Moving On

by Geoff Sanders on 5/1/2025

This will be my last Stewardship Blog article for awhile, but I encourage all members to write your own thoughts about our church, why you feel it is important, and what you think we should aspire for in the future.

I first joined Tapestry in 1996 when my daughters were little. They are adults now, and I have a granddaughter who is attending Emerson UU Church. How times have changed. This church has definitely been a highpoint in my life. I hope it is, or will be, the same for you.

My first leadership position was to serve as secretary to the board in 1997 and 98, but I didn’t truly appreciate what ministry means until I first served as president of the board in 2006. I accepted the position reluctantly - no one else wanted it - but it changed me in ways I couldn’t foresee.

For one thing, I learned technical and management skills that served me well in my downtown job. More importantly, however, I grew as a person and came to better understand the importance of a spiritual community and service to one another and the greater community.

Author Michael Durall teaches that people come to church for spiritual growth, to help build a better community, and to promote social justice. These are all important, but so is everything that we all do to promote and sustain our community. I like to say that even making coffee in the social hall is a form of ministry.

I am turning 75 next month, and it is right and timely that I step down from my leadership roles and make space for younger and more energetic people to learn and grow as I have done. I encourage all of you to volunteer your help, even if it takes you out of your comfort zone. Not ready for a team lead or board position, just lend a hand. Need guidance? Talk to our minister. She will be happy to listen  to your thoughts and suggest ways you might become more involved. Or, talk to any board member or team leader. These are people already engaged in the work of the church. I’m sure they will be happy to share some ideas with you.

And I’m not going anywhere, except on an occasional trip or cruise. I’ll be happy to talk with you about the church and the many ways that you might be able to serve.

See you at church!

STEWARDSHIP 2025

by Geoff Sanders on 4/1/2025

A big thank you to everyone who has turned in their pledge for the 2025-26 fiscal year! If you haven’t pledged yet, please see the last paragraph of this post. Where do we go from here?

Our Finance Team will use the total of our pledges to create a budget for next year. You will have an opportunity to discuss and ask questions about the budget at a Townhall scheduled for April 13th. The budget will then be finalized, and the congregation will vote on it at our Annual Meeting on May 4th.

Of course, running a church costs money, but I think we’re getting excellent value. First and foremost, we have a dedicated minister. We are paying Alisha for 80 hours a month, but I believe she’s been going above and beyond. Some of the many services she provides include:

• Leads our Worship Team and helped us develop monthly sermon themes that reinforce our mission and vision
• Presents an average of two sermons a month
• Developed a Pathways to Membership class for new members
• Became an active member of the Houston UU Ministers Association
• Provides pastoral care and is available to members as needed

Thank you Alisha for all your hard work and efforts!

We also have a beautiful worship space and a very compatible landlord. Yes, it would be nice to have our own space, but that will have to wait until we can afford it.

Members can review our 2024-25 budget at: https://uutapestry.org/Portals/Tapestry/Documents/Leadership/Financials/2024-2025/Tapestry%20Revised%20Budget%202024-2025.pdf. You must sign in in order to access the Members Portal area of the website.

What can members do beyond pledging? Lend a hand. A lot goes into running a church, and all jobs are important. Not sure what to do? Ask someone who looks busy. I’m sure they’d love some assistance. Want to be a leader? Talk to a member of the Third Principle Team. The 3PT "works in concert with the Board, other church committees and teams, and the Minister to recommend Voting Members to serve as team leads” and Board Members.

Want to see the list of teams and their members? Visit the Members Portal of our website at:  https://uutapestry.org/CommitteesAndGroups. If a certain team looks interesting, ask the Team Leader for information.

Don't see something that interests you? Start your own group. You'll need at least two other Tapestry Members if you want it to be a Tapestry supported group. Team leaders should make sure that all Team meetings and activities are listed on the Tapestry Calendar,  https://uutapestry.org/calendar.

Every member’s pledge is important, and if you haven’t submitted yours yet, please do so asap. The easiest way is on our website at  https://uutapestry.org/pledge. If that doesn't work for you, just call, text or meet with our Treasurer, Dawn Newcomer. But don't wait! Dawn is already working on next year's budget. Thank you all for all that you do!

Howdy, Friends and Neighbors!

by Tracy Cook on 3/5/2025

Howdy, Friend and Neighbors!

My name is Tracy Cook, and I have been a member at Tapestry Unitarian Universalist Church for oh my goodness, almost 20 years. Where did the time go?!

I think one of the times where things pass so quickly has been with my kids. I have two boys, although they aren’t really boys now. They are grown men. But they will always be ‘my boys’. They started attending when they were shorter than me, which tells you something. I am a whopping 5’1” standing up tall! But they grew, as kids do.

