The first United Thank Offering was in 1889. It began as part of Missionary efforts of the Women’s Auxiliary to the Board of Mission, authorized by General Convention in 1871. Julia Emery, secretary to the Women’s Auxiliary, and Ida Soule, who counted the missionary offering of the 1886 Triennial meeting of Women, inspired women to pray and give coins with the idea of building a new church in Anvik, Alaska and sending a woman missionary to Japan. At the 1889 Triennial Meeting, the offering was $2,188.64 and accomplished those purposes.
From these beginning the UTO has carried on as one of the oldest women missionaries. In 2015 United Thank Offering of The Episcopal Church awarded 55 grants for a total of $1,558,006.85 for the mission and ministry of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. The 2015 United Thank Offering Grants session focused on the Fourth Mark of Mission, to seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation.
The UTO program culminates each year in the spring and fall In-Gatherings, when the offerings of each parish family are collected … offerings that are combined with those of Episcopal parishes everywhere to support projects worldwide for missions and ministry.
We believe that when daily thanks is given and money is placed in the Blue Box, the money becomes an outward and visible way to say thanks. It is a way to take our Baptismal covenant seriously ~ to love God, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
You know where some of the money goes – St. Peter’s was one of recipients in a UTO grant ($15k) to refurbish our kitchen. Here is our page from May, 2015 about the grant.
Another example. Here is a UTO grant recipient from New Orleans which created a senior center, St. Paul’s Senior Center which started out as a Katrina recovery center but has become much more. Take a look at their variety of activities in this video
The UTO national site is here. Please consider a generous gift in 2015!