This month, we bring you a note that is a reminder of the reach of UTO. When you are travelling, be sure to check the UTO grant list to see if you might happen upon a grant site.

This was the fifth pilgrimage to Jerusalem that I organized for my home parish, St. Michael and All Angels, and we joined with a wonderful group from the Washington National Cathedral led by the Rev. Canon John Peterson, canon for Global Justice and Reconciliation, and the Very Rev. Randolph M. Hollerith, cathedral dean. Gurtie Berkner and I had served together previously on the UTO Board, and she joined our pilgrimage from her home in Minnesota.

During the pilgrimage, we were having a morning briefing in a room at St. George’s College in Jerusalem when I noticed the UTO tile on the door. Gurtie happened to be wearing her UTO scarf from when we were on the board, so it seemed right to snap a photo of her by the sign. This tile commemorated a United Thank Offering grant for the purchase of AV equipment that is used during presentations at St. George’s College in the Cathedral Close in Jerusalem.

You never know where UTO will show up and the connections it makes. I was in Kenya and the guide stopped in a village and took us into a small Anglican church to meet his mother who was there bringing flowers for the altar. I said that I was part of this church Episcopal, too. They didn’t understand that name, but they did know UTO – the area had gotten a UTO grant somewhere along the way!