Updates from the UTO Formation and Development Committee
November begins a time when we wrap up one year and get ready for the next, so this section of the newsletter is packed with information and dates. Get your calendars ready!
Materials for November/Thanksgiving
For individuals and families:
We have our beloved conversation dice to share stories of gratitude around the table. We’re adding a new set of questions to the dice this year so you can use the old ones and the new! We have prayers to say around the table, and other tools to infuse your family gathering with gratitude. Want to help learn more about the history of Thanksgiving? We’ve got you covered with links to resources, recipes, and other ways to talk to kids of all ages about the holiday.
For congregations:
Be sure to download or order our liturgy booklet for a fresh take on prayers for a Thanksgiving liturgy that includes a land acknowledgement prayer. We hope this will help center our prayers on giving thanks for all the gifts of the community gathered.
Download all our November materials at www.unitedthankoffering.com/November.
Need Printed Materials in 2025? Order by Nov. 17
If you need to order printed UTO materials to arrive prior to the end of the year, please do so now. We do not ship UTO materials in December, so the final date to place an online order and receive them before the end of the year is Monday, Nov. 17 at 9 a.m. Eastern time. All orders placed by that time will be shipped later that week before Thanksgiving; orders placed after that date will ship in January.
UTO Mid-Year Training for Parish and Diocesan Leaders: Saturday, Jan. 10, at 11 a.m. Eastern time
Please join us as we gather to celebrate and give thanks for the life of Julia Chester Emery on Saturday, Jan. 10. We’ll gather for one hour beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern. Join us for prayers and discussion on the early days of UTO and Julia Chester Emery with the Rev. Erin Jeane Warde, who is working on our UTO history booklet (for release in 2027).
Please register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/JSd9ZWHURaKjwEOUZqByZw. All who register by Dec. 7 at midnight will receive your pre-meeting swag bag in time for the meeting. For those who register after Dec. 7 and want a swag bag, it will be shipped, but we cannot guarantee that it will arrive in time for the gathering.
Agenda:
- Introductions and welcome
- Presentations from the committees of the Board on what you need to know for the winter/spring of 2026
- Reminder that the deadline to order Lenten materials is Sunday, Jan. 11, at midnight.
Materials for Lent 2026
We know! You’re thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we’re ready for Lent! We’ll officially release the Lenten materials in the December newsletter, but if you already know you need/want them, you can head over to www.unitedthankoffering.com/shop and order your kit today. Our Lenten materials will focus on the themes presented in the book “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Each week you’ll have a theme for reflection, gratitude, engagement, and self-care that helps ground your Lenten journey on giving thanks and giving back. Find out more at www.unitedthankoffering.com/lent.