When I look around at our kids today, I love what I see. Older kids watching younger kiddos and helping care for them. And the littles just absolutely adore the attention! On our Thanksgiving camping trip, the adults and kids all traded stories and experiences and LAUGHED! 

I want more experiences like this. More time spent with kids learning from the adults - and not just their parents! My kids learned so much from other adults in the Tapestry community. Whenever we went to UBARU, they learned new skills from people. How to plant a tree. How to cut cedar saplings. And they learned from our more common experiences, too. How to care for a garden here in Houston. How to make bread. We have a lot of experience here at Tapestry. Share what you know!

None of this takes any money at all, it just takes a little bit of time. And that’s one of the three legs of the Stewardship stool: time. Also, talent! Another leg! 

So, what about that third leg: money?

My dream for Tapestry is to have a vibrant and dedicated group of adults who will step up and make sure the next generation of UUs is ready to lead. That means we need a solid Faith Formation program, which since the UUA has just changed the focus from the 7 or 8 Principles to the ‘octopus’ (Love in the center, with the principles on the arms) is going to cost some money. I think our kids are worth it! And I’m willing to increase my pledge to support this. 

What are your dreams? How do you want to help reach them?!

Invisible Work

by Eric Huckabay on 2/10/2025

Invisible work. Unappreciated, unremarked, all too often unnoticed. I'm guessing that the women of our congregation have personal experience with the phenomenon.

Why would anyone do work that no one notices or appreciates? All too often it's because it's vitally necessary. Because "if not me then who"? Because without that work, things aren't as good.

Please take a moment now, before you read the rest of this letter, to think to yourself -- what is the invisible work in our community? In our congregation? . . .

Have you eaten the snacks? What happens to the dishes after they go in the wash bin? How many times have you washed the dishes?

Have you ever noticed that there are signs in front of the church during the service, helping newcomers to find us? It's like they magically appear, and get put away again!

Who decides what happens to the leftovers?

Have you seen the looks of confusion when no-one asked a chalice lighter ahead of time? Is that someone's "job" or just something people step up and do?

Who pays for the church zoom account? Who gathers the tax ID for the share the plate every month? Who prints up new name tags?

Maybe you know the answer to some of those questions. But do you think those people are doing the job because of the huge kudos they receive in the process? Do you, do we, even notice?

A relationship counselor once asked me: if you feel like you do half the work in the relationship, are you doing your share? You see 100% of the work you do. If you are only aware of 50% of the work your partner does, how much of the work should it feel like you are doing to make things actually fair? (For those who aren't up to math today, the answer is 2/3. You should feel like you do 2/3 of the work, just to break even.)

Please take a moment today to think about the invisible work in your life. And decide if that's something you should do something about.

LOOKING AHEAD

by Geoff Sanders on 1/15/2025

Our church’s finances appear to be on a sound footing for the current fiscal year thanks to the decisions made at our November Special Congregational Meeting, some generously increased pledges, and reductions in some budgeted expenditures. Thank you all for helping us achieve this desirable condition!

Now, though, it is time to look ahead to the coming fiscal year, which will start on July 1, 2025. When we hired Alisha to be our part-time minister, we told her that one of our goals is to grow our church - not for the sake of being bigger, but so that we could expand our ministry and be better equipped to serve our members and the broader community. Chief among our goals is to pay our minister a fair salary commensurate with UUA standards, and if possible, to pay her for more than 80 hours a month.

I trust everyone will agree that Alisha has been doing an admirable job, and she definitely deserves to be paid on a par with other ministers working for a church our size in a major metropolitan area. She is also working hard to attract and recruit new members.

Last year we signed a two-year contract with Alisha, which takes us through June 30, 2026. But the contract also includes an option to renew her contract for an additional three-year term. We were not able to commit to a five-year agreement outright, because we could not guarantee that future pledges would cover an appropriate increase in her salary.

Accordingly, we are asking all members to pledge 2 to 5% of their adjusted gross income to our church, provided that they are able to do so. Of course, everyone’s circumstances are different, and if 2 to 5% is not sustainable for you, we will happily accept whatever amount you are comfortable giving. We also recognize that our members sustain our church in many ways in addition to pledging.

Why 2 to 5%? Our goal is to limit our ask so that we can all also make contributions to other deserving charitable organizations and causes. In addition, these figures reflect the UUA’s Fair Share Guidelines:

AN ANSWER TO HOW MUCH TO PLEDGE:

“How much should I pledge? Your pledge is a personal decision. It is informed by your financial means, your connection to the mission and work of the church, and the needs of the congregation. UUA Fair Share Guidelines suggest that a new member pledge 2% of adjusted gross income, and increase it over time to 5%.” https://uucharlottesville.org/pledge-faqs/.