Being The Church For Our Time

BEING THE CHURCH FOR OUR TIME

Our faith invites us to remember how urgently it matters that we show up, and be the church – not just for the rest of the world, but for ourselves. Not just for ourselves, but for and with something greater. Because without the people being the church, there is no church….In these days of disruption and destruction, we must give thanks that we survived. And, survival is too small of a dream for our big faith . On these days, we must build a bigger dream for our world, and for ourselves.

- Rev. Gretchen Haley, at the UUA General Assembly June 2022

Foothills Unitarian Church 1815 Yorktown Ave. Fort Collins, CO 80526

From Foothills Leadership Team

Dear Ones,

It is hard to believe that just one year ago we were planning and preparing for our return to in-person worship services. It’s hard to remember that even the first few months of this year - 2022 - were spent entirely online as we navigated through the Omicron wave of the pandemic. Sometimes we forget just how much change we have been through and how disruptive the pandemic has been to our individual and collective lives.

It also means it's easy to take for granted the care, intention, and stewardship it has taken to get here. The tenderness of caring listeners reaching out week after week. The innovation and the challenges of online services. The steadfast presence of small groups who have supported each other through everything - Circle gatherings, Journey Groups, Wellspring, Sisterhood, Youth Group, earth-based practices, and so many others, formal and informal. The commitment racial, climate, immigration, and economic justice and peace pushing us to be for more than just ourselves. The financial generosity of so many has sustained our church and allowed us to support our partners in the wider community. Thank you!

As we emerge from the impact of the pandemic, we know the world has never needed our message and mission more than it does today.

With the rise of white nationalism and anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric, the cracks in our democracy, and the threat of the climate crisis - all within the context of the global pandemic that has caused so much loss, pain, and loneliness - the world needs our strength in community. We need our strength in community.

At the same time, we also recognize that there is a lot that needs rebuilding and resetting to ensure we can meet this moment with the same creativity, leadership, and vision we have had over our 125-year history.

To start, we need to rebuild and reset our shared ministry. Patterns of volunteering in partnership shifted over the pandemic. As we have returned to in-person ministries, we need to invite you, our congregation, to renew your commitment to show up with your time and your gifts to be the church now

Perhaps before the pandemic, you were part of the Sunday morning hospitality team, but now you feel called to be part of our climate justice team. Or maybe, you have experienced the gifts of our caring team, and now you’d like to be a part of offering that goodness to others by joining our meal team. Wherever your heart calls you, we ask everyone to find their place in our shared ministry. It is by each of us taking up a piece of the work that we are able to truly live into our mission and vision.

Alongside rebuilding our partnership in service, we also need to rebuild our financial giving. While giving was strong in 2020, by the end of 2021, our pledge base was no longer sustaining our current budget. This was primarily due to pausing pledge campaigns for two years and people’s giving being diverted to the capital campaign. Growing inflation also exacerbated the budget gap.

We have drawn on some of our savings and COVID relief from the federal government to maintain our ministries at the current level, but this is not sustainable beyond this church year. If we are going to sustain our current operations, let alone grow to meet future needs, we will need everyone to help make that possible through increased financial support.

From Foothills Leadership Team

The risk in laying out our needs for greater partnership in both volunteer service and financial giving is that we inadvertently diminish the serving and giving that exists and that has existed so powerfully, especially over the last few years.

It is because there has been such a steadfast presence and commitment from you, our congregation, that we can imagine not only surviving this time of disruption but can also build a bigger dream for our world and for ourselves.

Our faith invites us to remember how urgently it matters that we show up, and be the church – not just for the rest of the world but for ourselves. Not just for ourselves but for and with something greater. Because without the people being the church, there is no church.

This is why we invite you to take time now to look through the following pages and take in both the power of who we are now and the possibilities for our future when we come together and deepen our commitment to being the church for our time.

Just as we have throughout our history, we will rebuild, and we will grow.

We will make space in our hearts and in our literal building for a bigger community.

We will grow a bigger movement for justice and liberation, and we will grow in our sense of truth and in partnership with courageous love.

And through it all, we will strengthen our community, support each other as we heal and repair all that has been lost or come undone, centering joy, gratitude, and kindness in all we do.

