Dear friends,

It was great to see everyone at the recent Mid-Year Congregational Meeting. As we learned from the meeting, and even me putting together the meeting, we have a lot on our plate here at UUCP. We wouldn’t be able to do this work without the incredible assistance of so many incredible folks in our congregation. I would name you all, but I know I’d forget a few, but I think it’s safe to say that if you’re reading this letter that you are doing your part. For that, I want to say thank you.

You probably know this, but we’re some generous people, with both time and money! Whenever we go to JUST Pensacola meetings, we see a heavy involvement from UUCP. We see this in the leadership and in the pews, and that is emblematic of our overall approach to service. When we see the MLK Parade, we see our folks in the streets. When we bring donations for Manna Food Bank, we do so in droves. When we collect on the 5th Sunday, we’re always generous. As you know, service is our mission and this extends inside our congregation and into the outside world.

Speaking of the outside world, I did want to spend a minute to talk briefly about the recent security issues–specifically the phishing scams that have targeted our congregation. For those at the meeting, probably the liveliest few minutes of our gathering (second only to when Lauren Anzaldo brought the sandwiches) was when everyone was sharing their stories about potential scams. People had a lot of questions, and they also had a lot of solutions. I hesitate to belabor this point because I don’t want to freak anyone out, but it’s just good to be street smart and remember that people are actively trying to get you to send them money through deception.

Lauren and I were talking about this on the way home, and just how rotten it is that we have to be constantly thinking of this, but it’s a simple reality of our moment. Even if we didn’t have this specific breach a few months back, we’d be dealing with this sooner or later in some other capacity. With that in mind, I just want to remind you of two things:

1) No one from UUCP will be reaching out to you asking for gift cards or directly for money. If you think that a request seems strange (after all, how many UUs do you know who end their letters with a “blessings”?), it’s probably not one of us who’s writing asking for money. However, if you think it might be one of us, then call the person directly on the phone with the number you have available on Simple Church. That’s one of the best ways to find out if it’s real. That said, in nearly every instance, this will not happen.

2) If any member actually does need help, I want you all to know that we have a member’s assistance fund. No shame in asking, too. Believe me. I grew up dirt poor. My family was the one that received those boxes of canned foods and the free turkey from some random church for a long period of my youth. In fact, if it weren’t for those generous people who donated way back when I was a kid, I don’t know where my family would’ve found food in some pretty lean years. Between “Reagan Cheese” (as they say, “if you know, you know”), food stamps, and church assistance, my family probably would’ve starved back in the ’80s. I’m saying all this to say that when times are hard, and it gets like that sometimes, we are family here at UUCP and we have a member’s assistance fund available. This is important to know because there might be a time when you need a helping hand, and I don’t want you to think that you need to keep quiet if you need help because everyone’s going to think it’s a scam.

On that note, I also don’t want everyone to think everyone’s out to get you, too. It’s good to be street smart, but you don’t have to be cynical about everyone who might need some help, too. There’s a balance.

In short, stay generous, keep being street smart, but don’t feel like you can’t ever ask for help if you need it. We’re family, and family looks out for each other.

As always, thank you to everyone who’s played a role in our church, whether it’s in the present or even the past. We wouldn’t be here without all the ones who kept it going long before we got here, and we wouldn’t be here now if not for the work that’s being done by some really great folks at UUCP. I’m proud to be associated with each and every one of you.

❤,
Scott
Scott Satterwhite