shelter in the middle of the field for the drummers, and smaller units around the grounds for spectators. The remainder of the grant of $30,000 was used to build the storage unit that was equipped with state of the art electrical fixtures and will also have storage cabinets built on the walls. Church clergy and other area vicars, rectors and priests also greeted the Board. The Right Reverend Edward Konieczny, Bishop, Diocese of Oklahoma, was also present for the fes7vi7es. He as well as The Reverend Jim Kee-‐Rees par7cipated in several of the Na7ve American Spiritual Dances. Following the celebra7on of the Holy Eucharist and Bap7smal Service, the United Thank Offering Board was introduced and each was presented a hand beaded cross. A lovely feast followed the service and was served by guest’s clergy of the Diocese of Oklahoma and members of the church. All in aFendance enjoyed the many Na7ve American dishes. With the Drummers bea7ng the songs in the middle of the Dance Grounds, the Na7ve American dancers displayed their tradi7onal na7ve dancing and lovely costumes with compe77on las7ng well into the night. During the fes7vi7es, raffle 7ckets were available for chances on items such as Pendleton blankets, pain7ngs, handmade shawls, a drum, and 50/50 raffles. The Board returned to St. Crispin’s Conference Center in Wewoka, Oklahoma in the wee hours of the morning. They were 7red but filled with thanksgiving of witnessing a dream become a living reality through the many blue box contribu7ons that comprise a UTO grant. What an opportunity for the United Thank Offering Board to witness the Na7ve American culture and respect for tradi7ons that will con7nue to be a living legacy for genera7ons to come.
UTO Change
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The 2012 -2015 United Thank Offering Board Story by Marcie Cherau, Province IV Representative September 5 -‐10, 2012 the newly formed 2012-‐2015 United Thank Offering Boad held its first mee7ng at St. Crispin’s Conference Center in Wewoka, Oklahoma. Eight Province Representa7ves as well as three Members At Large were in aFendance. During the week mee7ng they were joined by Connie Skidmore, UTO Parliamentarian and Sam McDonald, DFMS Director of Mission. The major purpose of the first mee7ng was an orienta7on for the Board, a 7me for the new Board to get to know each other and to begin to work together for the good and beFerment of UTO. Connie Skidmore spent much 7me with the Board on Parliamentary Prac7ces and Roberts Rules of Order as well as orien7ng the Board especially the new members to UTO Policies and Procedures. Sam McDonald met the Board and shared his philosophy on life, rela7onships, percep7ons and reality, and reconcilia7on. Ul7mately through UTO gils we all are helping others and reconciling the world through the Love of Jesus Christ. Sam was inspiring as well as encouraging. UTO President, Sarita Redd, from Oklahoma City, will con7nue to serve in that office for the next three years. Officers elected at the first mee7ng, Anne Gordon Curran, Vice President, Virginia; Lois Johnson Rodney, Finance Officer, New York and Renee Haney, Secretary, Texas. President Redd announced the commiFee assignments which are: Communica7on CommiFee Convener, Robin Woods Sumners; Con7nuing Review CommiFee Convener, Georgie White; Covenant Network CommiFee Convener, Blanca Echeverry; Diocesan Network CommiFee Convener, Barbara Schafer; ECW/UTO Joint CommiFee Convener, Marcie Chérau; Face to Face CommiFee Convener, Renee Haney; Finance CommiFee Convener, Lois Johnson Rodney; and Grant CommiFee Convener, Barbi Tinder. On Saturday, September 8, 2012, the Board traveled to the Oakerhater Episcopal Center in Watonga, Oklahoma. This UTO grant site received a sizable award to preserve the Oakerhater Dance Grounds. The Board received an invita7on to process from the holy grounds of the Oakerhater Episcopal Center to the nave of the Whirlwind Mission of the Holy Family Episcopal Church. They witnessed a meaningful Eucharist and Bap7smal Service, received hand beaded crosses, served a lovely Na7ve American dinner, toured the storage barn and observed the Twenty-‐Sixth Annual Na7ve American Celebratory Dance in honor of The Reverend David Pendleton Oakerhater, a saint from Oklahoma in Holy Women, Holy Men. The Board aFended church service on Sunday, September 9, 2012, at Santa Maria Virgen Episcopal Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Each Board member was presented a rose and hand wriFen acknowledgement from the youth in recogni7on and gra7tude for the UTO gils and service to the greater church. The Board members were also guests for lunch and fellowship following the service. The new grant cycle was announced. Grant informa7on will be posted November 1, 2012; on January 1, 2013 the online applica7on will be available and the gran7ng period will run un7l February 28, 2013. A new Logo has been developed and will be displayed in the ensuing months through new leFerhead and the “Blue Box.”
