Ingathering for Convention
Dear Friends across the DRG, esp. UTO reps, Parish Leaders,
and Clergy;
The United Thank Offering (UTO) collection is gathered at
Diocesan Convention every year. Usually this is part of the opening service. Convention
will be virtual this year, so we’ll be doing it differently.
Parishes are asked to send a check for any UTO offerings collected since
last year, or since 2019 if you didn’t have a chance to send it in in 2020, to
Annette in the diocesan office* by October 15. These will be placed in
the UTO basin and a photo will be shared during the opening service along with
names of parishes contributing (amounts are confidential). Even if you plan to
have your UTO ingathering after Convention, you can participate and support
UTO.
RSVP to hear the Rev. Canon Heather Melton speak about More
than the Blue Box on either October 2 or October 7 (10AM MOUTAIN time
each day). Canon Melton is the UTO Staff Officer for TEC and will inspire you
to think about ways that UTO can benefit your parish by creating a Theology of
Gratitude. RSVP to Cindy Davis (utocindydrg@gmail.com)
to get the link for these sessions.
Also, consider if there are any projects or ministries of your parish that might benefit from a grant from UTO. The theme for 2021-22 is Care of Creation. Apply for a Grant – United Thank Offering The newly formed UTO screening committee will be happy to answer questions and will review any grant requests for completeness before one is sent to the Bishop for final submission.
Thanks for your support of the important ministry of Gratitude and Generosity,
*The address for the Diocesan Office is: 6400 Coors Blvd. NW, ABQ, 87120
More than the Blue Box:
Attend October 2 or October 7
You can attend either Saturday, Oct. 2 at 10AM or Thursday, Oct. 7 at 10AM.
There are also many online resources available from UTO to help with the grant process:
United Thank Offering – The Episcopal Church. To learn more about the Diocesan UTO
program or to discuss the grant application production process, feel free to
contact Cindy Davis.
Information about the 2022 Grant cycle, focus, criteria, and upcoming webiners about the process can be found: United Thank Offering invites 2022 Annual Grants – The Episcopal Church. Watch for a challenge from your Diocese of the Rio Grande UTO Committee about this process.
Don't forget to support UTO by donating online or send your UTO ingathering check to your parish or directly to the Diocese. UTO giving in 2020 was dramatically down. Last year DRG sent $1606.61 to UTO.
Although women in the 19th Century could not serve in leadership positions of the church they became the “prime source of missionary support and funding that undergirded the general church budget…The voluntary affiliation of Episcopal women in the work of The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS) was often the single most important source of support...” When the DFMS was founded in 1821, ‘Women’s Auxiliaries’ formed in Episcopal churches. Fifty years later, Women’s Auxiliary were finally represented on the Board of Missions.
“By 1882 The Episcopal Church was supporting 29 missionary bishops (7 foreign and 22 domestic). [who] increasingly looked to the Women’s Auxiliary…for support and the women of The Episcopal Church responded generously…[becoming] a primary funder for the work of the missionary bishops.” Among the domestic missionary bishops was The Rt. Rev. George Dunlop, assigned to the Missionary District of New Mexico and Arizona and holding the first Convocation of what would become the Diocese of the Rio Grande at the Exchange Hotel in Old Town, Albuquerque in 1880.
The United Thank Offering was established by the Women’s Auxiliary Board in 1889 for the support of “specific mission projects and individual missionaries. The first United Offering totaled $2,188.64 and was used to build a church in Anvik, Alaska and to send a woman missionary to Japan.” Women’s Auxiliaries across The Episcopal Church continued to fund work both within individual parishes and for the larger church through what became lovingly known as ‘Blue Boxes’--a daily reminder to offer thanksgivings for life’s blessings.
Between the 1950’s and ‘70’s, as women took on more leadership and liturgical roles, most Women’s Auxiliary groups became part of the newer Episcopal Church Women (ECW). In 2012 the “UTO Board… adopted new bylaws and a Memorandum of Understanding, [and] Theology of Thankfulness…to guide and better define the spiritual discipline side of the ministry.”
WHAT does UTO do? Grants! “In 125 years, the United Thank Offering has collected and given away $133,355,181.05. This represents 5,121 grants.” 100% of the money given to UTO is granted back into The Episcopal Church. Many programs in the Diocese of the Rio Grande have benefited from UTO grants, including the Bilingual Borderlands Youth Ministry at St. Paul's, Marfa, Texas last year (see the last edition of Together).
More about Grants, including past gifts and current deadlines is online.
WHAT can I do? Use your ‘Blue Box’ every day to remember blessings and drop in a coin or two. Then during the Ingathering at your church, bring your offering to join with others around the Episcopal Church to extend the blessings around the world. There’s even a UTO Blue Box App!
If you have further questions about UTO contact Cindy Davis (UTO and Women’s Ministry Chair) or visit UnitedThankOffering.com. If you are interested in becoming your parish UTO rep or having Cindy speak to your church, contact Cindy.
(Quotes from A Brief History of the UnitedThank Offering)