Thank you to all who contributed to the recently ended chalice lighter call. I have been informed that $10,700 was raised for OUR Religious Education program. That money comes not just from us, but from many UUs throughout the Southwest District. That is what is so wonderful about this program. It is UUs helping other UUs at a critical time in their growth.
I hope that we will continue to share this vision by helping the next congregation receiving a chalice lighter grant, the UU Congregation of Comal County. We have a special connection to the UUs in New Braunfels, being the catalyst that started their congregation. I will share the story with anyone who is interested. What is important is that they are growing and are at a point where we can make a difference. I have not seen the call yet, but know that they recently purchased land and want to build a church on it.
So, a minimum of $10 per chalice lighter (or the special $25 family rate and you can include all family members, pets, the neighbor down the street). No maximum contribution has been set, so if you want to be a really generous flame thrower, go for it!
Make checks payable to SWUUC Chalice Lighters.
and mail to:
SWUUC District Office
6720 Brentwood Stair Rd
Ft. Worth, TX 76112-3310

Jon Durbin
Denominational Affairs

THE CURRENT CHALICE LIGHTER CALL

  It has been a while since I last mentioned the district Chalice Lighter program. Shame on me! and respite for all of you. However, since there are a lot of new folks at Live Oak, let me first say the Chalice Lighter program is denominational outreach – UUs helping other UUs at a time in the life of a congregation when they could use a little help from their friends. Live Oak has benefited from this program and could become a chalice lighter recipient again (see current call below).

  Westside UU Church in Ft. Worth is the current chalice lighter recipient. Their call is to help fund an increase in their Director of Religious Education from one-eighth time to one-quarter time. In the past two years, their membership has grown from 61 members to 94 and from 18 youth to more than double that amount.

  Becoming a chalice lighter is easy. For a contribution of at least $10 per call (give more generously if you are willing and able), three calls per year, you too can feel good about supporting UUism within the district. Checks made out to SWUUC Chalice Lighters (unless you want to write out Southwest Unitarian Universalist Conference, the official name of our district) can either be handed to me and I’ll send it in with my check, or mailed directly to the SWUUC District Office, 6720 Brentwood Stair Rd., Ft. Worth, TX 76112. If you send it directly, note that you are affiliated with Live Oak.

  Thank you.

Jon Durbin

Denominational Affairs

CHALICE LIGHTER NEWS

I have some great news. Esther Ford has agreed to help with the chalice lighter program. Since I usually attend the first service, there are a lot of you whom I don't get to see very often. If you can't find me, you can give Esther your check made out to SWUUC Chalice Lighters (minimum $10 per person per call and, if you prefer, you can pay at one time for the three calls per year. Just note it on your check).

Live Oak has been a recipient of the chalice lighter program. Let's show our gratitude and support the new call for North Shore (LA) and the new church they are building.

If you have any questions, ask Esther or me. Thank you for your support.

Jon Durbin Co-Chalice Lighter Coordinator

CHALICE LIGHTERS 

Buy your chalice lighter name tag sticker for only $10. What a bargain! For $10, not only do you receive a little sticker that keeps me from harassing, I mean soliciting money for chalice lighters and exempting you from listening to or reading articles about the current chalice lighter call. If you already have a chalice lighter sticker and are reading this article - well this is a free society, but you can skip right on the next article.

Ok, for the rest of you, your $10 (or more) makes you part of a team. This wonderful team pools each of their $10 to make a sizeable grant to a congregation in the district. The last call raised over $8,600 (final numbers are not in yet) for the new congregation in South Austin. The new call which started at Spring Conference is for a renovation project for the UU Fellowship of Hidalgo County. This small congregation was denied a chalice lighter grant last summer and took it as a challenge. They purchased the building for which they had applied for a chalice lighter grant AND won a grant for community programming from the city of San Juan (near McAllen), where the building is located. They are creating a UU presence in the Rio Grande Valley through their church/community center. However, their building is an old, historic building in desperate need of renovation. Let's help them create a home that will make us UUs proud.

Make your checks payable to SWUUC Chalice Lighters and either give to me or send directly to the district office: 6720 Brentwood Stair Rd., Ft. Worth, TX 76112 and you too can have a sticker on your name tag and exemption from having to put up with future announcements. 
Jon Durbin

SOUTH AUSTIN UU's RECEIVE CHALICE LIGHTER GRANT! 

