Go Big or Go Home

They say that there comes a time when you have to go big, or go home. That time is coming up for the I Am UU project. I have done almost all the work on the project for the last 5 years. For the last two, I’ve put in an average of 45 hours a week, not including Chalica. I have taught myself some graphic design, I read several sermons a week, I’ve built a network of contacts, and I’ve written 43 blog posts and all the other content on IAmUU.net over the last year and a half. It has allowed me to feel like I am contributing something to the wide world while I’ve been a caretaker for my mother (who has recently passed) and my kids (two of whom have special needs). It has been an honor to touch so many lives, and one I absolutely do not want to give up.

What I would like to do is to learn how to do it all better. I want to be able to do the work offered by the UUA to be the religious educator that the I Am UU community deserves. I would like to attend lots of workshops and seminars. I’d like to go to GA and meet some of the amazing people that I’ve traded emails or had video chats with. I’d like to eventually be able to visit congregations as a speaker or to lead workshops. I want to “go big”.

What I am not sure how to do, right now, is to add all of that to the 45 hours a week I am already spending on this ministry, in addition to other obligations. What I cannot do is spend money I don’t have on registration fees and travel expenses. What I need to know is that the community that has built up around the I Am UU project wants to see it continue to grow and to become a better resource. I need your links, your personal stories, your comments on our Facebook posts, and what money you can spare to help me live up to the promise of the I Am UU project.

It is an investment in liberal religion and in sharing Unitarian Universalism with the world. It is about creating opportunities to start discussions about the inherent worth and dignity of every person. I hope to make it easier to explain our goal of a more just, equitable, and compassionate world. I want people to know that we will accept them, no matter what their life experience, and we will encourage them to be their best. If you think this mission could make the world a better place, I ask you to be an active part of the I Am UU community so that we can make it happen, together.

This is my passion. I want the world to know that there is a choice beyond conservative and moderate religion. Liberal religion is an important message, and I want nothing more than to devote my life to sharing it in a way that is ethical, compelling, and personal. At the beginning of the year, I gave myself until May to figure out how to continue to do so.

I am asking for your feedback and your help. I need your submissions to help get some of my time back. I need your engagement on Facebook to help put our posts on more screens. I need your support to educate myself and to further my own spiritual growth, so that I can bring what I learn back to you. If I haven’t earned all of that, then I would love to hear what direction you would like to see things go in.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to reading your thoughts.