ELCA Stories of Faith in Action

WE ARE THE CHURCH

Coming together as a church / Beyond our church doors / Changing the world

25 YEARS TOGETHER IN CHRIST

2 25 YEARS TOGETHER IN CHRIST

TABLEOFCONTENTS

4 Letter from the ELCA Presiding Bishop

6 We are a church that belongs to Christ. There is a place for you here. Stories: Following God’s current,

Startled by the good fit

8 We are a church whose unity is in Jesus Christ, who gathers us around word and water, wine and bread. Stories: Coming together as a church, Finding a God of grace, Shaped by community

10 We are a church that believes Jesus is

God’s “Yes” to us. Our lives can be a “Yes” to others. Stories: Cathedral in the Night, Vacation Bible college, Empowering inmates

12 We are a church that rolls up our sleeves and gets to work. Stories: Changing the world, A community of participants

14 We are a church that is deeply rooted — and always being made new.

Stories: A new chapter, An open invitation, A place of peace

CENTERFOLD 25TH ANNIVERSARY TIMELINE

16 We are a church that is a catalyst, convener and bridge builder. Stories: Returning home, Unity between traditions, Building bridges between faiths

18 We are a church that is energized by

lively engagement in our faith and life. Stories: Tracking our carbon footprint,

Beyond our church doors

20 We are a church that believes God is calling us into the world — together.

Stories: Pastor on horseback, Eager to learn, A common calling

22 Budget/Why we give

24 FAQ

26 Where your offering goes

27 Credits

PAGE

WE ARE THE CHURCH

Coming together as a church / Building bridges between faiths / Changing the world


Cover: Members of Redeemer Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Minneapolis. Read their story on page 11.

STORIES OF FAITH IN ACTION 3

Following God’s current


Coming together as a church

Finding a God of grace

Shaped by community

Cathedral in the Night

Vacation Bible college

Empowering inmates

Changing the world

A community of participants

A new chapter

An open invitation

A place of peace

Returning home

Unity between traditions

Building bridges between faiths

Tracking our carbon footprint


Pastor on horseback

Eager to learn

A common calling


The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. We are a church rooted in Scripture, tradition, the Lutheran Confessions and the rich histories of our congregations. It is through God’s grace that we are made new day by day to proclaim Jesus Christ and boldly participate in God’s work. As Luther said, this faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing.

As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we get to look back at the people and events that have shaped us as a church. We celebrate the stories that have made us vibrant and distinctive yet brought us together as nearly 10,000 congregations, 65 synods and numerous churchwide ministries freed in Christ to love and serve neighbors in our communities, our nation and around the world.

What God has done through us is indeed worth celebrating! In 25 years, we’ve started 435 new congregations. We’ve theologically trained nearly 8,000 leaders. Together, we’ve sent thousands of missionaries to serve around the world. Thank you for your partnership in proclaiming God’s reconciliation in Christ and restoring community.

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,


It is through your support of this church each week in your congregational offering that you’ve made these vital ministries happen. Through the gifts you have made as congregations, you’ve trained leaders who’ve become missionaries, advocates and pastors. You’ve worked to break the systems that foster hunger and poverty in your community, across the country and overseas. You’ve joined with other faiths and denominations around the world to pray and work for peace. You’ve created communities where people feel welcomed. You’ve stood up against violence and taught generations of young people that they can change the world.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul writes, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”

It is through our willingness as a church to boldly participate in God’s work that we are made new day by day and story by story. I am grateful for your encouragement, support and prayers in making these stories of faith in action happen.

Thanks be to God!

In God’s grace,

Mark S. HansonPresiding Bishop


Following God’s current

All are welcome. That’s been their goal from the start. Anyone looking for friendship, peace, spirituality, fellowship and a great place to worship is welcome at River of Hope — an ELCA congregation under development in Hutchinson, Minn., where members are not the least bit hesitant to extend a welcoming handshake. A core group of River of Hope members sought to remain in the ELCA when their initial congregation disaffiliated with the ELCA about two years ago.On May 27, 2012, River of Hope took its first step toward becoming an official ELCA congregation with “Charter Sunday.” About 125 members of the worshiping community signed a charter, designed to cement their commitment. And as they determine what it means to be God’s people in their particular place and time, they’re being supported. ELCA churchwide ministries and the ELCA Southwestern Minnesota Synod are supporting River of Hope with grants and consultation.River of Hope members have gone to great lengths to ensure the participation of all. Featured on the charter are the thumbprints and signatures of all the members who were present to sign the charter.It’s “something special,” according to Jon Anderson, bishop of the ELCA Southwestern Minnesota Synod.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/current.