With gratitude and in partnership, Foothills’ Board of Trustees in partnership with Rev. Gretchen Haley and the Foothills’ staff team

Strengthen Community

We are strengthening our community through deepened relationships, a commitment to care, and an ongoing practice of community-based spiritual growth.

Our congregation is a source of connection and care for hundreds of people every year - an especially powerful witness in a world where so many people are lonely and isolated.

In the last year, over 700 people participated in small groups, yielding spiritual deepening and friendship. These groups were sometimes shortterm, such as Journey Groups or online breakout groups. Some required more sustained commitment, such as our Wellspring groups or Earth Based path. Some were age/stage-specific, such as our Sisterhood groups, our Tangled Blessings grief group, or our group for parents of neurodivergent/disabled children. And some were focused on conversation and shared learning, such as our Joseph Priestly Salon and our Adult Discussion group.

I came to Foothills for many reasons: looking for connection, for community, for opportunities for service, for ways to share my deeper side. I soon discovered that Foothills offered so many opportunities for all these things, especially through numerous small groups. I’ve found small groups to be such a great way to get to know people and develop friendships. Whether it’s working next to someone in the kitchen, sharing in a book discussion, helping out with our mobile Food Bank, talking about the Sunday Service in a Journey Group, there are so many simple ways to become engaged. The rewards for me have been far, far greater than I could have imagined.

MARY KLECAN

Over the same time period, 270 children and youth participated in Family Ministry programming - everything from our amazing comprehensive sexuality education (OWL) to our summer camps to our gatherings for our parent community. We have been there for and with families to emerge postpandemic, to heal, and to find our way forward.

It has been a challenge for all of us to emerge post-pandemic. Many of us are facing mental health challenges, and many of us are experiencing grief and loss. In 2021, our caring network provided over 600 acts of care, from meal trains to dog walking to hospital visits to rides to a listening ear.

We have also begun regathering for social events. Over 50 seniors gather monthly for our Social Senior Potluck, and our Slightly Senior Sisterhood had their largest attendance ever (over 50 women!) at their July 2022 luncheon. We are also preparing to relaunch a men’s group, and are thrilled our Buckhorn family retreat returned this year for the first time since 2019! A group of 50 Foothills folk will also be going to the Grand Canyon in November for our first ever week-long community spiritual retreat.

Birding and Bagels, hosted by Climate Justice Ministry

Blessing of the Animals at June 2022 Summer Camp

Strengthen Community

With increased uncertainty in the world today, the need for a purposeful community you can count on is essential . No matter what comes your way or what's going on in the world, you can know you won't have to go it alone. We're here with you every step of the way.

To continue to strengthen our community in these ways, we recognize that we will need to:

1. Continue to train, equip and support small group leaders and caring team members: The best way to reach our full community is to equip our community to care for each other. Our small group leaders and caring team members have been critical partners in reaching our over 1200 active community members throughout the last few years as life continues in all of its tangled blessings. The training and support needed to sustain our lay leaders and listeners is not a one-time event. Robust caring and small group ministries that can meet the ongoing and evolving needs of our congregation and larger community require ongoing support from our ministers, specifically Rev. Elaine who oversees pastoral care in our congregation, as well as from expert consultants in grief, relationship repair, mental health, and economic resources in our community.

2. Growing our resources for parents and youth: Children, youth, and their parents are experiencing significant stress as they emerge from the pandemic. Many teens are reporting mental health challenges, and parents feel isolated and exhausted. Additionally, many parents are concerned with the conversation around public schools, specifically the censorship of anti-racist education and LGBTQ+ information and representation in the classroom.

Parents are looking to our congregation to be a place that can supplement their children’s education and overall sense of belonging through programs for our children, youth, and families focused on anti-racism and anti-oppression, as well as the continued expansion of our OWL (Our Whole Lives) offerings. From True You (group for gender-diverse kids and their families) to The Gift of Different Abilities (group for parents of neurodivergent/disabled kids) to Parent Circles (gatherings for parents to connect together), we're growing our resources for families. Growing these resources requires continued investment in our religious education staff, curriculum, training, and program lay leaders and teachers.

2022 MLK Jr. Day March

We are so grateful that the church quickly adapted to online, including separate zoom spaces for kids. This provided a much-needed respite for adults to continue spiritual development and receive support, while also anchoring our kids in their own community. Family Ministries did an amazing job of really seeing parents and helping us to feel seen during the pandemic, which was especially hard during the days of online schooling and working from home.

