Hello friends. Thomas here with some news:
The I Am UU project has always been a labor of love. We tried to make it something more sustainable, but it never worked out; we had a push to get people to sign up as Patrons for 6 weeks and we lost more Patrons than we gained. The project has just never been self-supporting.
And it has taken a lot of labor. There were plenty of 60 hour weeks over the last 12 years. There were years when I posted almost daily and write a Monday Meditation almost every week. I have developed a lot of very specific skills and became a graphic designer (which was not part of the original plan).
And based on the support we have right now, we do cover the cost of keeping the website up with gifts from the community. We will leave it there for as long as we can, but updates will be even less frequent.
We simply do not make enough to allow me to continue putting time and effort into the project. You may have noticed that there has been less content in the last year, and that is because I have been working part-time as a DRE.
As of next month, I will be working full-time as Director of Religious Education at a congregation here in North Texas. That means that there will be very little time left to work on the I Am UU project. Just moderating the I Am UU Community group will take up most of that. There will occasionally be a new graphic or a quote that I just have to share, but the page will be much quieter.
If you would like to follow Thomas Earthman as a community minister and DRE, you can like that page. If you would like to still read prayers, chalice lightings, and reflections that I write, you can also become a Patron of my ministry (Link in comments), where I expect to be publishing more often now that I am spending more time on faith development.
I will be shutting down the I Am UU Patreon, so that the few Patrons still subscribed there will no longer be charged unless they move to another payment platform OR join the active Patreon (link in comments). Ko-fi will still be active for those who want to support the website (Link in comments).
Thank you all for being here. It has been an honor to lead this project and the community that has grown up around it. The old posts and graphics will still be here for you, and I might surprise myself and start posting again if I get into a rhythm in my new position.
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