Our Amazing Youth

One of the wonders of First Church occurred this past Sunday: our annual Youth Service. This is the day when our 10th-12th grade youth conduct the entire service, and when our seniors stand before us and reflect on their time at First Church. I was lucky enough to attend both the 9 and 11am services, and left church feeling very proud, and completely drained emotionally.

I was proud that our church community participates so fully in the raising of our youth to be good citizens in this world. From the time our little ones enter the church and are welcomed into our First Friends group, through our Children’s RE program where they learn the pillars of our faith, begin to become aware of our church as a home to social justice, investigate neighboring faiths, and learn about human sexuality and relationships, to Coming of Age where they reflect on their spiritual beliefs, to Youth Group, where they learn how to organize events, worship profoundly, work for a cause, and teach others about important social issues, our children are taught values we hold dear. The Youth Service is always proof to me that we as a church community are doing this work well.

This year's Youth Group in Tucson

In her most recent newsletter article, Julie Franzini quoted one of these wise youth: “Youth Group is a microcosm of the church…and the church is a microcosm of how we want the world to be.” I can’t imagine a more desirable description of a church community.

Stewardship means making sure core programs like these are supported on many levels to keep them strong for future generations. Feel free to share what motivates you to support First Church, and please remember to send in your pledge if you haven't already!

Guidelines for Giving: Making Your Annual Financial Commitment to First Church

We hope you’ve received your stewardship packet in the mail (if you haven’t received yours, please e-mail Bruce Kozuma), and that you’re seriously considering increasing your pledge amount this year to help the Church reach its fund raising goal of $532,000. If each member and friend makes his or her best pledge, we'll achieve this goal together.

We thought we’d offer some additional giving guidelines for those who are interested. Last year, we decided not to include a giving chart in our materials because some parishioners felt it was inappropriate. Other people have given us feedback that they missed the chart. If you are new to First Church pledging, these guides may be especially helpful.

This is the guide we’ve used most recently.  It suggests giving guidelines based on your annual household income, combined with your level of commitment to the Church. Many people use this guide to plan what they can give now, and what they hope to give in the future.
(click the chart to see a larger version)

The UUA has published a very different chart that many UU churches use. This chart may seem a little unrealistic to many of us, but in fact, many of us pledge at these levels, and it helps us to know that these are the giving goals of many of our sister churches. This chart was created because fundraisers acknowledge that asking for a percentage increase across all income levels is not realistic; it is often possible for those with higher income levels to increase their giving at higher levels.
(click the chart to see a larger version)

We’d like to hear what you think. Do you like to have a giving chart as a reference? Which chart do you prefer?

For those of you who have already submitted your pledge for next year, we are deeply grateful. If these guides motivate you to increase your pledge, please do. You may make your pledge online, or view stewardship materials at the Stewardship page of the First Church website. Thank you for your support!