March is member renewal month at the Merton Center!  If your membership has expired, you will likely find a letter asking you to renew in your mailbox soon.  Has it been awhile since you were a member? Then consider rejoining.   Your membership is very important to us as we increase our efforts throughout 2018.

If you are reading this article and are not a TMC member, consider joining us in our urgent mission to build a consciousness of values and to raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war, poverty, racism, classism, economic justice, human rights, and environmental justice. We engage people of diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world.

Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines.  Team up with others to be a voice of conscience in our region.  Stay connected with the social justice and peace community by receiving weekly eblasts of activities, as well as The NewPeople in the mail or online.  Take a look at our TMC projects and partners on page two of this issue.  Consider participating in their efforts.  Discover the power and solidarity that comes from being part of something greater than any of us can be on our own.

Current TMC members, we ask you to accept the challenge to become a monthly peacemaker (donor), by pledging to give each month through a commitment at your bank or on a credit card.  Donations that come in regularly through the monthly peacemaker giving provide a reliable source of revenue to meet our on-going obligations for rent, utilities and staffing.  We would like to count on you to become a monthly peacemaker!

Last year, over 70 TMC members were Cornerstone Sustainers.  Their gifts made up over 30% of the funding needed to run the Center.  Each Cornerstone Sustainer gave $500 or more annually toward the efforts of the TMC.  If you can, please consider stepping up to become a new Cornerstone Sustainer this year.  Let us know of your interest and we will provide you more information.

There are many ways to make your membership gift.  Clip the form included in this issue of The NewPeople and mail it in, or go to the TMC website at http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org and click on “Take Action.”  If you get a renewal notice in the mail, respond with the envelope provided.   Membership rates are flexible.  Regular renewals are $50 for individuals and $100 for families.  The low-income rate is $15.  The introductory and lapsed memberships rate is $25 again this year.  Organization and congregation memberships are also available.

If you can, respond right away, without delay.  Put your membership to work now to ensure the strength of the TMC throughout 2018.  If you have never been to the Center, please stop by Monday through Friday between 10 AM and 4 PM.  Get a closer look at the Center through your visit and by reviewing the information included on our website.  You, your time, your talent, and your money are at the heart of the Merton Center.  People like you have supported the TMC since 1972.  Now is our time to ensure the vitality of its mission through our annual membership support.

Thank you!

The Thomas Merton Center