Pastoral Pondering
by Pastor Keith Larson
Every day we notice how much fuel and grocery prices go up. Those people counting on interest income or money from investments don’t have as much to count on. The endowment committee realized when they began working on a budget for 2008-09, that Bethlehem probably has about $10,000 less to give away this year. We regularly read or hear about companies going broke or people being laid off. We see so many pressing crushing needs and at the same time realize how many millions of dollars are spent each day now for 5 years on a seemingly never-ending war in Iraq and Afghanistan. It can be scary times.
But at the same time, we look back at the past and we realize we probably have all faced some difficult times in the past. Some are still living who remember the Great Depression. Many more remember stories told by parents and grandparents about those days. Others remember rationing and other difficulties during World War II. Still more remember the farm crisis of the 70’s and 80’s. And just about all of us can say with certainty and conviction, “How blessed we are! God has not forgotten us.” Indeed when we stand together on Sunday and say, “I believe in God the Father Almighty…” we are saying in part, “I believe that God has created me together with all that exists… God daily and abundantly provides shoes and clothing, food and drink, house and farm, spouse and children, fields, livestock and all property – along with all the necessities and nourishment for this body and life” (from Luther’s Small Catechism, meaning of 1st Article of the Apostles’ Creed).
Even while this is happening in our lives, many are filing income tax returns. Some realize they have paid too much in taxes and are getting a refund. Our government has promised most people will receive some amount of “economic stimulus” later this spring. Some are beginning to make plans about how to use this money. Have you considered sharing a portion – 10% or more with God through the church or some other worthwhile agency of the church?
Some members also must consider how to dispose of their assets at the time of their deaths. Some want to leave all or a portion to God’s work. Our congregations have been blessed many times over by persons who have made bequests – large and small. Almost 40 years ago, in the congregation where I grew up, a woman left a portion of her estate to the congregation. The endowment was quite substantial then. I was the beneficiary of some of that gift as my congregation helped support me as a missionary in Madagascar and then assisted in paying my seminary tuition. However, as interest rates are currently very low and prices of many things so much higher, their endowment fund now seems quite modest. While it might seem hard to believe, it is possible, even Bethlehem’s Endowment could seem rather modest in another 40 years.
As we all consider not only our current giving to God through our congregations, we can also consider how to plan our final or ultimate giving. Do we want to remember our congregation by giving to an endowment fund or general fund? Do we want to remember some institution or agency special to us? EWALU, for instance is still looking for 1 or 2 or 3 major donors to complete the 2nd or “bonus” phase of the “All Are Welcome” Appeal. Wartburg Seminary can always use major gifts to endow certain teaching positions or scholarships. The ELCA has a “Fund for Leaders,” that if grown sufficiently could provide assistance or eventually full tuition for all seminarians. These are but a few examples. Many of your financial advisors can assist you in planning such gifts so they help the agency and institutions as much as possible and still provide for your final years or for other family members. Agencies and institutions also have representatives who can help you. If you are uncomfortable with any of those options, I can at least help you get started making some of those plans and perhaps suggest some people who could be helpful.
After a long hard winter – a winter of cold, snow, and ice, but also a winter of difficult economic news and events, we celebrate the joy of sunshine, warmth, spring, and new life and declare again, “How blessed, I am. Thanks be to God.”
