Our Congregation's DNA

Generosity is a deep part of our congregational life. Giving seems to be a part of our mission. There are many factors that have contributed to the spirit of generosity.

First is God's generosity towards us. "For God so loved the world that God GAVE us God's son." John 3:16. Without the gift of God's grace we would be lost. 

Our congregation’s history also reveals that we are the recipients of generosity. The ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) saw the need for a new Lutheran congregation in the southeast corner of Woodbury and called Pastor Ted Vanderpan to be the mission developer for Resurrection. He and his wife Sara gave generous of their time and energy to start the Vibrant Life of Resurrection.  

Inez and Glenn Oehlke had the option to sell the land our church occupies for a significant profit, but chose instead to sell it at below market-value to both St. Ambrose and to Resurrection. Later Inez donated the farm house and surrounding buildings to the congregation. Generosity is part of our congregation’s DNA.

Generosity continues to strengthen our mission. In March we donated more than a $1,000 in a special offering to CURE Ministry and Beacon of Hope church. We are blessed to be a blessing to others.

There can sometimes be a snag in our giving to God’s Kingdom. In our busy, active lives we sometimes forget to write the check for the Sunday offering or we leave our cash at home. This is where Simply Giving helps.
 

There is no "mystery" to Simply Giving. 

 
Simply Giving is an easy way to have your donation to Resurrection deducted electronically from your bank account. It can be done once a month or twice a month as you choose. You set the amount to be deducted. It provides three benefits to your giving:

 

• Convenience: No check writing or forgetting.  
• Comfort: You know your Estimate of Giving will be met.
• Consistency: Your offering makes it to Resurrection even in your absence.

Currently Resurrection has about 75 families using Simply Giving. We have a goal to increase that to 100 families before summer comes. Will you be one of those households?  To begin using this convenient option of giving, please complete the Simply Giving Form available here and return it to the attention of Jay Hickey in the church office. Simply Giving Forms are also available in the office and on our website, under Stewardship 2015. 

“For your heart will always be where your riches are.” 

 Matthew 6:21 (GNT)

Pastor John Keller

Let God Lead with Generosity; Part Two

Yesterday in his sermon, Pastor John invited people to share experiences of generosity.   He shared  two examples.

I remember the generosity of my father in regards to the Lutheran Bible camp near our home.  The camp was called Lutherhaven and it was on Wildcat Lake, about 15 miles from my home in Bremerton, Washington.  He served on the camp board and worked many week-ends helping to maintain the cabins and lodge.  He appealed to our congregation to make our financial donations and he also gave monetarily to the camp.  And the one summer I worked as a camp counselor there, he proudly showed the new staff what the camp had to offer.   My dad was a model of generosity for me.

And our congregation has a model of generosity in our own recent history.  We are so blessed by the generosity of Glenn and Inez Oehlke, whose farmland we now occupy.  Early on many commercial developers approached them: Walgreens and others, because they knew what valuable property this was, being on the key intersection of Bailey Road and Woodbury Drive.   But they said no to the commercial realtors, because they wanted churches to be here.  So they sold at reasonable prices to both St. Ambrose Catholic Church and to Resurrection Lutheran Church.

Then after Glen died, Inez moved out of her farmhouse and donated the land and buildings to the south to us where we now enjoy our Harvest Festival and outdoor worship.  God truly has taken the lead in our congregation's experience of generosity.

     

You can share your own experience of generosity  by taking the following survey where your comments will be used later this month in worship.  You can take the survey anonymously or leave your name if you choose. The link is here Generosity Survey

Let God Lead With Our Generosity

Transitions are tough.  To move to a new town is challenging for us.  To start a new job and to learn new work habits and culture adds to the difficulty.  Yet thousands of people do it every year.  My wife and I did it when we married and moved to St. Paul from Kansas City so that I could start seminary.  I helped my daughter Christina move to Austin, Texas, so she could begin her first teaching job. With patience, wisdom and perseverance people transition to a new life. 

The people of Israel had a difficult transition as they entered the Promise land of Canaan.  They had been nomadic sheep and goat herders in their wandering in the wilderness.  Moses, before he died, had a final word from God. In the book of Deuteronomy he instructed the people on how they were to act once they transition to farming.  

    When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it,  you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.
    And you shall say, “The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;  and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me." You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 26:1-2, 8-10

This was the offering of first fruits.  God was teaching the people to practice generosity in their daily living.  The first-fruit generosity was stated as the expectation of God for his people as a response to God’s generosity in giving them the land they now settled and farmed.  Notice why they gave. It was not a payment in order to earn God’s favor.  Rather it was a thankful response to what God had already given to them.

The practice of generous giving is one that our contemporary society can embrace.  Our congregation witnessed such generosity when Inez Oehlke donated her farm buildings and land to the congregation when she transition out of the farm house.   We are ever grateful for her example of generosity.

The practice reminds us to open our hearts and minds towards God’s gracious gifts towards us.  It reminds us that God has given us not only the created world and all its produce, but has given us new life in his Son, Jesus Christ.  God is generous and gracious towards us; can we not be generous toward God’s ministry in the world?

When have you recognized a gift of generosity towards yourself?   When have you practiced generosity?

Lord Jesus, teach to me practice generosity towards others.

Pastor John Keller