Sharing the Plate
What, you may ask, is the Share the Plate (STP) program? Over the past decade or so, the UU World published articles promoting the STP program, and many UU churches adopted it. The typical plan is for a church to share non-pledge donations on a designated Sunday each month with a service organization. We began our participation in April 2006 and the Board adopted it on a permanent basis a year later, consistent with our congregation's commitment to social justice and supportive increases in plate offerings. The Justice Committee was authorized by the Board to assume oversight of the STP and select each month's recipient. Recently, the Board agreed to schedule STP on the first Sunday of each month.
The Justice Committee's criteria for selecting recipient organizations for STP are as follows:
- its mission must be consistent with UU principles;
- it must have need of the funds;
- it must have a unique mission and be effective in carrying it out;
- it may be supported by a coalition of churches and organizations but may not controlled by a particular church or faith;
- its principles and policies must be in keeping with those of our congregation and
- the organization must not advocate certain electoral political views.
The amount raised varies from month to month, but the average offering over two years has been about $700. In 2009, it has been averaging nearly $800 per month.
Share the Plate recipients have included:
- Alabama Faith Council
- Alabama ARISE
- Birmingham AIDS Outreach
- Bridge Ministries
- Coalition for the Homeless
- Greater Birmingham Ministries
- Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!) to fund ESL (English as a Second Language) classes
- NorthStar Youth Ministry
- The Old Firehouse Shelter
- Pathways Shelter for Women and Children
- Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty
- Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA)
- Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
- Urban Ministries
- NorthStar Youth Ministries
- Women's Health Initiative
- World of Opportunity
Currently, we Share the Plate on the first Sunday of each month.
The Justice Committee welcomes your suggestions for the Share the Plant program. See the Justice table for a discussion of the criteria we use to evaluate and choose recipients.
Email the Justice Chair at chair.justice
.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham
A Welcoming congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Location: 4300 Hampton Heights Drive · Birmingham, Alabama · 35209 · U.S.A
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 19786 · Birmingham, AL 35219
Phone: (205) 945-8109 · Fax: (205) 945-8111
E-mail: office 'at' uucbham.org
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