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Fund-raising ideas and activities > Honoring others |
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Honoring Others
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If you’re planning a wedding, consider people around the world
who have very little as you register and receive gifts for your
new household. Here’s what
Stacy and Todd Payne did: They
enclosed a letter with their wedding invitations that explained
that, as seminary students, “We will be moving around a lot in
the coming years, and we are also accustomed to having very
little…Gifts are not expected. If you select a gift, please
consider our desire to be good stewards of our blessings.”
Besides asking for handmade or homemade
items, the couple encouraged charitable contributions to be made
in their name. They provided a list of charities they wanted to
support,
 including
the ELCA World Hunger Appeal, along with a brief description of
what each one does as well as the charity’s address or Web site.
Stacy says that she also obtained ELCA World Hunger Appeal
offering envelopes prior to the wedding and made them available
to anyone who wanted them to make it easier to make a donation.
Denise Edwards,
Columbus, Ohio (pictured right),
invited guests to give money to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal for
her wedding in 2002. |
The South Dakota Synod honored the
25th anniversary of Bishop Andrea F. DeGroot-Nesdahl’s
ordination by collecting quarters for Stand With Africa. Members
of the synod’s congregations were asked to fill film canisters
with quarters and bring them to the synod assembly. Along with
general information about Stand With Africa, the publicity for
this said:
“Bishop Andrea was ordained on
September 4, 1977. If we raised $.25 a day, for each day of
Bishop Andrea’s 25 years in the ministry, we would raise
$2,282.75. If we raised $1 a day for the 25 years, it would be
$9,131.25 in honor of our bishop’s 25 years. If each one of our
119,965 baptized members gave $.25 each, the South Dakota Synod
would raise $29,991.25 for Stand With Africa. How shall we honor
25 years?”
This type of fund raiser could be
adapted in congregations. You could mark your pastor’s
ordination anniversary or birthday or the anniversary of your
congregation’s formation by asking members to give gifts to
Stand With Africa in an amount that plays off of that milestone.
Use those numbers to set goals and have fun, just as the South
Dakota Synod did.
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In
September 2000, Trinity Lutheran Church, Galesburg, Ill.,
celebrated the 20th anniversary of the ordination of its senior
pastor, Tom A. Larsen. As part of the celebration, a facsimile
check in the amount of $1,721.90, payable to the ELCA World
Hunger Appeal, was presented to Pastor Larsen by congregation
president Cheryl Lefler. (Additional monies brought the total to
$2,462.21.) Trinity members and friends made donations in
gratitude for their pastors ministry. In the newsletter
following the event, Pastor Larsen wrote, “You honored me beyond
measure with your generous gift to the World Hunger Appeal. It’s
great to know that your esteem for me will result in food for
persons who are malnourished.” |
In August 1999, when Lord of Joy Lutheran Church, Houston,
disbanded after 21 years of existence, its members unanimously
decided to give a portion of the proceeds of the sale of its
properties to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal. With its gift, the
congregation prayed that “your organization accepts this gift
that was first given to the church for the sake of the one who
gave his life for our salvation” and acknowledged that
“...everything we have - our creation, our redemption, our
worldly possessions, and most importantly, our relationship with
Christ - are all gifts from God.”
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