UU Lansing Pledge Drives: A Journey Through History (Part 3, late 1970s)
By Ed Busch
As we kick off the 2025 pledge drive, I’m excited to continue our journey through the UU Lansing archives, exploring the history, challenges, and significance of our pledge drives. In this post, we’ll dive into the years 1976-1979 — a period marked by growth, a new minister, and a congregation coming together to achieve its goals.
In the fall of 1976, the congregation welcomed Denise Tracy, a recent divinity school graduate, for her first settled ministry. At that time, the average church attendance was just 67, but by 1980, the church had grown to 150 members—a testament to the vibrant energy and commitment of the community.
The week of November 7, 1976, the church newsletter featured an article about the upcoming finance drive and the proposed budget for 1977. The pledge canvass began on November 7, with a celebration planned for Saturday, November 13, at the Grand Finale Wine-Dup Party. The Finance Chairperson that year was Jim Davis.
The following week’s newsletter provided more details about the Grand Finale, which promised an evening of free wine and cheese, music and singing from the UUCGL combo, dancing (ballroom and belly), and plenty of fun and surprises. The next afternoon, on November 14, the congregation gathered for the installation of Rev. Denise Tracy. The service, prefaced by a 15-minute music performance by Linda LeRoux, Chris Braun, Jim Ashton, and Elayne Schroeder, was a moment of mutual commitment. Rev. Tracy wrote in the newsletter, “The installation service represents our mutual commitment to work at building our Church and creating a religious community which ministers to our personal needs—spiritual, physical, and emotional. The 14th will be a day of great joy and also great seriousness. Commitment means taking risks, creating trust, and pledging to fulfill some of our dreams together.”
By November 20, the Finance Committee reported that the Grand Finale was a well-attended success, with great conversation, entertainment, and dancing. They received 74 pledges and hoped to wrap up the drive within a week. The following week, they reported receiving 106 pledges, achieving 93% of their goal.
In the fall of 1977, the church held a “Bacchanal” and pledge party on November 5. The event promised a “veritable treasure trove of earthly and earthy delights,” including bonfires and a lively “Mr. U-U” contest to judge the man with the liveliest legs. The night was all about fun, frolic, fellowship, and, of course, pledges. The Finance Committee that year included Mary Lokken, Charles Rettke, Dick Peterson, Bob Liggett, Sherwood Haynes, and Jim Davis.
An interesting aside from that period: Rev. Tracy’s November 6 sermon was titled “The Jesus Question,” where she explored various ways Jesus has been viewed as a symbol and the UU liberal response to these views. The sermon sparked a wide range of reactions, as Rev. Tracy later wrote, “The Jesus Question service seems to have had a variety of responses. Some people were quite uncomfortable to hear a sermon about Jesus. Others felt it was about time since they have been waiting for quite a while to hear a U-U view. What I do know is that there was something in the service to challenge everyone no matter what perspective we embrace.” She went on to finish with “We cannot exempt ourselves from expressing our feelings and thoughts with respect and caring for others values. Even though choosing growth in the context of caring is a forever delicate balance – we need to recognize that no topic is exempt from our exploration and if any topic was, our liberalism and our search would be shallow, confining and in actuality, not very liberal at all.”
Returning to pledge drives, the November 16, 1978 Lansing Uni-Universe newsletter announced a Combination Halloween Party and Pledge Drive Party—dubbed the “Halloween Pledge Party”—scheduled for October 28. Attendees were greeted by John and Peg Roberts, Roger and Sara Gifford, and Selig and Sydney Katz, with George Lokken kicking off the Pledge Drive. The church’s budget for 1979 was reported at $55,469. Guests were invited to come in costume, with food, drink, and entertainment provided.
By December 18, 1978, the pledge drive was 99% complete, with 105 members and friends pledging—the highest in the church’s history at that time!
Wrapping up the decade, the September 24, 1979 Lansing Uni-Universe newsletter included Rev. Tracy’s topic for the September 30 sermon, “The Search for the Unicorn”. She wrote, “What do Spenser’s The Fairie Queen, Grimm’s Brave Little Tailor and Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland all have in common? The Unicorn appears as a character in all three. The Unicorn is a universal myth. It can be found in Indian, Greek, Roman, Chinese and European cultures as a symbol of erotic, the mystical and the pure.” On page 2 of the newsletter is an announcement for the Pledge-Drive-Kickoff-Friendship Dinner on October 20. The announcement urged RSVPs to be returned for this complimentary dinner followed by a performance of Heavenly Daze featuring “an all-star cast.” Pledge Sunday was to be the following day, October 21.
The pledge campaign included a pledge packet that featured a beautiful mural sketched by Ann Mellen reflecting “what we value in our church community – the diversity, the sharing, the caring we bring together.”