SALLY HARRIS

3. Replenish our operational reserves: Our operational reserves fund diminished in the last year due to a lack of sufficient pledge funding in 2021. In uncertain times, costs can arise suddenly and unexpectedly. The need to have income (cash flow) available to respond to changing times has always existed to some extent but is especially essential now with fluctuating prices of goods and services. As we continue to navigate building construction and transitioning into the new building, a solid operating reserve fund is critical. For our institutional health and stability, it is vital we replenish these funds.

Build A Movement

We are growing our movement of courageous love to meet the current moment in all of its challenges and possibilities.

Foothills has a long legacy of working for social change and collective justice.

In the 1930s, when there was an influx of migrant workers coming to work in sugar beet fields in Northern Colorado, our members worked to secure housing for the workers and helped establish a day school that provided lunch and support. They also persuaded the local newspaper to stop printing the word "Mexican" after names on police records.

In the 1960s, members marched in Selma and registered Black voters in Mississippi.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, we demonstrated for peace, marched against Islamophobia, and established an ESL program to support local immigrants in partnership with Plymouth Congregational Church and La Familia.

With initial fundraising from the Foothills community and an agreement for Foothills to be the fiscal sponsor, the Emergency Immigration Fund (EIF) launched in August 2017.

Over the next three years, we helped EIF grow into the primary crisis support for immigrants in Northern Colorado. During the pandemic, EIF distributed $800,000 to immigrants in need. In 2021, EIF achieved growth and stability that allowed the fund to transition to fiscal independence. EIF is now its own 501(c)(3) led by members of the immigrant and Latinx communities.

In 2020, we partnered with The BIPOC Alliance as their fiscal sponsor and share building resources to provide the organization with office and event space.

In 2021, we played a crucial role in launching the Vaccine Equity Coalition, a grassroots effort to improve access to the COVID-19 vaccine in BIPOC and Latinx communities.

At our 2021 Annual Congregational Meeting, we passed the 8th (antiracism) Principle. Our congregation also unanimously voted to support universal single-payer healthcare. We began intentionally reorienting our justice teams towards an intersectional approach, with each justice effort coordinating and collaborating rather than competing for attention or resources.

Foothills members march for peace in 1991

Ingrid Escalada Torres finds sanctuary from deportation at Foothills

Build A Movement

Today, we are responding to the rise in anti-LGBT+ violence and legislation with our Be More Gay movement, which centers LGBT+ youth and their families and LGBT+ BIPOC communities.

We are also channeling our collective rage in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade into change by forming a Reproductive Justice team. This team of nearly 30 Foothills members has already launched a wide variety of initiatives:

We are expanding our comprehensive sexuality education program further into the community and for more ages (including adults).

We are forming an interfaith spiritual care program to companion people seeking services at Planned Parenthood.

We are directly supporting the efforts of UU congregations in more conservative areas, such as Grand Junction, Colorado, and Casper and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

We are responding to the call that climate justice is a defining justice and survival issue of our time by committing to Green Sanctuary 2030, a multi-year program that will engage the Foothills congregation in personal and community actions that focus on climate justice, resilience, and mitigation strategies honoring the interconnected web of life.

We continue to strengthen our commitment to practices of restorative justice and peace-making both locally and globally, including:

enhanced connections with The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, a non-profit, nonsectarian associate member of the Unitarian Universalist Association,

support for immigrants through partnership with ISAAC and our Sanctuary Everywhere Program, and

commitment to economic justice through our service with Faith Family Hospitality, Habitat for Humanity and our twice monthly mobile Food Pantry.

Members of the Youth Group serve at the mobile food pantry on our church campus

Foothills Be More Gay movement at Pride 2022

Build A Movement

The call for community-fueled justice work may never have been louder than it is now. Our world needs a movement of people standing together in progressive values and taking tangible action for change.

All of these actions and teams are made possible in the following ways in our congregation:

1. Ministerial Leadership, Worship, and Intersectional Justice Work: The movement for justice and courageous love begins and is sustained through our Sunday morning services. The efforts to sustain our Sunday services are significant, especially as we attempt to reach our communities both online and in person, meet the needs of both longtime members and newcomers, and meet the needs of families with younger children.

