On the weekend of July 4, the Muncie Mission was devastated by a fire. It had taken years and years of fundraising to build their new building, and now this important agency is unexpectedly rebuilding. According to the Mission’s website: "The mission's facility is insured, however, as in any fire situation, there are always the unknowns. A few being: our residents personal belongings, food loses, hundreds of miscellaneous items" and expenses not in their budget.

Muncie Mission Ministries is a not-for-profit agency that has brought hope to the poor, needy and homeless in East Central Indiana for over 80 years. Please give generously to help those less fortunate than we. If you are not in church August 8, you can send your check to the church office with "Designated Offering" on the memo line.

For several years our church has made the commitment to make sack lunches once a month for those in need. The economic downturn hits some people harder than others. On Sunday, July 11th, we will take our monthly dedicated offering to fund the Sunday Sandwich Crew as they provide sack lunches for the Harvest Soup Kitchen once a month. It’s a simple but necessary action that can really help someone.

Our congregation has financially supported this and other works in the Muncie community, but more than money is often required to ensure that a lunch or other services reach those in need. On the last Sunday of each month (9:30 – 10:30 a.m.), the Sunday Sandwich Crew is at work and they could use your help. It takes just a few minutes of your time to help meet someone’s needs. See Marnee Cooley for details. Your support, financial and time, is greatly appreciated. Thank You!

On Mothers Day, May 9, we will take a dedicated collection to further the work of MOM – Motivate our Minds. Its mission is to build academic proficiency, enhance self-esteem, develop character, develop contributing members of society, and create a safe and non-threatening environment for children in grades 1-8.

The not-for-profit tutoring enrichment program was established in the summer of 1987 with no resources but the vision of two mothers, Mary Dollison and Raushanah Shabazz, to help change the educational conditions in the low-income area where they lived.

Today, MOM has its own building, paid staff members, and a large team of volunteers all supported by donations from across the Muncie community. Although MOM expanded its reach to include ALL Muncie and Delaware County students, its main focus continues to be upon those who are considered to be at-risk. This past year MOM, like most non-profits, has had to do more work with less money. Our church has a long history of support for MOMs: Several of our members have volunteered there or been on its Board of Directors, and we have taken collections to support its work in recent years. Last year we collected over $900. Let us give even more to MOM this year.

In the wake of devastation wrought by the earthquake which struck the island of Haiti on January 12, 2010, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) are launching a joint relief effort to bring aid to the impoverished island nation.

On Easter Sunday, April 4, the UU Church of Muncie will devote its monthly designated offering to the Haiti relief work of the UUA. Members and friends of the congregation are encouraged to give generously to this effort. If you are unable to attend church on Easter, you can send a check to the church office with "Haiti Relief" on the memo line.

Our offering on Love Sunday, February 14, will be dedicated to Indy PFLAG. Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays, is a national non-profit organization with over 200,000 members in the United States, including a local chapter in Muncie. The people of this organization celebrate diversity and envision a society that embraces everyone, especially including those of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. PFLAG provides: 1) support, to cope with an adverse society; 2) education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and 3) advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Like our UU Church, PFLAG asserts "Only with respect, dignity and equality for all will we reach our full potential as human beings, individually and collectively." The Indy PFLAG has a special need to advocate against the current anti-gay legislation coming before the Indiana congress. For more information about PFLAG visit the Indy PFLAG web site.

Our January designated offering (January 10) will benefit the Harvest Soup Kitchen, housed in the basement of the old St. Lawrence School at 820 East Charles Street in Muncie. (One imagines cheerful ladies in hair nets serving children there in the 1950s!) The Soup Kitchen, a non-profit corporation, was founded in 1994 and is not to be confused with Second Harvest Food Bank, although the two agencies work cooperatively. Its $20,000 annual budget is funded primarily by voluntary contributions of food and cash, with some grants; it is staffed with two parttime employees and 30 volunteers, plus BSU students.