We are a church that belongs to Christ. There is a place for you here.

On May 27, 2012, River of Hope took its first step toward becoming an official ELCA congregation with “Charter Sunday.”

Members of River of Hope in Hutchinson, Minn., sign a charter, committing to becoming an ELCA congregation.



When Tessa Moon Leiseth first saw the ad on the ELCA’s Facebook page, she felt “startled” by how well the open position for an ELCA missionary fit her gifts and skills.As campus pastor at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., one of 26 colleges and universities of the ELCA, Tessa enjoyed encouraging, mentoring and providing spiritual care for students. Now she is playing a similar role as country coordinator for the young adults of the ELCA who are serving in South Africa. This will begin a new chapter for Tessa, her husband, Jon, and their two children. “There was something just so calling about the work — to impact the transformation of the young adults who come and serve,” Tessa says. “It matched really well with the values, hopes and dreams we have for our family.”Sending missionaries is core to the identity of this church, and the ELCA Missionary Sponsorship program is an excellent way to make a direct connection between the hearts of our people and the ministry of ELCA missionaries worldwide.The ELCA is one of the few Christian denominations in the United States that fully supports its long-term missionaries. Today 240 ELCA missionaries serve in more than 40 countries, working hand-in-hand with global neighbors teaching, preaching, healing, peacemaking, building and growing communities. Of the 240, some are self-funded volunteers or serving a two-year commitment, while others serve long-term.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/tessa.

Photo credit: Aimee Schirado

1

2

2011Bette McCrandall served as an ELCA missionary in Liberia, retiring after more than 30 years of service.

See special centerfold for complete timeline.

240missionaries

serving IN MORE THAN

40 countries

“There was something just so calling about the work — to impact the transformation of the young adults who come and serve ...”

Tessa Moon Leiseth with her husband, Jon, and their children, Isaac and Sophia


Coming together as a church When Dick Frohardt talks about Kaw Prairie Community Church in Lenexa, Kan., he can hardly contain his excitement. “Lives have been changed here in amazing ways,” he says. “People who have not been to church in years are coming in and embracing the church. It gives me goose bumps when I think about it!”Kaw Prairie is a new-start congregation between the ELCA and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), one of the ELCA’s six full communion partners.It took two years of planning and a variety of funding sources to make Kaw Prairie a reality, says Dan McKnight, pastor. A portion of the funding came from Mission Support — the percentage of weekly congregational offerings that is shared with synods and ELCA churchwide ministries. “Even though we had local funding, knowing that ELCA churchwide ministries also was supporting us [through churchwide Mission Support] raised our confidence level,” Dan says.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/together. [ Sarah Rossing, ELCA seminarian ]

We are a church whose unity is in Jesus Christ, who gathers us around word and water, wine and bread.

“People who have not been to church in years are coming in and embracing the church. It gives me goose bumps when I think about it!”

[ Kaw Prairie Community Church in Lenexa, Kan. ]


To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/brach.

Finding a God of grace Brach Jennings’ understanding of God had always been one of judgment and anger. Religion was exclusionary and condemning for Brach.Then he met two ELCA pastors who offered life-changing messages of God’s grace and unconditional love. “They basically told me that I could either focus on God’s wrath or God’s grace,” says Brach. “I had never before heard of a God of grace!” Brach is now preparing for ordained ministry at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, one of eight ELCA seminaries.ELCA seminaries currently receive close to $8 million per year in Mission Support. This investment covers 15 percent of the seminaries’ total annual costs and goes directly to educating the 1,400 ministry candidates enrolled in ELCA seminaries. The ELCA “has given me a lens to see a Christ that is not often heard,” says Brach.