Additionally, our justice and service work becomes more impactful, spiritually grounded, and integrated when it is fully led and supported by our ministers. In 2021, we were unable to provide any cost of living increase for our two called ministers, and we have reduced ministerial staffing by 20 hours a week (.5 FTE) since Rev. Kristen Psaki left in August 2020. (Rev. Elaine Aron Tenbrink is half-time). To sustain and grow our movement, we need to invest in our ministerial leadership by ensuring our ministers are paid fairly and generously. In the coming year, we also need to increase ministerial support through the addition of an intern.

2. Enhanced and Fully Integrated Music Ministries: Music is one of the best ways to build a movement. It connects us as a whole community and with a more deeply held sense of mission and purpose. We are thrilled to have hired a new full-time Music Director this year, alongside a more regular professional pianist/choral accompanist. These staff members will ensure that music can be increasingly integrated into our congregational life, including through the relaunching of our Foothills choir - an important part of our church that was particularly difficult to sustain through the pandemic. While we were able to fundraise sufficiently to initiate these hires, in order to sustain their work with us, we need increased investment from our community that provides year-round, full-time compensation and professional development for our music staff.

3. Facility Support and Event Coordination and Promotion: Gatherings, events, and educational workshops will require facility support, event coordination, and overall promotion as we transition through the active construction phase and into our new building. This requires staff time, maintenance, and building management costs - costs that will increase as our square footage increases. We are excited that our space could also be a resource for other organizations that share our values, but this too requires facility support and active coordination.

Rev. Sean is pelted by marshmallow peeps on Easter

Rev. Gretchen preaches to a rapt audience at our 10 AM intergenerational service

Make Space

We are making space for growth in numbers and in spiritual well-being through our building expansion and by strengthening our shared ministry.

We are a community committed to making space physically and emotionally for all who join in our covenant, and who will partner with us in our work of unleashing courageous love.

This commitment includes our decades-long welcome to LGBTQ+ people, as well as our work for immigration and racial justice and equality throughout our history. It also includes our practices of hospitality and welcome for all newcomers, and it is the driving force behind our decision to expand our sanctuary from 150 seats to 400.

Here’s just a sampling of the growing engagement we’ve seen in 2021-22:

In 2021, 1,000 unique people joined us for worship in person and online, and in just the first six months of 2022, 678 unique people joined us for online worship.

In 2021, we welcomed 297 newcomers, and, as of Summer 2022, we are welcoming 20 or more newcomers every week!

Downloads of The Foothills Deeper Podcast are up 55% year-over-year and average over 800 downloads monthly. We had over 41,000 views on YouTube in 2021.

In July 2022, we hosted our first in-person Basecamp (our workshop for newcomers) since the pandemic, and 27 newcomers participated.

In 2021, nearly 200 people engaged in Racial Justice work, and we housed 38 people experiencing homelessness in our building.

Over 30 kids and parents are currently engaged with True You, our group for gender-expansive, trans, nonbinary kids and their families, and are receiving support, resources, connection, and affirmation.

I am extremely grateful for the ways Foothills kept us connected during this crazy and difficult time. It started with circles, where I developed a very good relationship with a couple from that group. I then joined the Caste Book Discussion. As a Latina woman, racism is a never-ending experience for me, and I thought sharing my experiences with racism would help others see things from my perspective. Our weekly conversations were robust, thought-provoking & enlightening for all of us. I look forward to joining other book groups, especially with subjects that are near & dear to me.

COLÓN (newcomer in 2020)

24 new members officially joined our congregation on August 28, 2022

Foothills celebrates Pride in 1994

Make Space

To sustain and grow these ministries of welcome and hospitality, we are:

1. Expanding our physical building : In 2019, we conducted a successful $6 million initial capital campaign, which gave us the confidence to move forward with the first phase of our project: a 400-seat new sanctuary building. In June 2022, we finally broke ground on our new sanctuary. However, the increased cost of labor, supplies and interest rates have increased the overall cost of our project by approximately $900K. With construction underway, we all need to look again at our financial giving to ensure we do not take on long-term debt that overwhelms our budget and prevents us from prioritizing our ministries.

