Meet Soma – an artist we visited in a small village in Tanzania. Soma works hard to support his family, which includes his mother. They live together on the same property – and he is so proud that he has been able to build a home just for his mother. It has two rooms – and it has an adjoining structure that one day he will be able to afford to finish, and connect with a door. We listened as he described with pride how he is building his family a new latrine – including a stall for a shower. As he earns enough money, he’ll be able to complete it, and replace the old latrine which is falling down. The buildings are made from bricks he has made himself. He is not a wealthy man – and he gives of his treasure for others.
Soma is one of several generous people we met in our travels. An artist by trade, he has opened an art school for children of his village tolearn to draw and paint. For these students, there is no charge; they could not afford to pay for art training. Rather, he supplies the paints and materials for them so that they have a chance to see if art is their passion. The children are so proud of their drawings and eagerly showed them to the travelers – and they can also offer them for sale for $1 each. The money goes back in to purchasing supplies, as well as things they need for everyday living. Soma – giving back to the community from his passion for art, building for the next generation, supporting the previous generation – an amazing story of generosity.Likewise, our vision for First U is not limited to feeding our own spiritual hungers. Included are the broader visions of being a religion that will live on for generations to come, “transforming the world in large and small ways” as Josh speaks about on March 20. I am so grateful to have found Unitarian Universalism, founded in Wilmington in 1866 as the First Unitarian Society of Wilmington. What started as a conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Bent and Thomas Y. de Normandie, who had Unitarianism in common, developed into the church we love today. Seventeen people signed the initial document establishing our church. And from their vision, with Rev. Fielder Israel as their first minister, a church was born – and grew. We have an interesting history – one you can read in our pamphlet written and researched by Ariana Pagones Langford and Jeanette Webber and published in 1991 for our 125th anniversary.
So many of us are engaged in our individual personal lives in making a difference in the world. I believe we can continue that service AND work together in the name of Unitarian Universalism and First U. First U is striving to continue to be a loving, welcoming church community supporting individual spiritual growth – AND an inspirational beacon and powerhouse for social justice. We seek to be a unifying force and a powerful partner and promoter of interfaith harmony, world peace and environmental sustainability – in other words, a vibrant, religious movement. Like my artist friend Soma, we are building for future generations, as our church today was built for us by previous generations. To accomplish this and move beyond basic operational funding, it takes all of us and our generosity of time and treasure.
First U began for me as a Sunday morning experience – a service I was amazed to hear and a religion I didn't realize existed. Today – and for many years – it is much more than Sunday morning. Over the years, by putting our church first, Paul and I have been able to reach our goal of giving a full 10% of our gross income to support the operations of our church. We have included First U in our estate plan so that our pledge will live on beyond us. And, at the same time, we have also been able to increase our support to other organizations close to our hearts. Generosity breeds generosity. Like Soma and so many others of little means as well as those like us who are lucky to have more, please consider your gift generously as you take part in making a difference for today's and future generations.
Nancy
Beautiful! Thank you!
ReplyDelete