Shaped by community

After spending a year in Cuernavaca, Mexico, as a young adult volunteer, Sarah Rossing returned to the United States with a passion for community work. With the help of an ELCA Fund for Leaders scholarship, Sarah is now studying at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and hopes to accept a call in a place where she can work to build community and live out her faith.Support of this kind ensures that our congregations continue to thrive and grow with faithful, wise and courageous leaders like Sarah.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/sarah.

8ELCA SEMINARIES

[ Sarah Rossing, ELCA seminarian ]

The ELCA “has given me a lens to see a Christ

that is not often heard.”

2000September 27

ELCA Fund for Leaders awarded its first eight full-tuition scholarships to students preparing for ordained or rostered lay ministry at one of the eight ELCA seminaries.


[ Brach Jennings, ELCA seminarian ]


Cathedral in the Night

In what they call the “radical tradition of Jesus,” members of Cathedral in the Night, a worshiping community that’s on track to becoming an ELCA congregation, meets every Sunday night for worship and a warm meal.

Rain, sun, snow or shine, anyone interested in stopping by is welcome, including people rendered homeless.

“One of the things that’s really important to us about this ministry is that it’s not outreach to anyone. It’s creating community with everyone. We are church together,” says Stephanie Smith, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Our Savior in South Hadley, Mass. Stephanie is joining with pastors from two of the ELCA’s six full communion partners to shepherd the ministry.

Supported by an ELCA churchwide ministries grant, Cathedral in the Night is a new congregation in development. The ELCA has committed to starting 70 new ministries in 2012.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/cathedral.

We are a church that believes Jesus is God’s “Yes” to us. Our lives can be a “Yes” to others.

August 18Christ the King Lutheran Church in Bentonville, Ark., was the ELCA’s 25th new-start congregation.


1993

Rain, sun, snow or shine, anyone interested in stopping by is welcome, including people rendered homeless.

[ Cathedral in the Night in Northampton, Mass. ]


Empowering inmates

It was a compelling coincidence. On the day the ELCA released a draft of a social statement on criminal justice, Rob Nedbalek began his call as pastor of Freedom in Christ, an ELCA congregation in the Montana State Prison.

About 50 congregations of the ELCA Montana Synod began the ministry. “Many prisons just have people come and do some religious programming. They come and go,” leaving little consistency, says Chris Flohr, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Missoula, Mont.

A congregation in a prison provides the same kind of consistency “as a congregation on the outside,” he says. There is real faith community building, and word and sacrament ministry takes place. The pastor serves as an anchor, and there’s a positive transformational effect when inmates lead worship.

ELCA congregations have been engaged in the topic of criminal justice in many ways. A proposed social statement is scheduled to be considered at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/inmates.

Vacation Bible college

When Kelly Chatman, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, an ELCA college in Northfield, Minn., was asked by staff of St. Olaf College for ideas about how the campus might partner with congregations in the area, Kelly knew exactly what to do.

Redeemer, a renewing congregation of the ELCA, has many young members who come from backgrounds where a college education is not emphasized. So Kelly proposed hosting vacation Bible school for urban congregations at the college, where for four days students could visit the campus and get a taste of college life.Supported by your gifts to ELCA churchwide ministries, students in four Minneapolis ELCA congregations were part of an experience they may not otherwise have been given.

The curriculum had been especially tailored to help students see themselves in what they are learning, and it allowed students to understand that the messages in the Bible are for all people from all backgrounds.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/redeemer.

A congregation in a prison provides the same kind of consistency “as a

congregation on the outside.”

[ Kelly Chatman, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Minneapolis ]

The ELCA currently supports more than 60 international students, all of whom are chosen and endorsed by an ELCA global church companion or institution for on-going leadership development.