The following week’s newsletter included Rev. Tracy’s column, Notes From A Friend, where she shared her delight and wrote, “Sharing my new knowledge about the Unicorn with you was a delightful experience for me. The smiles as we sang The Unicorn Song were even brighter than usual and will have more meaning in future renditions of that song. But perhaps the most delightful experience of all was the people who chose a favorite picture of a Unicorn and tried to figure out what characteristics they discovered in their mind’s eye that appealed to them. Some people took the risk to share their learning with me and I learned about them because of it. I, too, had a favorite which I shared and why.”
The musical-comedy Heavenly Daze was a resounding success, produced by Billie McCants and Elizabeth Winder, with Bill and Helen Wells directing the music. Rev. Tracy wrote, “I am absolutely thrilled at how well the play, dinner and pledge drive have gone this past week. It’s incredible how many people worked to have a dream come true.“ Images from the performance can be found below and here’s a link to an audio of the performance. October 22 newsletter reported that 82 pledging units had already exceeded the previous year’s amount and were within $9,000 of their goal. By November 12, they had reached their goal, marking a 30% increase in pledges—enough to offset inflation and finance many of the church’s dreams. The Annual Report prepared in the spring of 1980 contributes these factors to the success of the Pledge Drive:
Early and careful planning and follow-through.
A general spirit of enthusiasm among our members and friends.
A big increase in the already prevailing enthusiasm due to the very successful dinner and Heavenly Daze play.
No more than 5 contacts per canvasser.
Several very generous pace-setting pledges.
The “Extension Matching Fund” contributed by some of our 1979 pledgers to match the first $24 of new pledges. This fund encouraged new pledges (52) and also turned out to be necessary for reaching our goal.
Many friends and new members who made significant contributions.
A team of 34 canvassers who did their job promptly, patiently, and skillfully and reported conscientiously.
It’s inspiring to see how the congregation came together to meet its pledge goals and fund the church they envisioned! In my next blog post, I’ll explore the 1980s and the pledge drives and shows of that era.
As the 2025 Pledge Campaign begins, remember the rich tradition we are part of, and consider making your pledge early to support our beloved community.
If you have ideas for a blog topic or questions or just want to share a comment, please let me know at uucgl.archives@gmail.com. I welcome feedback and like to know I have an audience!
Sources:
Busch, Ed, Shirley Beckman, Harry Schwarzweller, “Dedicated Lives: 162 Years of Liberal Ministry and Its Ministers in Lansing, Michigan 1849-2011”, 2011.
November 7, 1976, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
November 14, 1976, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
November 21, 1976, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
October 17, 1977, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
November 1977, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
November 16, 1978, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
December 18, 1978, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
September 24, 1979, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
October 1, 1979, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
October 22, 1979, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
November 12, 1979, October 22, 1979, UU Lansing Records, Church Newsletter.
Annual Report, 1979-1980, October 22, 1979, UU Lansing Records, Publications, Annual Reports.
Images:
Rev. Denise Tracy, circa 1976.
Pledge Packet cover, 1977.
Pledge Packet Cover, 1978.
Pledge Packet Cover, Sketched Mural by Ann Mellen, 1979.
Rev. Denise Tracy, circa 1976, UU Lansing Archives.
1977 Pledge Packet cover
1978 Pledge Packet cover
1979 Pledge Packet cover
Mary Lokken in Heavenly Daze, 2008.0172, UU Lansing Archives.
Billie McCants in Heavenly Daze, 2007.0167, UU Lansing Archives.
George Lokken in Heavenly Daze, 2008.0352, UU Lansing Archives.
Peg Roberts and George Lokken in Heavenly Daze, 2007.0168, UU Lansing Archives.
George Lokken in Heavenly Daze, 2008.0362, UU Lansing Archives.
Peg Roberts and George Lokken in Heavenly Daze, 2007.0169, UU Lansing Archives.
Bill Wells in Heavenly Daze, 2007.0172, UU Lansing Archives.
Mark Zussman and Rev. Denise Tracy in Heavenly Daze, 2007.0170, UU Lansing Archives.
Rev. Denise Tracy and Peg Roberts in Heavenly Daze, 2007.0173, UU Lansing Archives.
Peg Roberts and George Lokken in Heavenly Daze, 2007.0168, UU Lansing Archives.
Bill Wells in Heavenly Daze, 2007.0174, UU Lansing Archives.
Bill Wells, Helen Wells, Peg Perry Roberts, Denise Tracy, George Lokken, Dorothy Carlock, Robert Brown, Diane Bell in Heavenly Daze, 2008.0743, UU Lansing Archives.
Two children with George Lokken in Heavenly Daze, 2008.0353, UU Lansing Archives.
Irma Briggs-Hooker at Heavenly Daze, 2007.0171, UU Lansing Archives.
