Resetting the Sacred Ask
United Thank Offering (UTO) announced the grant recipients for the 2021 granting year, and we are excited to share The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania will receive funding for The Hive. The focus of the granting process this year was "Recovering with Love and Gratitude: An Episcopal Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Local Contexts."
The Hive
The Hive is a digital community created to support progressive Christians who want to grow in their faith and change the world. That virtual community, which has grown beyond its capacities since the beginning of the pandemic, is a deeply meaningful way to battle isolation, hopelessness, and burnout while still enabling spiritual discipleship. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced Christians to reconsider how we engage in church when access to a physical building is not possible. Indeed, when the pandemic hit, it was clear that the church would need to turn to digital offerings to spiritually feed those in need.
The Hive is on a mission to be the church digitally equipping people with community and spiritual tools to build their faith. With this grant The Hive will be able to respond to the immense need for classes, community, forums, counseling, social justice resources, worship services, and stress relief, that they are currently unable to fully explore due to the lack of technological resources. This grant will allow The Hive to expand the types of services and classes offered in light of higher demand caused by the pandemic.
“Choosing which grant applications to fund and not fund is always difficult, but during this extraordinary time of suffering in the global Covid-19 pandemic we had to prioritize mere survival over thriving," said Sherri Dietrich, board president of UTO. "As always, if we’d had more money to grant we would have been delighted to fund more the excellent grant projects submitted, so please continue to be thankful and make your thank offerings to UTO."
United Thank Offering Funding
Through the gratitude and generosity of those who contributed through Blue Box donations, UTO awarded about $400,000 in grants during this first round and will do a second round in the Spring of 2021.
UTO is a ministry of The Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through UTO, individuals are invited to embrace and deepen a personal daily spiritual discipline of gratitude. UTO encourages people to notice the good things that happen each day, give thanks to God for those blessings and make an offering for each blessing using a UTO Blue Box. UTO is entrusted to receive the offerings, and to distribute 100% of what is collected to support innovative mission and ministry throughout The Episcopal Church and Provinces of the Anglican Communion.
For more information on UTO:
The Rev. Canon Heather Melton
Staff Officer, The United Thank Offering
917.771.3366
hmelton@episcopalchurch.org
https://www.episcopalchurch.org/united-thank-offering