Changing the world

Greg Von Wald decided that he would try to change the world after attending an ELCA Youth Gathering. And with the support of more than 30,000 of his peers there, Greg became inspired — enough to believe that reducing global warming and ending extreme poverty could be possible.“Gandhi’s famous quote, ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world,’ is a call to action,” said Greg who, since the Gathering, has traveled to economically depressed areas to continue volunteer work. Most of these volunteer projects are organized by Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Gaithersburg, Md., where Greg is a member.Now in college, Greg is majoring in integrated science and technology “to develop and refine new methods of renewable energy. Everyone knows that global warming is a problem.”His volunteer work has also made Greg realize that “being the change I wish to see should not end with each service trip” or event, he says. “Rather, it should be a living idea that grows with me and is in my mind every single day.”The ELCA has a 25-year history of commitment to adolescent faith formation. ELCA Youth Gatherings, held every three years, are the largest events organized by ELCA churchwide ministries.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/greg.

[ Greg Von Wald, above, at the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering ]

“Gandhi’s famous quote, ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world,’ is a call to action,” said Greg who, since the Gathering, has traveled to economically depressed areas to continue volunteer work.

We are a church that rolls up our sleeves and gets to work.


A community of participants

The Lakota Lutheran Center in Scottsbluff, Neb., is proud to say they don’t have a single “member” who attends their services.Instead, says Will Voss, pastor at the Center, we have participants. “We’re participation-minded,” he says. “We are a community of American Indian people who are serving those in need.”The Center, a worshiping community on track to becoming an ELCA congregation near the Pine Ridge Reservation, is supported by an ELCA churchwide ministries grant.While people may be quick to think of the area as primarily American Indian, Will says the Center is home to several ethnic communities, most of whom live below the poverty line.“The character of our ministry has emphasis on social ministry and doing practical care in the community,” he says.Participants run a soup kitchen and a medical bus, provide coats and blankets to whomever needs them, and they run a parish nursing program and host self-help groups.“A lot of the very same things that we encourage Christians to be about, social ministering and caring for one another, also are a part of the American Indian tradition,” Will says. “There’s pride taken both as Christians and living out the native culture.”

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/participants.

“There’s pride taken both as Christians and living out the native culture.”

198821,500 attended the first ELCA Youth Gathering in San Antonio.


More than30,000YOUTH

AND ADULTS attended the 2012 ELCA

Youth Gathering

[ Lakota Lutheran Center in Scottsbluff, Neb. ]


Partnerships with The Lutheran World Federation, World Council of Churches and the

National Council of Churches in Christ

A new chapter

It was a joyous day when Immanuel Lutheran Church held its first official service on Jan. 3, 1988. Balloons and a colorful carnival tent marked the location of the newly purchased building, a former real estate office in Palm City, Fla.After all, Immanuel Lutheran wasn’t just another new congregation. It was the first mission start of the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. And 25 years later, Immanuel is getting ready to celebrate again as it prepares to start a new congregation of its own called Living Waters in the town of Tradition.“It’s a whole planned community that has no church. It has hospitals, schools, malls, everything you can imagine, but no church,” says Tom Hartley, Immanuel’s pastor. “We feel like God’s been calling us to get things rolling. People are really excited about the potential that can happen.”

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/immanuel.

We are a church that is deeply rooted — and always being made new.

[ Immanuel Lutheran Church in Palm City, Fla. ]

“We feel like God’s been calling us to get things rolling. People are really excited about the potential that can happen.”

1988January 3

Immanuel Lutheran Church in Palm City, Fla., joined the ELCA at 4:02 p.m. (one year and two weeks after Luther Kistler, mission developer, held the first service of worship).


A place of peace

Located in one of the country’s most violent cities, Salem Lutheran Church in Flint, Mich., one of 164 renewing congregations supported by $2.6 million in grants for 2012, is not only committed to revitalizing its membership but its community, as well. In the summer of 2012, Salem hosted a four-week program during which children were able to learn karate, African drumming, photography and scrapbooking, as well as how to deal with grief. “Many of our young people have seen someone in their life die as a result of homicide,” says Monica Villarreal, Salem’s pastor.“We’ve had many opportunities to pack up our bags and go,” she says, but “the guiding principle of this congregation is ‘in the city for good to do good in the city.’”

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/salem.

