Archive for the ‘Stewardship’ Category

Listen…God is Calling. A Portrait in Life-long Listening.

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012

by Carol Guenther

I am the vine; you are the branches.
Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit. John 15:5

What does faithful listening to God’s call look like?
There are as many different answers to that question as there are members in our congregation, but each example will likely share the common elements of love, generosity and service.

Russ and Ann Hillman, members at St. Mark’s from 2004  until their deaths in May and December of 2011, provide one such portrait of faithfulness grounded in love for one another, their four children, and for and the countless men and women they encountered in their  40  years of formal ministry in the ELCA.

Ann and Russ will be remembered by many at St. Mark’s  for Russ’s numerous, heart-felt hugs and the sparkle in Ann’s eyes during worship. They were regular leaders of the Sunday 9:45am Worship Team and the music group was their second family.

Their 32 years of service throughout the world as part of the Lutheran Marriage Encounter Ministry was another passion that they brought with them to St. Mark’s and their love and devotion to each other in marriage was visible and inspiring to all.

Russ and Ann were also committed members of St. Mark’s Stewardship Team. They had a special dedication to teaching children the principles of joyful giving and responsible stewardship of all God’s gifts. They were especially committed to helping our congregation pay off the debt on our new building and they were instrumental in helping decide our best option when we refinanced our mortgage in 2010/2011.

One of Ann’s last projects at St. Mark’s was to introduce us to new system that distributes manufactured goods to those in need. Always smiling, inherently hopeful and deeply grateful for all of God’s gifts, Russ and Ann embodied lives of faithful listening and responding to God’s call.

And so, it was no big surprise earlier this year when we learned that Ann and Russ had included St. Mark’s in their will. What was surprising was the size of the gift they were able to make. In spite of their simple, modest lifestyle, through careful planning and generous spirits, we were gifted with over $191,000 from their estate! This gift will be carefully used in four ways, supporting the ministries that were dear to their hearts for years to come. We are so grateful to Russ and Ann for their faithful presence and example among us and for their great generosity that will continue to bless us for years to come.

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food…” Matt: 25:34

Russ and Ann’s obedience to God’s calling throughout their lives produced much fruit through the ministries they embraced that touched so many people and through their gracious monetary gift to St. Mark’s.  As we continue our theme of “Listen…. God is Calling”, we invite you to reflect on how God is uniquely calling you. In what specific ways are you hearing God’s call to use your time, talent and treasure in the spirit of love and generosity? What first step can you take today to develop God’s call?

For more information about the many ways you can leave a living legacy at St. Mark’s Lutheran by the Narrows,       please contact any member of the  Endowment Committee:

Christian Anderson        272-2227

Kristi Gaimster               752-6605

James Gallegos               212-0253

Carol Guenther              752-4966

Tom Hulst                     460-2683

Don Reinkensmeyer       857-7977

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GROWING IN GIVING by Mary Jo Larsen

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

 When I think on my history of pledging and giving at St. Mark’s the verse from 1st Corinthians 13:11 comes to mind: “When I was a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  But when I grew up, I put away childish things.”  By God’s grace, my views on and response to pledging and giving have changed significantly since I joined in 2005—my first independent church membership as an adult.

I have always been well-intentioned but poorly disciplined with pledging and giving.  I pledged every year but my follow-through was spotty.  I’d often be sitting in church at the beginning of offering and realize, “dang, I didn’t bring my envelope or a check!”  I felt bad but not enough to change my behavior since it seemed my small pledge didn’t make that big of a difference anyway.  The advent of automatic deduction is just the solution for me and finally my actual giving will match my pledge.

The first Grace Upon Grace capital campaign began not long after I joined St. Mark’s.  At the time my feelings about pledging to a capital campaign were more ambivalent than pledging to the General Mission Fund.  I was really only involved in middle school Sunday school and Confirmation and from that limited perspective I didn’t really see the rationale for a 9,000 square foot addition.  To be honest, I thought the whole project was a bit frivolous and inward focused.  I grew up in a small church with 1.5 FTE and strong lay leadership in a building which hadn’t been significantly remodeled since 1950.  All of which undoubtedly colored my views.  On top of those views, I thought my career and education plan would take me away from Tacoma in a year or two.  I didn’t see the reason to pay for a building I wouldn’t be using.  Just writing these words makes me cringe now.

In the time since, I have become much more involved at St. Mark’s serving on ministry teams, attending Bible studies, Wednesday church night, and Sunday morning adult classes at 11:00.  These activities and the relationships built through them have been a true lifeline during some very difficult times in my life the last two years.  I can’t imagine where I’d be spiritually, emotionally, and mentally today without the St. Mark’s community.  The variety and frequency of these opportunities is available due to both our new space and the size of our staff.  My views on the new building and the size of our staff have done a complete 180.  Another prime example of the benefit of the new space is the Christmas program and potluck.  For the second year in a row, we’ve been able to have an all-church dinner.  What a privilege for a church our size!

I now understand the talk about giving with an attitude of gratitude.  This statement never rang true for me before.  I mean who really wants to give their money.  Now, I am so thankful for everything I have received from St. Mark’s and I want to help ensure those opportunities continue to be available.  Whether I am at St. Mark’s for six months or six more years, I am invested in the future of this incredible place for grace.  Thus I have decided to pledge to the GUG Mortgage fund for the first time.  I humbly see now how the work at St. Mark’s, both internal and external such as Nativity House lunches, are all part of God’s work.

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