***Chalice Lighters Update, July 2021
Dear PSWD Chalice Lighter,
On behalf of the PSWD Board and Michael Salwasser, the most recent PSWD Chalice Lighters Coordinator, I thank you for your faithful contributions to the Chalice Lighters program for our UUA’s Pacific Southwest District. Because of your faithfulness, we have been able to provide tens of thousands of dollars in financial aid to dozens of congregations over the past 25 years. We couldn’t have done it without partners like you in local congregations that believe in the power of our religious tradition to change lives and communities.
With the vote of the PSWD Board to recommendation to dissolve the Pacific Southwest District and other districts in various states of dissolution and reorganization, we recognize it its time to re-evaluate and reconfigure how we do Chalice Lighters in the Pacific Western Region. For now, we will cease collecting funds electronically and otherwise for the PSWD Chalice Lighters program. At the point we have agreement on how to move forward, we will announce the new, revised Chalice Lighters and let you know how you can continue this great legacy of our Region.
In the meantime and in the spirit that Chalice Lighters represents, I invite you to consider making a generous donation to the UUA Disaster Relief Fund. Out West as our Region is, we know that climate collapse is real, so we can expect more wildfires, floods, droughts and other catastrophic events. The UUA Disaster Relief Fund increases our capacity to respond to the urgent needs of Unitarian Universalists and UU congregations in these tragic circumstances. Let’s follow the lead of PWR’s Mountain Desert District, which donated its own sizable disaster relief fund to that of our UUA.
In faith,
Carlton E. Smith
Pacific Western Regional Lead
Chalice Lighter Calls
The PSWD Chalice Lighter program has been slightly revamped effective the 2019/2020 church year. Beginning July, 2019 there will be an active call open at all times: Fall – July-October; Winter – November-February, and Spring – March-June. As in the past, all calls for the fiscal year will open for contributions with the posting of the Fall call. If you prefer to fulfill your annual pledge in one sitting, you may still contribute to the Winter and Spring calls in advance when you make your Fall donation.
Many donors have requested the option to set up automated monthly payments. By having calls open continuously, automated monthly withdrawals will be easy for donors to arrange.
Make a one-time gift (to one or all calls) on the PSWD Giving Page.
Set up automatic monthly payments on the PSWD Automatic Giving Page.
Contributions and correspondence are no longer mailed to Seattle. If you make your contributions by check, please make check payable to PSWD Chalice Lighters and mail to:
PSWD Chalice Lighters
P.O. Box 567
Brighton, CO 80601
If you are not yet a PSWD Chalice Lighter, you can sign up here to become a Chalice Lighter. If you are already enrolled as a PSWD Chalice Lighter, you can use this same form to let us know if you wish to change from paper mailings to receiving emailed calls.
The PSWD is currently accepting applications for Chalice Lighter grants. Learn how your congregation can apply for a Chalice Lighter Grant. If you have questions about the program, contact pswdchalicelighters@pwruua.org.
The Chalice Lighters Program of the Pacific Southwest District exists to help fund the growth of the member congregations of this District.
The program is designed to make grants to applicant congregations for:
- Facility improvements, such as buying land, building, rebuilding, furnishing or enlarging facilities
- One-time professional leadership expenses, such as the costs of hiring a Minister, Religious Educator, or Music Director
These are improvements which would significantly strengthen the scope of a congregations’s ministry.
Mission: To support and encourage the excellence and growth of Unitarian Universalism in the Pacific Southwest District by providing resources to new and existing congregations through the distribution of Chalice Lighter grant funds.
Who is eligible?
PSWD Congregations that meet these requirements:
- A member congregation of the Pacific Southwest District of the UU Association
- An honor congregation of the UUA and the PSWD for the previous fiscal year
- A congregation in which 20% of its members are active subscribers to the Chalice Lighters Program. Please note that an active subscriber is one who has contributed to at least one call in the previous year.
To check your grant eligibility, contact the PSWD Chalice Lighter Coordinator at pswdchalicelighters@pwruua.org. Chalice Lighters Grant application forms are available for download now.
Share information about Chalice Lighters within your congregation. To introduce others to the program and provide information on how to become a Chalice Lighter member, download the Chalice Lighter Flyer.
Grants Awarded since 1997
Facilities
UU Church, Surprise, AZ
UU Congregation of Las Vegas, NV
Valley UU Church, Chandler, AZ
UU Congregation of Northwest Tucson, AZ
Emerson UU Church, Canoga Park, CA
Monte Vista UU Congregation, Montclair, CA
West Valley UU Church, Glendale, AZ
Neighborhood Church, Pasadena, CA
UU Congregation of Las Vegas, NV
UU Church of Studio City, CA
Chalice UU Congregation, Escondido, CA
UU Fellowship of Kern County, Bakersfield, CA
UU Church of the Desert, Rancho Mirage, CA
UU Congregation of NW Tucson, AZ
Orange Coast UU Church, Costa Mesa, CA
First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, CA
UU Church of Long Beach, CA
Granite Peak UU Congregation, Prescott, AZ
UU Church of Ventura, CA
Tapestry: A UU Congregation, Mission Viejo, CA
Conejo Valley UU Fellowship, Thousand Oaks, CA
Live Oak UU Congregation, Goleta, CA
First UU Church of San Diego, CA
UUs of the Santa Clarita Valley, Newhall, CA
First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, CA
UU Church of Santa Paula, CA
Throop UU Church
Beacon UU Congregation, Flagstaff, AZ
Religious Leadership
UU Congregation of Green Valley, AZ
Conejo Valley UU Fellowship, Thousand Oaks, CA
Granite Peak UU Congregation, Prescott, AZ
UU Church of Southeastern Arizona, Sierra Vista, AZ
Emerson UU Church, Canoga Park, CA
Unitarian Universalists of the Santa Clarita Valley, Santa Clarita, CA
Tapestry: A Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Mission Viejo,CA
Summit UU Fellowship, Santee, CA
UU Church in Surprise, AZ
Sepulveda UU Society, North Hills, CA
West Valley UU Church, Glendale, AZ
UU Church of Ventura, CA