An open invitation

Santa Maria de Guadalupe, an ELCA congregation in Irving, Texas, has close to 7,000 members and is still growing. Supported by an ELCA churchwide ministries grant, Santa Maria is one of 345 new congregations. The ELCA has committed to starting 70 new ministries in 2012.Santa Maria’s members come from Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Texas and other areas of the United States. It’s also not unusual to see people from Africa, India or other cultures among the faces gathered for worship.It’s the connection to their former countries that helps draw people to Santa Maria, says Irma Banales, who is a member. “The church is their comfort zone,” she says, “and their faith is strong.”

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/invitation.

“... the guiding principle of this congregation is ‘in the city for good to do good in the city.’”

[ Working in the garden at Salem Lutheran Church in Flint, Mich. ]

[ Worship at Santa Maria de Guadalupe in Irving, Texas ]


2001January 6

The ELCA and The Episcopal Church celebrated full communion at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

See special centerfold for

complete timeline.

Returning home

When Pastor D. Jensen Seyenkulo was elected bishop of the Lutheran Church in Liberia in 2012, it had been 20 years since he escaped a brutal civil war in his beloved country. And before his departure, twice he narrowly escaped being killed. “But your home is your home, and there is no place I’d rather be,” says Jensen, who was eager to return to Liberia.Jensen is a recipient of an International Leadership Development scholarship from ELCA churchwide ministries, which enabled him to earn a doctorate from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Prior to earning a doctorate, Jensen earned a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees.

In the 2011-2012 academic year, the ELCA provided scholarships toward the development of more than 60 global church leaders.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/jensen.

“But your home is your home, and there is no place I’d rather be ...”

[ Service of celebration for Jensen Seyenkulo, Trinity Lutheran Church in Park Forest, Ill. ]


Building bridges between faiths

When ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson was extended the invitation to participate in a panel discussion featuring religious leaders that included Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and His Excellency Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, he welcomed the opportunity. He said, “As the ELCA, we are continuously seen as a church that is deeply committed in the world and engaged in a shared commitment to interfaith relationships.”

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/bridges.

Unity between traditions

Throughout its 25-year history, the ELCA has been committed to joining in dialogue with people of other faiths and denominations.So when a group of ELCA leaders met with Pope Benedict and other leaders of the Roman Catholic Church at the Vatican in February 2012, they did so in the hopes of continuing to build bridges between the traditions.In his greeting to Pope Benedict, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson said, “As Catholics and Lutherans, we have a renewed commitment to unity in Christ.”The visit followed a round of dialogue between the ELCA and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, where leaders of both churches worked on a common statement that offers fresh insights into issues that have been contentious for centuries, like the communion of saints, prayers for or about the dead, the meaning of death, purgation and the promise of the resurrection.

Jessica Crist, bishop of the ELCA Montana Synod and chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops, was proud that ELCA members and Catholics have “come to a point where we can celebrate our unity and talk about our differences and concerns in the spirit of Christian unity.”

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/unity.

1 Rabbi David Saperstein, Sheikh Ali Gomaa and

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson at the Coexist award ceremony in New York City

The Lutheran World Federation is a global communion of 145 churches in 79 countries worldwide. The ELCA is the federation’s only church member from the United States.

Jessica Crist, bishop of the ELCA Montana Synod, shakes hands with Pope Benedict at the Vatican.


Tracking our carbon footprint

Nearly 20 percent of the budget at First English Lutheran Church, an ELCA renewing congregation in Columbus, Ohio, is spent on utility and maintenance costs. The 2009 and 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assemblies took action to encourage congregations to reduce their usage of carbon-based fuels and take better care of God’s creation, and First English is working to do just that.“Any dollar we can save on our utilities will help us afford and keep our church facility and support our other ministries,” says Sara Ward, chair of First English’s “Green Team.” For starters, the congregation replaced the church facility’s 50-year-old heating system with a new, high-efficiency system. They also received a grant from ELCA World Hunger that enabled them to replace the hand-me-down refrigerators they use to store the food for their meal program, Table of Grace, and they are participating in the Energy Stewards Initiative of Lutherans Restoring Creation — a national grassroots program dedicated to encouraging ELCA congregations to care for creation. “As people of faith,” Sara says, “we know that we are called to do justice for all, which includes that we be intentional in our care of our natural world.”

