Both Sides By Rev. Nina D. Grey May, 2004

Our church sits on a well-traveled corner. People enter our doors all the time. They come in wondering what kind of church we are or seeking to look at our beautiful sanctuary or because they are Unitarian Universalists from somewhere else, visiting a child at the university or family in the neighborhood. They come in seeking a church home. And sometimes they come in with an urgent need.

Couples walk in, seeking a beautiful spiritual setting for their union, or a place that can help sooth their families’ concerns over an interfaith marriage.

Sometimes people who are "unchurched" seek ministry for their deep grief. They contact us when someone is dying or has died. We are moved when we are able to respond with ministry and help them create a memorial, a celebration of the life of their beloved.

Sometimes people come in hungry. We refer folks to the food pantry and the open kitchen but they are not open all the time. We also sometimes can provide a small food voucher to help them at a difficult time. We use ministerial discretionary funds in our budget for such needs.

The bulk of ministerial discretionary funds help us respond to urgent needs of our own members. We are able to provide small amounts as loans or grants for emergency food needs or counseling needs for men, women, and children of First Unitarian Church. Between us, the total of the two ministerial discretionary funds amounts to $800 for the year. This doesn't go very far in hard times.

When someone in our congregation has a very big need, for which there are no funds, the ministers turn to the Executive Committee and Board, asking that the church provide a grant for the member in immediate need, and then take an offering to repay the church bank account. For the sake of the member's confidentiality, the offering is on an anonymous basis. The grant and the offering go through a church discretionary account.

Our hospitality is informed by care and by justice, equity and compassion. We have reached a point in our church year where we don't have enough left in the ministers' discretionary funds to meet the needs. The Board has authorized a special offering, which will be on May 9, during our worship service. Please be generous in the knowledge that your gifts to the ministers' discretionary funds will help us serve needs both of our own members and strangers who need our help.

With love, in faith,

Nina