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FOUNDATION NEWS Caring for the Ministry of Grace: "Ecclesia Perpetua" December 2009 | ||||
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AND WHATEVER YOU DO, IN WORD OR DEED, DO EVERYTHING IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, GIVING THANKS TO GOD THE FATHER THROUGH HIM.
COLOSSIANS 3:17 (NRSV)
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The Foundation Board says a huge "THANKS" to all of you at Grace who have supported, participated in, encouraged, or prayed for ministries that the Foundation funded recently! You helped ... - enhance worship music with new instruments and sound system, - welcome children into renovated Sunday School rooms, - send a team of youth and adults to Guyana, - provide new computers for our pastors - and start a hand chimes music group Working together, we have enhanced and initiated new ministries at Grace beyond current programming. All this is possible because members saw ministry opportunities and you, with others previously, said "Thanks, God" with gifts through the Grace Foundation. These gifts are your legacy of love for the future, showing your hope and passion that we touch more people with God's love through Grace Lutheran Church. As values of our invested funds dipped steeply, the Foundation Board has wrestled this last year to understand how our funds could be used. When our funds invested with the ELCA Foundation were "underwater," we received no earnings to fund projects, but learned we could use un-endowed monies in the Foundation's |
General Fund to support the mission of the Foundation. We are thankful that our resources are currently recovering value, at least to the level of the endowed balance money from the endowed gifts. The Board believes that the market will recover, allowing us once again to fund projects from the earnings of endowed gifts.
At any stage of life, we can witness to our faith and hope for the future by sharing our gifts, financial and others. The Foundation can fund more ministry work as the total funds grow, either from gifts or investment earnings. Gifts to the Foundation have come mostly from three types of "Thank you" responses. Living givers have celebrated a major faith or life milestone in the family, such as a baptism, confirmation, marriage, etc., or celebrated the life of a friend or relative that passed on. While all heartfelt offerings to God should be celebrated, gifts to the Foundation show a vision to provide lasting benefits for God's work. Givers have also thanked God for their blessings by investing in the church as a "Willing Witness." They witness to their faith by planning a gift from their estate that will provide resources that have a lasting impact for God's work. Estate planning is helpful for everyone, regardless of the size of their estate. Designating a gift in a will provides a lasting legacy of love for the Lord and the Lord's work in this place. | ||||
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