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/footprint.

We are a church that is energized by lively engagement in our faith and life.

“As people of faith,” Sara says, “we know that we are called to do justice for all ... [even] in our care of our natural world.”

[ Table of Grace meal program at First English Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio ]



When an attempted robbery ended in a police shootout in Superior, Wis., faith leaders in the area decided to organize a prayer vigil inviting residents of the city to come and pray.“We’ve drawn a line in the sand when it comes to community violence,” says Patrick Ziems, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Superior.In 2012, Zion took a second look at the way it engages with its community, thanks to a program called Beyond Our Doors — an initiative of the ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin that was sparked by decisions made on recommendations of the ELCA’s Living into the Future Together task force at the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. A primary goal is to make support for the work of congregations one of the highest priorities of this church and to request congregations, in collaboration with synods, to begin, develop, review or redefine their unique mission plans by the end of 2012.Patrick says he used the program as an opportunity to reflect upon the relationships he had already established in his community, and he realized that it would serve Superior best for Zion to continue partnering with other congregations and organizations to make a difference in their community.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/zion.

[ Zion Lutheran Church in Superior, Wis. ]

“We’ve drawn a line in the sand when it comes to community violence.”

1999November

The U.S. Surgeon General’s office commended the ELCA for its message on suicide prevention.


More than $2.6 million in grants has been awarded to

164 congregations that intentionally focus on renewal


1989

Pastor on horseback

Ask Jesus Escamilla, an ELCA mission developer in Alvarado, Texas, why he learned to ride a horse and he’ll tell you fitting into a community is essential for starting a new congregation.“It’s very common for people here to come and go on horseback,” he says, which includes getting to worship on Sunday. Most of the members are ranchers, and there’s a hitching post in front of the church where worshipers tie up their horses.Jesus leads San Gabriel Lutheran Mission in Alvarado, a new-start congregation in the ELCA Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod. Supported by ELCA churchwide ministries grants, San Gabriel is one of 345 new ministries under development, more than half of which are in diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual communities and communities in poverty.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/horseback.

We are a church that believes God is calling us into the world — together.

June 28-July 2

Eight hundred Asian, Black, Latino and American Indian leaders met for the first ELCA Multicultural Gathering.


Most of the members are ranchers, and there’s a hitching post in front of the church where worshipers tie up their horses.

[ San Gabriel Lutheran Mission in Alvarado, Texas ]


A common calling

The role of a deaconess in the ELCA is first and foremost to act as a bridge connecting the church with the needs of the world. According to Megan Ross, a deaconess serving in Balige, Indonesia, “Our image is that of washing feet. As Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, so we, too, are called to humble service.”In the spirit of that humble service, Megan is working with an ELCA-supported school through the Protestant Christian Batak Church in the Sumatra region of Indonesia.The school, supported in part by your gifts to Mission Support, provides training the women need to serve their communities as deaconesses and be that connection to Christ that many of their communities desperately need. The women at the school learn theology, community organizing, pastoral care, first aid and English language skills and serve in ministries designed to help those in need.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/indonesia.

Eager to learn

Since the third century, the mountainous terrain of Sichuan province in southern China has been home to the Miao, one of 55 ethnic minority groups recognized by the People’s Republic of China. They are a people with a rich cultural heritage, as well as a long history of deep Christian faith. Now the ELCA is working with the Protestant church in China to support these grassroot training centers that will equip lay people with the skills and knowledge necessary to serve this and other unique communities in the region. The generous contributions from ELCA congregations and synods to churchwide ministries support these students during their studies and also help pay lecturers and teachers from nearby seminaries and churches.

To read the full story visit www.LivingLutheran.com/china.

Most of the members are ranchers, and there’s a hitching post in front of the church where worshipers tie up their horses.

[ Megan Ross with students at a deaconess training school in Balige, Indonesia ]

new ELCAcongregations

in multicultural, ethnic communities or where people are living in poverty


BUDGET

As members of the ELCA, our faith in a loving God frees us to be bold and courageous, open to the Holy Spirit’s invitation to be active in the world.

