April, 2010

Dear Central Midwest District Chalice Lighter:

We are pleased to announce the Spring Call for our Chalice Lighter Grant. The Spring call will go to support the Abraham Lincoln UU Congregation in Springfield, IL. They will hire a Membership Development Coordinator to help them better integrate their new members into the life of the congregation. The new Coordinator will also strengthen welcoming processes and work on a variety of aspects of growth.

The Springfield congregation has been fortunate to have a member who has taken on a volunteer project to research their visitor statistics and develop startup systems so that the new Membership Director will be able to begin the position with a foundation in place.

The Chalice Lighter committee was impressed with the comprehensive application that was submitted. The application demonstrated strong congregational support for the new position and a clear plan for sustainability.

Thanks to your generosity, Chalice Lighter grants have funded congregational growth projects, such as new congregation starts, adding professional staff, building new or enhanced space, or accomplishing outreach and public relations programs. Almost half of our district congregations have benefited from the thousands of dollars you have generously donated for the growth of Unitarian Universalism!

We hope you can send your check, made out to CMWD Chalice Lighters, for $20 or more ($10 minimum) to: Central Midwest District UUA, 1555 Sherman Ave Suite 345, Evanston, IL 60201.

You can also donate online. As always, we thank you for your generosity. Funds for this Spring Call will be accepted until June 30, 2010.

With sincere appreciation,

The Central Midwest District Chalice Lighter Committee:

Matthew Brenner, Rev. Brian Covell, Lori Hlaban, Kimberly Perry, Rev. Darrel Richey, with staff support from Dori Davenport Thexton

April 14, 2010

Dear Fellow Chalice Lighters,

On behalf of the DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church in Naperville, I want to extend my thanks for the Chalice Lighter grant we have received. The grant is seed money for a multifaceted marketing campaign. We will use it to establish or increase our presence online, in local print publications, on Chicago Progressive Talk radio and at live events and fairs in the summer and fall. We expect that the return we see on this investment will allow us to ask for and receive Board-approved budget funding in coming fiscal years to maintain our marketing outreach to draw new members.

This comes at a critical time for us. Our long-anticipated building expansion plans are very close to approval by the city of Naperville. While we have a successful capital campaign in the works, the long term goal to ultimately increase membership from 300 to 500 in the conning years cannot happen without a broader and sustained effort. In the past year we have added more than 50 new members, reaching a membership of 304 as of the date of this letter. That is the most membership we have ever had at this church. Our demographic information tells us there are many more individuals and families looking for a church community like ours. With this grant, we will help them find us.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for this generous grant. We expect that our members will be thrilled to contribute in kind to future Chalice Lighter projects. It's a joy to see district-wide support for the varied individual church projects that make us all stronger in the end.

In community and gratitude,

Rev. Emmy Lou Belcher
DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church