There is a new team on the block at church – the Generosity Team. Its formation was inspired by the mission statement of a similar group from the First Unitarian Church of San Diego.
“Our mission is to develop financial and spiritual resources for the current and future needs of First Church with integrity and with an awareness of the joy inherent in cultivating generosity as a spiritual virtue.”
Our new team read this, thought it works perfectly, and they didn’t need reinvent the wheel, and so adopted it as their own mission statement. So how do we cultivate generosity as a spiritual virtue? Many of us relate to money with a sense of scarcity because it can feel like there is never quite enough of it – in our lives or in the church. Yet being generous – as individuals and as a church – can be joyful. Generosity is indeed a spiritual value that can make us feel abundant, not just with enough, but overflowing with gratitude and, yes, joy.
So how do we cultivate and nurture a sense of generosity as a part of our spiritual lives and our connection to UU Ventura? This is the very question that our new Generosity Team will be asking us all.
Our first opportunity to answer will be on March 22 at Celebration Sunday.
It will be a grand day at church. Rev. Julia Hamilton from our church in Santa Barbara will be preaching. (I’ve been dying to bring Julia to our pulpit, and am looking forward to leading worship with her.) We’ll have wonderful music from the Marsh Brothers, coming off a wonderful showing at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.
We’ll make our pledges in the services and then retire to Berg Hall for a luncheon to celebrate our individual and collective generosity. This is intentionally not a pot luck because it is meant as a great big Thank You. For some, just sitting and being fed can be a bit awkward. Yet we want everyone to feel thanked and appreciated for all the ways you are generous – with some lunch and perhaps a little bubbly. This particular Sunday is about the giving of our financial resources, though we can’t create the fullness of community without hearts that are generous in many ways.
So, between now and March 22, I invite you to consider what this church community means to you and how you will contribute of your financial resources for 2020-2021. Consider how you find joy in generosity as a spiritual value.
Rev. Dana