We can share the gift of Jesus with people anxious about difficult economic times and hungry for good news.

We can joyfully be a part of God’s work in congregations large and small, focused on renewal or new starts in our communities. Thanks be to God!

Mission Support — the portion of our regular offerings that our congregations share with

synods and the churchwide ministries — unites us in this vital, life-giving work. Mission Support makes it possible for ELCA members from Alaska to the Caribbean to be responsive as one church to exciting new opportunities for ministry.

Most of the revenue for churchwide ministries comes from Mission Support. It continues to be the core source of income for the work of the larger ELCA. Your generosity makes this possible.

CONGREGATIONS $1.7 billion remained in congregations to fund local ministries

SYNODS$52.2 millionwas shared to support ministries through synods

CHURCHWIDEMINISTRIES$50.4 millionwas sent from synods to support churchwide ministries

We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.

In 2011, ELCA members gave $1.8 billion in regular offerings to support God’s mission and ministry through the three expressions of the ELCA.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CONFIDENT CHURCH?


PROPORTIONATE GIVINGProportionate giving, or tithing, includes all undesignated giving to your congregation.

Many ELCA members call this giving their Sunday or weekly offering. “Undesignated” means that you support your congregation’s decisions to allocate these funds.

About 90 percent of this giving stays in your congregation. This helps to ensure that the ministry of word and sacrament flourishes in your community through local outreach and ministries.

Your congregation then shares a small portion of your offering, called Mission Support, with your synod and churchwide ministries. This financial commitment makes possible God’s work through ELCA ministries close to home, in our country and around the world.

DESIGNATED GIVING Designated giving opportunities invite you to provide deeper financial support for key ministry areas of this church, including the alleviation of hunger and poverty, disaster response, leadership development and missionary sponsorship.

The generous response of ELCA members to the people of Japan in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami is an example of designated giving. These designated gifts were able to go directly to relief efforts.

Designated giving complements your annual pledge to financially support the work of your congregation, your synod and your churchwide ministries.

SPECIAL OFFERINGSAdditional giving, sometimes called special offerings, is above and beyond your commitment to regular congregational giving.

This can be our most personal and spontaneous kind of giving, reflecting the spirit of cheerful giving that Paul wrote of in his second letter to the Corinthians.

Perhaps you have made a financial commitment to help the high school students in your congregation attend the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering. Or you may have written a check to benefit a family whose home was lost during a fire. Your outreach makes God’s love for them feel very real and very immediate; your kindness reveals Christ’s presence within them as well.

Our financial generosity is an expression of our love for God, for our neighbor and for ourselves. We are new people in Christ: compassionate and eager to share.

Why we give


Q. What is Mission

Support? I’ve heard this term used, but I’m not sure what it means.

Q. Is Mission Support

different from my weekly offering?

Q. What guides

the churchwide ministries in its decisions regarding Mission Support?

A. Mission Support is the

portion of your financial offerings that your congregation shares with your synod and churchwide ministries —the other two expressions of this church.

As members of the ELCA, we do mission together through our financial giving. We do God’s work in ways that no individual, congregation or synod can do alone.

A. Mission Support is a small

percentage of your weekly offering. It’s best described as that part of your gift that is shared with the other two expressions of this church — your synod and churchwide ministries — to fund the work of the broader church. Many synods set a goal of 10 percent or greater from each of their congregations.

The rest of your offering (about 90 percent) remains within your congregation. You help pay for local ministries, outreach, salaries, utilities and the building, ensuring your congregation’s vital presence in your community.

A. The churchwide ministries

looks to the Churchwide Assembly, this church’s highest legislative authority, for direction and guidance. The ELCA Church Council functions as the interim legislative authority between biennial meetings of the Churchwide Assembly.

ELCA churchwide ministries also has two strategic priorities, which help shape its decisions and activities, especially budget planning:

•Accompany congregations as growing centers for evangelical mission; and

•Build the capacity of this church for evangelical witness and service in the world to alleviate poverty and to work for justice and peace.