Further information is available from Jon Durbin, our friendly Treasurer and Chalice Lighter coordinator. A $10 donation will help form a liberal religious space in South Austin - a growing congregation that is now offering weekly services! Please visit http://www.uusouth.org  for further information about the

Making a Difference in Our Community 

One of the purposes for our church community is to have an impact in our community. A wonderful opportunity has presented itself. Our proposed budget has a $500 line item for social action/denominational outreach programs. Nice, but nothing to write home about. However, the current chalice lighter call is close to home. With the current money earmarked for the South Austin congregation, this is a great opportunity for us to support our neighbors far in excess of anything that we could possibly allocate from the church general funds. Becoming a chalice lighter is easy. Make your check (for at least $10 per chalice lighter) payable to SWUUC Chalice Lighter. If you give it to me, I will forward it on or else you can mail it to: SWUUC District Office, 6720 Brentwood Stair Rd., Ft. Worth, TX. 
- Jon Durbin Live Oak (and District) Chalice Lighter Coordinator

New Chalice Lighter Call for District Growth Consultant Program 

I am reprinting a message sent to the Live Oak e-mail list:

Hi all, I have held off for a little while in announcing the new district chalice lighter call. Hopefully, most of you know about the chalice lighter program already and I will not bore you with a repeat. If you do not know, just ask me. I am both the Live Oak chalice lighter coordinator (I would be most willing to be relieved of that honor) and coordinate the program for the district so probably can tell you more than you want to hear. Rather than retype the information about the new call, I am copying below, the letter that is being sent to chalice lighters. I will add that, to make it as easy as possible, I will gladly accept your chalice lighter checks and mail them to the district for you. I already have some and will gladly add yours. You can even drop your check in the collection basket to see if we are paying attention. Live Oak has received a chalice lighter grant in the past and members and friends have been strong supporters of the program. You need not be a current chalice lighter or even a member (yet) of Live Oak to participate in this wonderful program of UUs helping UUs.

--Jon Durbin

Dear Chalice Lighters, 

Well, we have concluded the chalice lighter call for First Jefferson and begun an exciting new call. We are fortunate to be in a district with vibrant, growing congregations. And it is nice that with a little help from chalice lighter friends, we are making a big difference for these congregations and for promoting our faith. Before I describe the new chalice lighter call, I will mention that the First Jefferson chalice lighter grant is a little over $7,100 - so far. I say 'so far' because, perhaps due to the short time period between conferences, summer vacations or whatever, some of us chalice lighters have not yet contributed to this call (remember, we broke over $10,000 for the previous call). I suspect that Connie Nolen, who keeps the records will hate me for this, but, even though the call is officially concluded, if you carefully mark on your check that it is for First Jefferson plus the new call, we can still add to that total. And I know that this money is making a difference at First Jefferson! 

Now for the new call. This next call is for a lot of congregations - perhaps even yours. Several years ago, the district had a fundraiser called Giving to Grow. Funds raised in the district were matched by a UUA grant. This grant money is sufficient to fund the first year and most of the second year of the Growth Consultant program. However, in order for the program to continue for the full two years, it needs a little help from chalice lighter friends. I have received numerous testimonials of Rev. Jonalu Johnstone and her impact in congregations and offer a few excerpts. College Station: "Jonalu has helped us refine our efforts to welcome newcomers into the life of the church." Northwoods: "The Rev. Jonalu Johnstone has helped us see what doors can be opened for deepening of purpose and growth in membership. Her knowledge and influence is moving us toward possibilities we had not envisioned." When we support the Growth Consultant program, we really are supporting our congregations by providing the resources of professional leadership. 

I have been asked if the suggested chalice lighter contribution is still $10 per call per chalice lighter. Absolutely! And you can see that these $10 contributions do add up. However, if you are able, we encourage you to consider giving a $25 family contribution. We will have to come up with a category for people willing to be even more generous - perhaps torch bearer? Please think and act generously. Together we are making a difference. Make checks payable to: SWUUC Chalice Lighters And mail to: SWUUC District Office 6720 Brentwood Stair Road Ft. Worth, TX 76112 I have one quick additional favor. If you are willing to receive future call letters via e-mail, please send us your e-mail address (include name and congregation). The printing and postage expense that we save will mean more money for the chalice lighter grant. Thank you.

 Jon Durbin SWUUC Chalice Lighter Coordinator

Chalice Lighter Update

For those of you who have not yet heard, the recently ended Chalice Lighter grant for a building program for Neshoba UU Church (Memphis suburb), raised a record amount for the Southwest District. We Chalice Lighters raised over $10,500 for this project. Many from Live Oak are chalice lighters and were part of this effort. We can all be proud! Now proud is a little different from complacent. We have a great new call that was initiated at Spring Conference and I am sure that with minimal effort, even more of us will be participating.

The new Chalice Lighter grant is for construction of a new Religious Education building for the First Jefferson UU Church in Fort Worth. The present space is old, cramped and no longer up to current building codes. They feel that it reflects their lack of emphasis on youth and is a major deterrent to growth. They have made a major commitment through a successful capital campaign, but need our help through the chalice lighter program.

