“I have been finding treasures in places I did not intend to search. I have been hearing wisdom from tongues I did not intend to listen to. I have been encountering beauty where I did not want to look for it. And I am learning so much from journeys we did not intend to take.”

— Suzy Kassem

Dear Beloved Community,

Our journey continues at UCH, and who could have imagined that we would be in this place during our 2025 Stewardship/Gratitude month. We are immersed in ongoing, upsetting, daily multi-level national and global crisis, and living into so many places of not-knowing. In response we are rooting ourselves more fully in the values of Jesus and growing. We are becoming more outreach-focused and thriving and attracting new listeners to our Live-Streams and UCH Rebuild podcasts. Our website and blog visits are also growing. And our new weekly “Updates from the Journey” and monthly “Notes from the Journey” are driving online visits up, indicating that we are reaching more folkx who need an alternative to the distorted christian nationalism that is being served up as truth in our nation. We are delighted to have received a $60,000 Clergy Renewal grant from CTS/Lilly Foundation and are excited and daunted by work that lies ahead to make it happen. Change is thick in the air. And as Suzy Kassem suggests, we continue to find “treasures in places (we) did not intend to search. And are learning so much from journeys we really didn’t intend to take.”

November is Gratitude and Stewardship Month at UCH. And our theme this year is “Finding Treasures, Hearing Wisdom, and Encountering Beauty on Journeys We (Did and) Did Not Intend to Take.” Each Sunday in November we will be hearing from one of our UCH lay leaders during gratitude time in worship about how they have been surprised, challenged, and found joy on our journey through pandemic, the sale of our property, continuing online ministry, and anxiety provoking politics that repeatedly violate our values.

On November 23, we will be blessing our UCH tithes, bank accounts, investments, treasurer, and bookkeeper, and our growing efforts to make our budget reflect our values. On November 23, as part of our UCH Gratitude Month, we will have a short congregational meeting and vote after Zoom worship on amending the 2025 budget to include two generous donations to South Hayward Parish and Comida para Cherryland foodbanks in response to the government shutdown, and to the suspension of SNAP in particular. This is a powerful way to bring our budget more into alignment with our values statement that clearly states we will follow Jesus’ call to “feed the hungry” (Matthew 25) in our community.

Our Council also asks you to prayerfully consider your gifts of time, talent, and treasure, as we construct our budget for the coming year. Our Vice Moderator Scout has generated an online pledge form for you to fill out and submit. Please submit your answers by November 23 so that we can bless all pledges, of time, talent, and treasure or anything else you want to offer to our church’s ongoing ministry, during worship on that day.

I am deeply blessed to be your Senior Minister and Teacher. And I am grateful for each one of you, and for how our desire to be in Beloved Community has taken precedence over our fear of technology and how we continue to grow in that together. I am looking forward to more opportunities to be grateful with you this month, and to bless our resources on November 23. I give thanks with you—for the difference we are making in each other’s lives and in our communities during these challenging times. May we all find ways to live into our calling to be seekers embracing the journey -- no matter where we are “Finding Treasures, Hearing Wisdom, and Encountering Beauty on Journeys We (Did and) Didn’t Intend to Take.”

Much Love,
Rev. Jeanne, and the Council of United Church of Hayward, UCC