Frequently asked questions about Mission Support


Q. How does my

congregation benefit from Mission Support?

Q. Sometimes I write

a check to ELCA World Hunger. Is that the same as Mission Support?

Q. Does Mission

Support do more than fund the work of ELCA missionaries in other countries?

A. Every congregation

benefits as an active partner in the ELCA’s mission to share God’s boundless love with the world. Stories of Faith in Action is filled with powerful examples of how lives have been changed because of the generosity from members like you.

More than half of Mission Support funds the work of synods. Some of the portion of Mission Support shared with churchwide ministries may return to your congregation and synod in the form of services, programs, resources or grants.

A. Mission Support is,

by its very nature, an undesignated gift to ELCA ministries beyond your congregation. These gifts are used where the need is greatest; they also make it possible for ELCA synods and churchwide ministries to keep ongoing commitments to our ministry partners.

Your designated support of ministries such as ELCA World Hunger is essential, because these ministries are critical priorities of this church. Such gifts complement your commitment to a regular offering in your congregation.

A. Yes. Mission Support is

the lifeblood of the work that God does through the ELCA, providing a significant portion of budgeted support for our ministries.

“Mission” is a broad term used to describe all the ministries of this church, not only those involving ELCA missionaries who work with our Lutheran partners around the world.

“Support” is the portion of members’ offerings that makes all ELCA ministries possible, here at home and abroad.

Planting 70 new congregations in 2012 is just one example of the many ways Mission Support enables us to do God’s work with our hands.


•70 new congregations, 50 percent in multicultural, ethnic communities or among people living in poverty

•More than $2.6 million in grants awarded to 164 existing congregations intentionally focused on renewal

•240 missionaries serving in 40 countries, including 57 young adult volunteers

•26 ELCA colleges and universities

•8 ELCA seminaries•Over 180 campus ministries,

with cooperating congregations in campus ministries at an additional 400 campuses nationwide

•Advocacy work with the United Nations and the federal government

•Partnerships with The Lutheran World Federation, World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches in Christ

YOUR WEEKLY OFFERING at your congregation supports the mission of the whole ELCA doing God’s work in the world.

YOUR CONGREGATIONshares a portion of your offering — called Mission Support — with the other two expressions of this church. Mission Support is the lifeblood of the work that God does through the ELCA.

In your congregation you support:

•Ministry within your congregation

•Local outreach in your community

YOUR SYNOD supports congregations and rostered leaders as they work in their communities and throughout the world.

YOUR CHURCHWIDE MINISTRIESresponds to local and worldwide ministry opportunities, helping to feed those who are hungry, train future leaders and advocate for justice on behalf of your neighbors around the world.

Some Mission Support funds may return to your congregation in the form of grants, services, programs and resources.

TOGETHER WE FUND THE FOLLOWING MINISTRIES:

Where your offering goes

Thank you! Together we do God’s work in ways

that no individual, congregation or synod can do alone.


STORIES OF FAITH IN ACTION

To order free copies of this publicationvisit www.ELCA.org/resourcesor call 800-638-3522, ext. 2580.

Look for ELCAMA1167.

ELCA congregations are encouraged to reprint the content of this publication for use in their ministries.

Any reprint should include the following information:©2012 ELCA

ELCA.orgLivingLutheran.com

Copyright ©2012 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America8765 West Higgins Road, Chicago, IL 60631


Executive Director, Mission Advancement Christina Jackson-Skelton

Director, Marketing Communications Scott J. Hendrickson

Director, Mission Support A. Craig Settlage

Editor Melissa Ramirez Cooper

Project manager Rachel Claman

Writers Melissa Ramirez Cooper Sarah Carson Cindy Novak

Copy editor Connie Sletto

25th Anniversary timeline Jan Rizzo

Cover photo Jimi Allen

Graphic design Creative Powers, Inc.

Marked with the cross of Christ forever, we are claimed, gathered and sent for the sake of the world.Mission Statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America


ELCAMA1167


See our special anniversary timeline in the centerfold that highlights moments throughout our 25 years.

ELCA Stories of Faith in Action

Documents

Transcript of ELCA Stories of Faith in Action