Fred's Testimonial

2005 Stewardship:

Fair Compensation, by Fred Ditmars

I remember the first time Carrie, Erick and I visited LOUU church. It was in 1996 shortly after we’d relocated to Austin from NJ. Services were being held in the cafeteria of what I believe was a high school off Metric Blvd. We almost immediately felt welcomed and at home here and soon made LOUU “our church”. When our 2^nd son Ben was born, we had his dedication here.

We enjoyed being able to contribute and participate in many of the activities and events that were available to us. We were happy being members of LO,

A few years ago however, for personal reasons, we left this church and joined 1^st church.. Like when we joined LO we became involved in many of the activities of 1^st church but despite our best efforts it never felt quite right.

A little over a year ago we “came back home” to LO and haven’t looked back

Now you may be wondering. Fred, this trip down memory lane is certainly fascinating, and you tell it so well but what’s point.

Well that FAIR, fair be the operative word because what I came to talk to you about is our goal of becoming a Fair Compensation Congregation in 2006

Fair Compensation Congregation is a set of guidelines developed by the UUA on how much congregation should pay the employees of congregations. Now I could tell you about the history of these guidelines and how they grew out a concern for the quality students entering the ministry and how UU congregation compensation programs lagged behind our peers in other denominations. You might find it interesting if I told you that in 1994 only 47% of UU ministers had health insurance for themselves and their families compared to 80% of Episcopal priests, but I’m not going to do that..

I could tell about the salary, benefits and retirement recommendations in the guidelines necessary to achieve the Fair Compensation Congregation designation, I’ve seen the numbers that our finance committee has put together but I’m not going to take your tiem to review them now, you’ll hear more about in the coming weeks.

No, what I want tell you about is why it’s important to my family

It all about what we found when we first starting coming to LO and why we came back over a year ago. It’s the people…

There’s no doubt all of you sitting in this sanctuary today were a big reason for our return. But it was also the people behind the pulpit and behind the scenes that make LO a special place for us

The folks in the office keeping everything in order

Nathan who has not only continued of Jenny Carloyle taken over a the terrific RE program but has added his own personal touches to continue to provide a wonderful service for our children

Rebecca, who’s music is as grand as her new piano

And of course Chuck and Kathleen

These folks have certainly made coming back to LO special

It’s also important because of principles. 2 in particular,

	The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
	Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

You’ll recognize these as the first 2 of our 7 guiding principle

Our Principles both help to frame our behavior and challenge us to act. The first two p in particular call us to provide our best for those who serve our congregations

They challenge me and I believe all of us to consider our responsibility to ensure that the people who work at live oak and help to make it so special should receive the same benefits we expect from our jobs. To be compensated appropriately so that they can afford to live in the community they serve, afford to pay the doctor if they or someone in their family get sick, or provide a safety net for their families if “heaven forbid” (am I allow to say that in a UU church) they should become disabled or even die? I think so don’t you?

I won’t lie to you, it will cost us some money to do this. In fact, we’ll need to increase pledges by 30% this year to make this happen.

Let’s be real

"A smile and a hug in the fellowship hall are always welcome, but they don't take the place of being appropriately rewarded for extra effort, and they don't pay the rent or college tuition."

"The money is important," "but just as important is the fact it says, `We respect and appreciate you.'"

As we get ready for the church canvas this year, plan to take time and talk to your canvasser about this commitment, what it means to you and the church. But also take time to consider our principles and look into your heart and ask yourself if this isn’t the right thing for you and me to do

The journey of a few thousand dollars starts with a small step, won’t you join me.