Anne Gordon Curran
Renee Haney
In sagittis velit ut est ultrices sollicitudin. Donec a purus mollis dui fermentum ornare. Vestibulum viverra condimentum diam. Aenean aliquam, diam id dignissim accumsan,
Sarita Redd 8
Lois Johnson Rodney
Barbi Tinder UTO Change
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United Thank Offering Reborn Grace Church and St.Stephen’s Colorado Springs, Colorado A story by Nel Benton-Hough, UTO Coordinator, Grace Church and UTO Coordinator Diocese of Colorado
Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church will participate in the United Thank Offering with a fall and spring ingathering for the first time in many years. The United Thank Offering is a program of the Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole Church, founded by and administered by women since 1889. The mission of the United Thank Offering is to expand the circle of thankful people: to encourage and raise the consciousness of the whole church to the daily discipline of offering thanks to God and gifts of thanksgiving. These gifts of thanksgiving-‐coins and bills placed in the UTO Blue Boxes–from each individual are combined with others at the parish and diocesan celebrations and lastly with the whole Episcopal Church. Each year the gifts are given as grants for projects throughout the Anglican Communion. These grants continue to support and strengthen the mission and ministry of the Church throughout the world. The first United Thank Offering was in 1889. It began as part of Missionary efforts of the Women’s Auxiliary to the Board of Mission, authorized by the General Convention in 1871. Julia Emery, secretary to the Women’s Auxiliary, and Ida Soule inspired women to connect giving thanks and giving money with the intention of building a new church in Anvik, Alaska and sending a woman missionary to Japan. At the 1889 Triennial Meeting, the united offering was $2,188.64 and accomplished those purposes. Now each parish has a UTO coordinator, as does each diocese.Coordinators assure that the offering travel to the correct place to become part of the funds to be granted each year. Originally, a national UTO committee, approved at the 1970 Triennial, was selected each triennium and included representatives from the nine provinces of the Episcopal Church and three at large elected members. The UTO committee establishes and publishes goals, guidelines and criteria for grants. Since 1989, committee expenses have been paid through trust fund earnings. 100% of every coin and dollar of the offerings is granted out! In 2009, the UTO Committee became the United Thank Offering Board of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (known to most as The Episcopal Church.) The work of UTO is supported by two staff members at the Church Center, 815 Second Avenue in New York. Since 2000, UTO has granted funds requested to Diocese of Colorado of $227,979.00. For you to get an idea of what the grants were for, here is a summary of some of the ten grants: purchased a 15 passenger van to transport homeless people to jobs, medical and other appointments; conversion of an historic rectory to be a fully accessible community center; helped to build a library in Malawi and shipped a container full of books; plumbing to expand water for a community giving garden; construction of a new wing of St. Paul’s school, which added a bathroom with running water in Haiti; expanded a kitchen to serve community meals; development of Godly Play in Spanish; responding to survivors of sexual abuse and training of faith communities about the spiritual needs of these people; and expansion of music component of an afternoon and summer program for at risk children. I am deeply grateful to God for each of you in the Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church family. It is indeed a good and right thing to give praise and thanks to God, always. Please consider stuffing your nickels, dimes, quarters and dollar bills into UTO boxes, as a way of giving thanks to God and sharing of your blessings.
Diocese of Colorado Grants have included Godly Play Training in Spanish; a library for the companion Diocese of Malawi; environmental educaAon through St. Brigit's Garden; a cafeteria for a Colorado HaiA Project children’s school UTO Change
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NEWS FROM THE DIOCESES! Here is some fun news from Iowa. I have a tale I hope you will share with all the province coordinators and I hope they in turn share it with the diocesan coordinators. I'm embarrassed to tell you that at Diocesan Convention 2010 a grand total of $14 and change was thankfully dropped in the UTO boxes on the delegate and visitor tables in the plenary session room. How ridiculous is that? Our usual convention ingathering was in the $250 range. I talked with my bishop over the summer and we came up with a plan. At Bishop Scarfe's place on the dais was a UTO box containing plenty of coins, which he rattled 3 times during the two-day convention. I wrote three UTO facts, which his assistant included in his copy of the agenda. He read these while waiting for people to get to the microphone, etc. On the delegate and visitor tables were UTO boxes—but not the boxes you are picturing. I cut 4" x 1" slits in 38 shoe boxes and my spouse and I spray painted them blue. I was allotted five minutes to talk about UTO. I did not have a citation to present; it was Sat. afternoon. I used 3 min, reminding attendees that while the benefit of thankful living is UTO offering life enhancing grants, the real benefit is the discipline of living in gratitude. Then I announced that the Fri. ingathering was over $600 (we finished out convention with $900 total being given) and we prayed the UTO prayer. Lessons learned: 1) Marketing works; 2) Bishop Scarfe making 3 brief announcements works;3) Larger opening in the box invited bills; 4) $28 (4 cans) of spray paint was a worthwhile investment! 5) When the UTO box is redesigned the slip must be much larger to accommodate/invite paper money! (And, Monday morning I received an email from a 24-year-old who is a member of a brand new parish asking to be their UTO coordinator.)
