 Please pick up your "Blue Box" in the Parish Hall after church. Filled boxes will be collected on April 11, 2010. Questions? Email Nancy Heinmiller
As we find ourselves in the seventh year of participation in the UTO (United Thank Offering) program, we hope that each parish household continues to have the "Blue Box" a constant presence in their homes. We believe that when daily thanks is given and money is placed in the Blue Box, the money becomes an outward and visible way to say thanks. It is a way to take our Baptismal covenant seriously ~ to love God, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The UTO program culminates each year in the May In-Gathering, when the offerings of each parish family are collected ... offerings that are combined with those of Episcopal parishes everywhere to support projects worldwide for missions and ministry.
History of UTO
The first United Thank Offering was in 1889. It began as part of Missionary efforts of the Women's Auxiliary to the Board of Mission, authorized by General Convention in 1871. Julia Emery, secretary to the Women's Auxiliary, and Ida Soule, who counted the missionary offering of the 1886 Triennial meeting of Women, inspired women to pray and give coins with the idea of building a new church in Anvik, Alaska and sending a woman missionary to Japan. At the 1889 Triennial Meeting, the offering was $2,188.64 and accomplished those purposes.
Through the decades the United Thank Offering has expanded with changing leadership and expectations. Through prayer and thankful giving of our gifts, we reach out into the world. It is a part of our heritage and an important part of the Episcopal Church history.
What the future decades will bring, we do not know. The women who dreamed of supporting mission work are the beginning of the story.
It is our time to dream and to carry on the message of thanksgiving and self-giving with grateful hearts.
What is the United Thank Offering (UTO)?
The United Thank Offering is a ministry of the Episcopal Church that provides a way for men, women and children of the Episcopal Church to give daily thanks to God. The discipline starts in the homes by dropping coins into a special container, known as the "Blue Box". Some Episcopalians fill a blue envelope, but toward the same purpose and with the same sense of gratitude. These monetary gifts are used to help others. Every coin is used to support grants
for missions and ministry.
How much is raised every year?
The United Thank Offering comes to between $2.5 - $3 million every year for use in both domestic and international projects.
How many grants are given each year?
Over one hundred grants are awarded each year. It is the hope and prayer of the United Thank Offering Committee that each year they will be able to respond more fully to the grant requests.
What is the focus of the grants?
Applications that strive to create greater equity in the status of women and children as well as ones that address compelling human needs and expansion of mission and ministry are welcomed. Grants have been given for:
- Expansion of an Aids interfaith network
- A missionary school in Kenya for language study and cultural orientation
- Renovation of a parish hall for an adult care center
- A van for an emergency food pantry that covers a vast rural area
- A women's development center in Uganda
- Expansion of a home for abandoned, neglected and abused children
The list goes on and on as there are so many critical needs.
How much of my contribution will go to meeting human needs and expanding mission and ministry?
Every cent that is collected through Blue Boxes and Blue Envelopes is given away in grants.
How is overhead and administration covered?
It is possible for every cent of your contribution to be given away in grants because earned income from trust funds support the independent elected United Thank Offering Committee and the general budget of the Episcopal Church supports the UTO office. Income from the United Thank Offering Memorial and Gift Trust Fund supplements Offerings given in grants for mission.
How do I become a part of the United Thank Offering?
You can become a part of UTO by offering thanks and prayers as part of your life in Christ while dropping a coin in the Blue Box. Take the opportunity to express your thanks and to be a part of the mission and ministry of the church.
How many times do we give thanks to God for the gifts that have been given to us...
for the fresh aroma of a newly brewed cup of coffee each morning...
for the rain on parched grass...
for a child's smile...
for healing of a sick friend...
for vine-ripened tomatoes...
for our families...
for God's presence in our lives...
How long is your list?
What is the United Thank Offering granting cycle?
Just as the Offering cycle starts locally by putting coins in the Blue Box, the granting cycle begins locally - with proposals from parishes and mission outreach programs. Forms for grant requests are obtained from your diocesan office by the requester and signed by the diocesan bishop. Each diocese may submit two requests each year. The completed requests are sent to the UTO office and must be postmarked no later than January 31st. All requests are researched by the UTO committee. Awards are made in late summer. Grant monies are available for use from September until the following September.
Who makes the UTO Grants?
The United Thank Offering Committee makes grant awards in the two years between General Conventions and Triennial Meetings of Episcopal Church Women. In the third year, the UTO Committee recommends awards and delegates to the Triennial Meeting make the final grant decisions. Each triennium, the UTO Committee is made up of one person elected from each of the nine provinces of the Episcopal Church, three members elected by the former Committee, and one
person appointed from the Executive Council by the Presiding Bishop.
There is a saying "I'll never spend a dime again." Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all dropped a dime in the Blue Box when we offer up our prayers of thanksgiving? Think of all the grants that could be given for mission and ministry. The women who had a dream so long ago and started this outreach gave us a challenge... and one that we must answer every day.
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