UUAA 2027: Growing Stronger Together
The “Growing Stronger Together” 2027 Stewardship Campaign is now underway!
Read more about the campaign in the letter to the congregation below.
Have questions about pledging? Click here.
Make your pledge: Click here to make a pledge to the annual budget campaign.
Make your payments automatic: Have you already made your pledge? If so, you can click here to set up automatic donations.
Or you can download a hard copy pledge form to turn in to the UUAA office.
Thank you helping fund the remarkable combined actions of the UUAA congregation. Through our shared commitment, pooled resources, and collective actions, you are making an impact on our community and our world.
Excerpts of the Letter to the UUAA Congregation sent September 27, 2026
Dear UUAA Community,
Ancient trees stand in the forest, held fast to the earth by an ever-deepening network of roots. Through this connection, each tree draws the nourishment it needs to survive, thrive, and grow strong. Fed by the soil, the forest robes itself in emerald and releases life-giving oxygen. In time, leaves fall in cascades of amber and rust, blanketing the forest floor to enrich the earth for new growth. The cycle continues, season after season, each trunk inscribed with the rings of time.
The living tree is a perfect metaphor for our beloved community.
We, along with generations of UUAA’s members, are the deep roots of our congregation. Since the end of the Civil War, we have anchored our community with love and service to one another and to the wider world. Through every changing season, our shared values and unrelenting commitment to justice have helped us stand strong. Growing stronger together, we are braver and more resilient as a community than we are alone.
UUAA is our shade tree, providing a much-needed respite from the noise of busy and stressful lives, a quiet place to dwell and be inspired, a safe-haven from the storms of oppression and the winds of uncertain times. Within the canopy of our covenant with one another, we find friends, neighbors, loved ones, and new connections.
Like the tree’s gift of life-giving oxygen, our social justice groups work with local allies to bring real help, resources, and hope to Washtenaw County, especially to those who are marginalized. In fact, we have become a critical partner in the work that the wider community is accomplishing. Over 20 groups are housed under our roof and staffed with dedicated volunteers that advocate for immigrants and incarcerated people, provide shelter and hope to the unhoused, work toward justice at home and abroad, defend the health of our democracy, provide care and comfort for those who need it most, and work for a healthy planet, a society free of racism and oppression, a radically welcoming home for all—the list goes on and on.
The inside of a tree trunk tells the story of its life, recorded in the shape of rings. Wide, rich rings show seasons of deep health and rapid growth, while narrow rings signify the hardship of inadequate resources and the weathering of challenging seasons. Each October, our congregants determine the shape and size of our metaphorical rings. The story that will be told in years to come, the rings of our legacy to the future, is directly impacted by the success of our pledge campaign.
Our annual stewardship drive is far more than a practical financial exercise that enables us to keep our doors open, maintain our facilities, pay our dedicated staff fairly, and cover our daily operating costs. It is an annual ritual of re-commitment to the legacy we have inherited and the one that we leave behind.
Your pledge represents the sunlight and nourishment that keep our living legacy alive. Without your support, we cannot continue to provide meaningful worship and programming for children and adults, to provide a safe environment for our social justice work to flourish, to be here for each other during times of challenge or celebration.
We invite you to help us grow our next ring of health and vitality. Your pledge ensures that our roots stay deep, our branches stay wide, and our community continues to breathe life into the heart of our congregation and justice into the world. It is through your generosity that we can continue to thrive. Please make your pledge today to sustain our shared home for the seasons ahead.
In gratitude,
Stewardship and Development Team: Dixie Hibner, Ed Lynn, Mary Lynn Stevens, Toni Wander, and Deb Markum