New for this call is the opportunity to contribute to the chalice lighter program under a 'family plan'? Of course, the $10 minimum contribution is still 'the program' and your gift of $10 is most welcome., but for only $25 you can include spouse, children - heck even grandchildren and family pets. Seriously, with the new call being a building program for children, this is a great opportunity for us to teach our children that we are all part of a larger denomination. We are members of a denominational community of friends who help each other. Of course, the dollar amounts above are just suggested minimums. Many Chalice Lighters gladly give more.

And, to make it easy to contribute, I have included an enrollment form (click here for form) or you can find one on the district website ( http://www.swuuc.org/chalice_lighter.htm ). You can fill it out and send in your check, or you can just write a check to SWUUC Chalice Lighters and hand it to me. I'll send the checks to the district office.

I am looking for a volunteer to take over this function (please). It is easy and not time consuming - training/guidance offered.

Jon Durbin 
Chalice Lighter Coordinator

April 2000

Chalice Lighter Call 
By Jon Durbin

The district chalice lighter program is doing great with every expectation that the current call for the Neshoba UU Church being a record amount for the Southwest District. Of course, Live Oak is leading the way in terms of percentage participation. Nearly half of our members are chalice lighters. If you are not yet a chalice lighter, it is easy to become one. A minimum of $10 check made out to SWUUC Chalice Lighters will add you to the winning team. There are three calls per year, so if you want to only write one check per year for this great denominational outreach, no problem, just note it on the check.

Give your check to me and I will get it to the right place. Or, alternately, check out the on line chalice lighter enrollment for on the district web site http://www.swuuc.org 

Chalice Lighter Call
By Jon Durbin

It has been a while since I promoted the district chalice lighter program in our congregation. For those of you who do not know, Live Oak was once the recipient of a chalice lighter call and it made a very big difference for us. It is also very possible that, with the new building, we will again apply for a chalice lighter grant in the not too distant future.

The chalice lighter program is a denominational outreach program, funding major growth initiatives - new congregations, building projects or new professional religious leadership (minister or RE Director).

I am pleased to report that Live Oak currently has the third highest number of chalice lighters in the district (43) and by far the highest percentage of chalice lighters (46%). It is also rewarding that we are participating in a current call which will be the largest grant ever for this district. The best news is that you can join this winning team, new chalice lighters are always most welcome.

It is easy to become a chalice lighter. Your $10 (or more) check made out to SWUUC Chalice Lighters will get you started. There are three calls per year and, if you prefer, you can pay for all three at one time, but clearly note it on your check. You can give me the check and I will send it to the district office or you can send it directly (in that case, also note that you are affiliated with Live Oak - 6720 Brentwood Stair Rd., Ft Worth, TX 76112). And for those of you who are currently chalice lighters, please note that this is the third call so we will all need to re-up after this one.

Current call is a building project for Neshoba (east Memphis). I can try to answer any questions that you might have.

December 1999

District Chalice Lighter program

I would say that us upstarts at Live Oak had a moral victory. Ok, for you sports fans, we ended in a tie 43 - 43, but consider that Live Oak has 80+ members to First Church's 500. They could, and should have blown us away. At the party, which Live Oak attendees outnumbered First Church on their home turf, First Church members mentioned how well we had done.

And the real winner is the chalice lighter program with over 50 new chalice lighters in the Austin area!!

Here is information on the recently completed call and the new call that started at Fall Conference.

With your support, the Bartlesville vision is becoming a reality. The following was sent to me about a month ago by Ron Robinson, student minister at Bartlesville. "On Oct. 10th, the church held a Ground-Breaking/Ground-Blessing Ceremony on the land where the new building will be located, on top of the foundations that have already been established. This week the new building is scheduled to be moved onto the property adjacent to the current building, and work will begin renovating the new building and attaching it to the existing building with a bridgeway." With our help, Bartlesville is on its way.

The new call is another exciting opportunity to make a difference. Neshoba UU Church, located in a rapidly growing area east of Memphis, bought 4 acres of land two years ago. They have raised $350,000 towards a building with an estimated cost of $650,000. Their present church building, in expensive, rented space, is bursting at the seams.

The church was founded seven years ago and has 140 members and 75 children enrolled in the religious education program. This is a great success story and a wonderful way for us chalice lighters to participate in the growth of Unitarian Universalism in the greater Memphis area.

If you are a Live Oak chalice lighter, you have already contributed to this call. If you are not yet a chalice lighter, I can provide all of the particulars for becoming one.

While she will be a hard act to follow, after working to more than double the number of Live Oak chalice lighters, Kathy Bishop is asking to pass the position of Chalice Lighter Coordinator on so that she can get ready for full time motherhood. Please let Kathy or me know if you might be interested. We will gladly answer any questions that you might have.

November 1999

CHALICE LIGHTERS PARTY!!!

At this moment, Live Oak is ahead of First Church in the Chalice Lighter competition, 40 to 34. The competition ends on October 31, so if you're not a Chalice Lighter, send your check (or cash) for $20.00 to Jon Durbin or Kathy Bishop before the end of October. Your $20 covers the remaining two calls of this year.

