United Thank Offering
Grant Site Update: Hegongo Holy Cross School
We are pleased to report that the building project for the girls’ dormitory at Hegongo Holy Cross School in Tanzania is ongoing and will hopefully be completed soon. All the money from the UTO grant has been spent, and more money has been raised to complete this project. In February 2017, a small group of […]
Daily Meditations and an Invitation for Lent
Last summer, I decided to change my morning meditations to include a Bible reading; one chapter of some other spiritual work; prayer, often contemplative; and thanksgivings accompanied by dropping coins or bills in my UTO Blue Box. I read only one chapter of one book of the Bible each day, The Message version, and on […]
Self-Care: A Millennial Approach to Gratitude
I’m a millennial, and it seems that no matter where you turn these days, someone is talking about us; some good, some not so good. Our generation is often defined by its obsessions with social media, avocado toast, Harry Potter, and self-care. Even with wonderful things like avocado toast in the world, I still find […]
Incarnation, Gratitude, and Light
And the word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory. –John 1:14 Happy (liturgical) New Year! Advent and Christmas are my favorite seasons of the year and always have been. Some Episcopalians like to say that we are Easter people, but I really think that we are Advent people – […]
Congratulations, Sandra Squires!
At the 150th Annual Council for the Diocese of Nebraska held last month in North Platte, our UTO Board President Sandra Squires was honored with the Bishop’s Cross. You can read the full text of the announcement here. It is a lovely tribute to all of the care, love, and dedication that Sandra pours out […]
Thanksgiving Gratitude Scavenger Hunts!
If you’re like me, you might want to have some ideas for how to entertain everyone when the turkey takes longer to cook then you estimated. Or, you might be more on the ball than I am and would simply like a faith formation item to send home with families to encourage gratitude discussions around […]
Grant Site Update: Rock Point, Episcopal Diocese of Vermont
The overarching purpose of our UTO grant was to gather people from a wide and diverse cross-section of the larger community to help “jump-start” the three-year Land Use and 10-year Forestry Plans. We originally planned to have two half-time coordinators for six months: one for the gardens at Rock Point and another just for volunteers. […]
UTO Reads! Advent Read-Along Challenge
Gratitude Works! By Robert A. Emmons First off, thank you for all of the positive feedback about our UTO Reads! program! When I was a kid, I loved participating in Book It, a program where you got a free pizza for reading books. I can’t promise you a free pizza, but I can promise that […]
Anxiety Is Overcome by Gratitude
“Anxiety is overcome by gratitude.” A friend shared this quote on Facebook one day and I liked it. I shared with several friends but soon forgot about it. I didn’t even really think that hard about it. It is something we all do – share the wise words and then forget them. Several weeks later, […]
November: Saints, Turkeys, and Opportunities for Grateful Reflection
It’s November, which means that we’ve all survived the sugar rush of Halloween. The scarecrow I built with my kids, which made me think someone was looking inside my window every single time I went into the kitchen, is now, thankfully, a thing of the past. As I was pulling fake cobwebs from my bushes, […]
