March 2025
Dear UUCville Members & Friends,
As I write this letter, my heart is filled with both joy and sorrow, hope and despair. I am so proud of the UU Congregation of Charlottesville and all the good we are doing both within and beyond our walls. We are touching lives, welcoming new faces, and building a community that centers love and compassion, curiosity and spiritual growth, and justice and peace for all people and for the planet. The future of the UU Congregation of Charlottesville is so very bright and filled with both promise and possibility!
At the same time, my heart is heavy because on an almost daily basis, the world feels as if it is moving in a harmful and frightening direction. Our political system grows more and more toxic with policies designed to hurt those who are marginalized, to privilege the few, to ignore the climate crisis, and to turn people against one another rather than bringing them together.
In today’s political, economic, and social environment, it is more important than ever to make a difference locally, in our congregations and communities, to help those affected by changes at a national level. UUCville must be an instrument of love and justice in an unloving and unjust world. We must extend caring and helping hands to the very communities most at risk. We must build on our current partnerships and create new ones that enable us to sustain relationships of love and mutuality. We must do everything we can to mitigate the climate crisis. And we must be part of a tapestry of love and compassion that will take us beyond our walls and transform us in ways we could never imagine.
Our congregation’s passionate commitment to live our mission and to implement our long-range plan is the reason my family makes a financial commitment to the UU Congregation of Charlottesville and the reason we are planning to increase our pledge dramatically this year. We see our pledge as an investment in love and a down payment on justice. Church leadership is drafting a budget that boldly reflects the priorities in our mission and long-range plan and that dramatically increases our financial commitment to social and environmental justice. Our family is ready to see that budget become a reality!
I hope you will join the Temerson family by making a financial commitment to the UU Congregation of Charlottesville. If you currently pledge increase your pledge dramatically if possible. An increase in our existing pledges of 15-20% would enable us to build more community partnerships, to provide fair compensation to our staff, to grow our worship, faith development, and caring ministries, and to truly practice what we preach about social and environmental justice. If you don’t currently pledge or have never pledged before, now is the time to make a financial commitment for 2025-26. All pledges, no matter the size, are greatly appreciated.
We have so much to offer at UUCville. The love and joy we are currently experiencing is only the beginning. Let your passion and your values shine brightly and speak boldly. Help the UU Congregation of Charlottesville put LOVE INTO ACTION!
Blessings,
Rev. Tim
