United Thank Offering

The Mission of the United Thank Offering is to invite people to offer daily prayers of thanksgiving to God and outward and visible signs of those prayers which will benefit others.

God calls each of us to grow in awareness of God, our own relationship with God, and our relationship in community with all whom God has created. As habits of daily thankful prayer mature, our personal relationship with God grows. Daily prayers of thanksgiving strengthen our being and doing. The blue box can be a reminder of our many blessings. Uniting our own gifts of thanks with those of others keeps us in thankful relationship them and with all of creation. In sharing our thank offerings with those throughout the Communion who seek to address compelling human need and extend the mission of the Church, we deepen our sense of participation in the lives of others. The shared prayer and money offerings help others to respond to God's call and to grown in their own deepened sense of living within the greater Christian community. Through our shared stories, God calls us to continue to grow into the fullness of the Kingdom.

Suggestions for Churches

1. Distribute Blue Boxes several months before your Ingathering.
2. Submit articles, prayers, and stories to your bulletin or newsletter.
3. Prepare a UTO mailing for each household—or an insert for a bulleting.
4. Create a bulletin board—encourage participation and response: “What are you thankful for?”
5. Get your clergy to support UTO; encourage them to mention it in announcements, preach often on thanksgiving.
6. Have a Spring or Summer Thanksgiving Pot Luck Supper—with UTO decorations (new placemats are beautiful!)
7. Show the video “Turning Lives Around”
   Email the diocesan coordinator to borrow a copy.
8. Talk about thankfulness as a way of life, especially in your own life.
   Remember the UTO allows us to be missionaries throughout the world—without leaving our homes.
9. Order a copy of 2001 grants, then make a map on a bulletin board. (Great project of Sunday School.)
10. Distribute copies of the UTO prayer.
    Encourage its use in the Prayers of the People.
11. Start a thanksgiving list- to go with the other prayer requests at each worship service.
12. Share your own stories of living thankfully.
13. Use the devotional book for ideas and prayers.
14. Begin to sow the seeds of thankfulness in the children’s Sunday School: make a bulletin board of their thanksgivings.
15. Watch for new material from UTO.
    The newest materials are usually mailed to churches in February.

The United Thank Offering Prayer

Heavenly Father, source of all creation, all love, all true joy: accept, we pray these outward signs of our profound and continuing thankfulness for all of life. Bless those who will benefit from these gifts through the outreach of the United Thank Offering;

and keep each of us ever thankful for all the blessings of joy and challenge that come our way; through Him who is the greatest gift and blessing of all, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen

Send in your Spring Ingathering to:

United Thank Offering

Episcopal Diocese of West Texas

P.O. Box 6885

San Antonio, Texas 78209

United Thank Offering national website

http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/UTO/

Contact:

 Karin Dalton, Diocesan Coordinator for UTO

1655 Iuka Road

Poteet TX 78065

830-276-3032

Kangelcd@aol.com