If Live Oak remains in the lead, First Church will be hosting a party for all of us Chalice Lighters on November 5. If, by some chance, First Church has more Chalice Lighters by the end of the contest, Live Oak will host the party.

If you want to party and you haven't become a Chalice Lighter by the 5th, just bring your Chalice Lighter money to the party. See you there!

October 1999

The Chalice Lighter program is denominational outreach. Your small contribution, added to the small contributions of U.U.s from around our district, can truly make a difference.

The new Chalice Lighter call is to help the U.U. Church of Bartlesville, Oklahoma expand their building. They are in the process of purchasing, renovating and attaching a building to their current church. This will significantly expand both sanctuary and religious education space. The church vision goes beyond numerical growth, but also "organizational development, spiritual maturation and visibility and [community] outreach."

Because of those of you who have contributed already this year, Live Oak has the third highest total of Chalice Lighters out of more than 70 congregations in our district! The congregation with the most has enrollment in the low 30s. Live Oak has 22 Chalice Lighters now and, with more of you becoming Chalice Lighters, could easily become number one in the district. Why not help us reach that goal and at the same time help U.U. congregations in our district? Become a Chalice Lighter today!

If you are currently a Chalice Lighter, thank you for contributing to this valuable program. If you would like to become a Chalice Lighter, you can contribute to the two remaining calls of the year by giving at least $20 for this call and the next call (that's $10 per call.) Remember, if both you and your spouse want to be Chalice Lighters, the contribution would be $20 per call. And while you are at it, ask a friend to join too. It would be great if each of us got just one other U.U. to become a Chalice Lighter.

Make your check out to Live Oak U.U. Church, with a notation that it is for the Chalice Lighter program, and give it to Kathy Bishop or Jon Durbin, or put it in the offering basket on Sunday morning. If you are giving cash, please note that it is for the Chalice Lighter program.

What a difference we can make for the U.U. communities in our district!!

By Jon Durbin and Kathy Bishop

August 1999

SPRING CHALICE LIGHTER CALL
by Kathy Bishop

Live Oak Chalice Lighters contributed $210 to a new congregation that is being formed in Sherman, Texas, through Community Unitarian Universalist Church in Plano, Texas. The Chalice Lighter money will help pay for advertising, ministerial visits by guest speakers, and a dedicated phone line and answering machine.

Thank you to those who made contributions to the Chalice Lighter fund. And to those of you who have not, it is not too late. You can contribute to the two remaining calls we'll receive this year by giving $20 to Kathy Bishop, our Chalice Lighter Coordinator, who will take care of responding to the calls.

Becoming a Chalice Lighter is a great way for you to support other U.U. congregations in our district. If you are interested in becoming a Chalice Lighter or have questions, contact Kathy Bishop by phone or email her at KathyBishop@austin.rr.com .

May 1999

FIRST CHALICE LIGHTER CALL OF 1999

The first Chalice Lighter call of 1999 has been received. This call is for Community Unitarian Universalist Church in Plano, Texas. Chalice Lighter funds will go specifically toward outreach efforts for a new congregation that is being formed in Sherman, Texas. The Chalice Lighter money will pay for advertising, ministerial visits by guest speakers, and other related expenses.

Thank you to those who have made contributions to the Chalice Lighter fund. And to those of you who have not, it is not too late. You can write a check (or give cash) in the amount of $30 for the three calls we'll receive this year (including this call) and give it to Kathy Bishop, our Chalice Lighter Coordinator. Current Live Oak Chalice Lighters will be contributing just under $200 toward developing the Plano/Sherman U.U. community.

March 1999

CHALICE LIGHTERS START A FIRE

The Live Oak Chalice Lighter program drive is off to a great start. Thanks to those of you who have contributed to help light the flame. We hope that eighty percent of Live Oak pledge units will become Chalice Lighters this year. The Chalice Lighter program helps congregations in our district by providing grants for specific needs, such as start-up funds to begin a new congregation or funds to help hire a minister or financial assistance in purchasing a congregational building. Live Oak Church benefited from the Chalice Lighter program in 1992 when we were just beginning.

Ordinarily, Chalice Lighters sign up with the district office then receive call notices throughout the year. The district usually sends out three calls per year, requesting $10 per call. A call is a request for a grant from a congregation for a specific need. We are offering an easier way to become a Chalice Lighter. You can participate by donating $30 for the three calls that we expect to receive this year. Kathy Bishop, Chalice Lighter Coordinator, will then respond to each of the calls during the year.

We would like to be ready for the first call of the year, which will be in April, by receiving your contribution this month. If you are interested in participating or have questions, contact Kathy Bishop at KathyBishop@austin.rr.com. Other congregations in our district appreciate your support.