Autumn blessings to you. Kate Rose. UTO Coordinator, Diocese of Iowa 10
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LEARNING THE VALUE OF AN ORDERLY BOARD A perspec>ve from Connie Skidmore; UTO Board Parliamentarian
What could St. Paul and Robert's Rules of Order possibly have in common? 1Corinthians 14:33 states, "For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace"; 1 Corinthians 14:40 adds, "But everything shall be done in a fi{ng and orderly way". Paul, of course, speaks about Chris7an conduct one with another. Robert's Rules of Order (RONR) is a book wriFen to address orderly and proper conduct within socie7es and organiza7ons. The basic objec7ve is the same -‐ our individual and corporate behavior. The new United Thank Offering Board recently met for its orienta7on which included a complete reading and review of it's governing documents with aFending Board members. Included in the review were the Bylaws of the UTO Board, the Board's Policies and Procedures, its Orienta7on Handbook, and several Board CommiFee handbooks. Par7cipa7on on the UTO Board, as on any organiza7on's governing body, requires a thorough understanding and commitment to adhere to its governing documents. Thus, a Board is introduced to what rules it will follow, what responsibili7es it is to undertake and in what manner each Board member is expected to be in compliance. In addi7on, it is necessary to establish mee7ng procedures to carry out the business of the UTO Board -‐ which is where a parliamentary authority and specially adopted rules of order are u7lized. The UTO Board has adopted the use of the current edi7on of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised in its Bylaws. Therefore, it is necessary for all Board members to become familiar with RONRs basic parliamentary procedure. This includes learning how to make mo7ons, debate, offer amendments to mo7ons, correctly present commiFee reports, and gain knowledge of other proper mee7ng e7queFe, all of which contribute to a produc7ve and orderly Board. T h e U n i t e d T h a n k O ff e r i n g B o a r d Parliamentarian, schooled in RONR, par7cipates in the Board orienta7on and is involved in leadership training. She works closely with the UTO Board President on mee7ng protocol and is charged with seeing that the tools of parliamentary procedure, as put forth in RONR, are used by Board members in all their mee7ngs. Thus, the 2012-‐2015 United Thank Offering Board is engaged in learning many things as it moves forward into this triennium, most especially about how to become a well organized, purposeful and hard working Board.
Love can build a bridge between your heart and mine-Love can build a bridge--Don’t you think it’s time? Don’t you think it’s time? The Judds 1990
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InformaAon Please When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well, the polished old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it. Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person--her name was "Information, Please" and there was nothing she did not know. "Information, Please" could supply anybody's number and the correct time. My first personal experience with this genie-in the-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible but there didn't seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information, Please," I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear, "Information." "I hurt my finger," I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience. "Isn't your mother home?" came the question. "Nobody's home but me." I blubbered. "Are you bleeding?" the voice asked. "No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts." "Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could. "Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice. After that, I called "Information, Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told text me Type to enter where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk, that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called "Information, Please" and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual things grown-ups say to soothe a child, but I was inconsolable. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?" She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone. "Information, Please." "Information," said the now familiar voice. "How do you spell fix?" I asked. UTO Change
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All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information, Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home, and I somehow never thought of trying the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy. A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information, Please." Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information." I hadn't planned this but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?" There was a long pause. Then came the soft-spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now." I laughed. "So it's really still you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?" "I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me? I never had any children, and I used to look forward to your calls." I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister. "Please do," she said. "Just ask for Sally." Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "Information." I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?" she asked. "Yes, a very old friend," I answered. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally has been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago." Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute. Did you say your name was Paul?" "Yes," I replied. "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you." The note said, "Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean." I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant. Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched today? Original Story by Paul Villiard First Published in Reader’s Digest June, 1966, retold here by Barbara Schafer; Province VIII-‐-‐Spiritual Editor
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Photography by Barbi Tinder -2012
UNITED THANK OFFERING BOARD CALENDAR September 5 -‐ 10, 2012 Board MeeAng St. Crispin’s Conference Center Diocese of Oklahoma First Organizing MeeAng of Triennium January 1 -‐ February 28, 2013 Grant Applica@ons Accepted On Line January 18-‐22, 2013 Board MeeAng Duncan Conference Center Diocese of Southeast Florida Grant Training MeeAng March 7-‐10, 2013 Grants CommiJee MeeAng Diocese of Atlanta Grant ApplicaAon Review March 14-‐15, 2013 Members-‐At-‐Large MeeAng The Episcopal Church Center, New York April 3-‐6. 2013 Episcopal Communicators Conference San Diego, California May 2-‐7, 2013 Board MeeAng Roslyn Conference Center Diocese of Virginia Grant Awards MeeAng June , 2013 Grant Awards Announced July 26-‐28, 2013 Face to Face Workshop Camp Allen Diocese of Texas Diocesan Coordinator Training Sept 26 -‐30, 2013 Board MeeAng Rolling Ridge Conf Center Diocese of MassachuseJs 2014 and Triennial Planning UTO Change Fall 2012