2. Continually investing in digital tools and growing systems for online engagement: Pre-pandemic, we were already well-invested in a tech-forward experience for our community. During the pandemic, our congregation was a leader in offering online ministries. However, we are just beginning to understand what it means to provide truly multi-platform ministries in a post-pandemic world. That is, an integrated experience where people can join us online and/or in person for pretty much any part of our congregational life. We are learning what software and hardware we need and how to use these tools to prioritize our mission and the needs of our community. This investment means that when our members move outside of Northern Colorado, they have the option to maintain their membership with Foothills, and it means that those who are local can experience Foothills in the way most of us experience life today - as an integrated online and in-person experience based on our preferences and personal needs.

3. Re-building and strengthening our ministries for newcomers: We are currently welcoming 20 or more newcomers every Sunday morning. Many are responding to our LGBTQ+ welcome, anti-racist commitments, and our support of reproductive justice and comprehensive sex education. These initial impressions are not enough to truly welcome and integrate new folks into our community. We need to rebuild our ministries for and with our newest community members. We need to help people find their way into relationship and service within our community. This requires specialized staffing and intentional systems and practices supported by our congregation. All of this requires an investment of financial giving and active volunteers to support this important area of our congregational life.

The new 400-seat sanctuaryView of the building expansion from Drake Road

Funding Details

To strengthen our community, build a movement, and make space in all the ways we’ve described, we will need to raise a total of $1.3 million in NEW giving over the next two years.

This 1.3 million in new giving breaks down in the following ways:

1. 2022 Operational Close-the-Gap Funding: $67,000. To close the gap in this year’s budget, and prevent further use of reserve funds, we need to raise an additional $67,000 beyond what is currently pledged before December.

2. Operational Reserves Replenishment: $100,000. To replenish our reserves and ensure we can fund our expenses regardless of when during the year people pay their pledges, we need one-time donations of $100,000 before the end of 2023.

3. Operational Increase for Budget Year 2023: $130,000. Our pledge giving for Fiscal Year 2022 is approximately $630,000. In order to sustain our current staffing levels, support the facility and tech needs of our community, and keep up with the rising cost of goods and services, we need an increase of at least $130,000 in our pledge base for 2023 and beyond. This would result in approximately a $750,000 to $800,000 in annual pledging, which is our largest source of income. This requires that everyone active at Foothills in any way make a financial commitment to sustain our budget and that everyone who is already giving does what they can to increase their pledge. Ultimately, without an increase of at least $130,000 to our pledge base, we will need to look at reducing our staff, which will also reduce our capacity to sustain current ministries. It will likely mean choosing to provide either in-person or online services rather than both, narrowing the scope of our justice efforts, and decreasing support for group leaders. This is exactly the opposite of what our mission and vision asks of us. It's difficult to talk about, but we do want to be clear with you about the reality of our need for funding.

4. Building Expansion Funding: $1 million. To cover the rising cost of goods and services, as well as to prevent unnecessary costs related to high-interest rates, we need to raise an additional $1 million for our capital campaign fund, to be paid by the end of 2024. While we are not in danger of not completing the building, without this additional funding we risk being overburdened by mortgage payments post-construction, which would have to be paid by our operational budget, therefore requiring a reduction in programs and ministries.

We invite you to join us and make a commitment now for the rest of this year and beyond. Together, we can live our mission of unleashing courageous love in Northern Colorado. We can strengthen our community, build a bigger movement to meet this moment in history, and make space to grow in numbers and spiritual well-being.

foothillsuu.org/pledge.

visit foothills.love

2022-2023 Board of Trustees Walter Nash, President Andrea Delorey, Vice President Mary Klecan, Treasurer Linda Kothera, Secretary Sue Bloomfield Diana Hutchinson Richie Nelsen

Ministers Rev. Gretchen Haley, Lead Minister

Rev. Sean Neil-Barron, Associate Minister Rev. Elaine Aron-Tenbrink, Assistant Minister

Staff

Katie Watkins, Director of Finance & Operations Benjamin Hanson, Director of Music Eleanor VanDeusen, Director of Family Ministry Kelsey DiAstra, Creative & Communications Manager Lauren Farley, Family Ministry & Engagement Manager

Jenn Powell, Events & Operations Manager Holly Ayala, Facilities Coordinator Jenna Keim, Administrative Coordinator Vanessa Way, Bookkeeper