Our congregation’s Annual Meeting is Sunday, June 4th after the service. All are welcome to attend and only members can vote. A Budget Town Hall was held on Thursday May 25th live and via Zoom.

Thinking of the budget reminds me of this spring’s “Joy of Giving” stewardship campaign at UU Danbury, of what we give, what we receive, and our future hopes. In May, the six of us on the Board of Trustees called UU Danbury members who might have forgotten to pledge. Most of us are not on the Stewardship Committee, but pledging is so vital for planning our future that each Board member made calls.

Officially, the pledge campaign is over. Pledging is required of members, but anyone can pledge. I pledged before becoming a member, because I felt grateful and wanted to help support this congregation even if I did not know what ‘signing the book’ meant – unusual? Who knows. If you have somehow missed out on pledging, here is a link. Pledging can be a year round event.

As we recuperate from Covid-19 disruptions, I still miss seeing people who are out of the habit of coming, but understand it. This year’s Sunday services, our dedicated staff, the efforts of many volunteers, community dinners, social action projects, Music at the Ridge concerts, OWL education for middle and high school aged young people, the work of the Social Action Council, and an auction that funded social action organizations and sparked creative opportunities and projects, are some of the things I am grateful for.

Last year the corrugated cardboard ship in Fellowship Hall reminded us of the pledge campaign. It looked unseaworthy, yet the pledges poured in. On March 26th, Rev. Kathleen inspired us about “The Joy of Giving”. Joy is more abstract – there was no cardboard vessel – only our grateful hearts. Thank you.