Margaret Roberts

My husband and I are members of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin. As you know, our congregation recently started our capital campaign for our building renovation and expansion. The church membership has known for a long time that we’ve needed to do something about our building (we’re bursting at the seams!), but we’ve been hesitant to undertake this task. Now, under the leadership and with the encouragement of our Senior Minister, Meg Barnhouse, we’ve finally begun.

My husband and I are very appreciative to your consultant whom your company sent to spend the long hot summer in Austin as our Campaign Director. He is a breath of fresh air! While my reaction to being asked to volunteer on canvass campaigns has typically been to drag my feet and avoid the necessary job of asking our fellow-members for their pledges, the consultant has approached this project with optimism and excitement. Since his arrival, he has been an enthusiastic leader for us. From the beginning, he told us he would be available to answer questions and support us through the capital campaign, and so far he has been true to his word.

I am very grateful for the consultant’s eagerness to participate in as many home visits to canvass members as his schedule can possibly allow. Although I have participated in previous church stewardship campaigns, I don’t think I ever had a professional accompany me. It’s very helpful to me to listen to what the consultant tells the members, and to hear his comments about my participation after the visits. This experience is useful to me now, and what I’m learning from him will be useful to me in future canvasses for which I volunteer.