Service to Others:

We Are So Blessed. What Are We Doing About It? (connects to the Oregon Synod Blog: http://www.oregonsynod.blogspot.com/) submitted Thursday, May 01, 2008

Submitted by Rev. Ron Nitz, Synod Stewardship Committee

Approximately sixty Lutherans from more than twelve congregations around the Oregon Synod gave up a Saturday morning recently to hear Michael Meier, Stewardship Specialist with the E.L.C.A., talk about “basic biblical behaviors” of good stewards – everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. Speaking April 12 th , at Creator Lutheran Church in Clackamas, Rev. Meier sketched in four basic behaviors common to all Christians:

1. Worshiping God;
2. Placing everything in God's hands;
3. Managing God's gifts; and
4. Giving generously in response.

The first two required little explanation, but more time was devoted to the last two.

In talking about the “management (or stewardship) of God's gifts,” it was pointed out that most Christians need and appreciate guidance in the areas of giving, saving, spending, debt reduction, proper reception of gifts, and – in general – financial life management. This is a ministry most parents should be doing with their children at a very early age, but many come to adulthood without a clue of what is the “best behavior” for them in each of these areas. This is a genuine ministry need in the church!

In the area of “giving generously,” most people think that generous giving is an activity reserved for the world's “wealthiest” people. Most Americans' vision of what is “wealthy” is skewed by living in one of the wealthiest countries of the world to begin with. “Wealth” becomes relative! People who keep track of wealth worldwide have a different set of categories that they work with. The world's “Poorest” are those who do not even have a place to die! These are the kind of people that Mother Theresa devoted her ministry to in Calcutta, and they make up a sizable minority among the world's population. Nearly 70% of the world's population would be classified as “Poor”. These are the people who have a place to live and work to do for the moment, but cannot count on having continued employment or income. Not even the poorest people in America on welfare fall into this category, because they still have some income they can count on.

When Rev. Meier identified the next highest class as “Wealthy”, there was some consternation as to what happened to what we call “the middle class”! But from the perspective of the distribution of wealth in the world, there is no such thing. Perhaps 10-15% of the world's population fall into the category of “Wealthy,” because they have some sort of reasonable prospect of always being able to have a roof over their heads, clothes on their back, and food to eat – a privilege not enjoyed by the vast majority of people in the world today. Finally, the smallest group – the “Wealthiest” – are distinguished by being able to plan to retire some day, and not have to work to earn a living as long as they live! While that might seem to be in jeopardy in recent months, the truth is that the vast majority of people in America today fall into this class of “the world's wealthiest”. When we see how we measure up against the vast majority of people in the rest of the world, it is clear that we are the people who are best prepared by God to give generously!

Before breaking for small group discussion, we were treated to an excellent short video on this subject entitled “Rich” ( from Nooma films ) in which Rob Bell took us on a tour of common items and ideas in our American life that make us “rich” in the eyes of the world. Proverbs 6:16-19 and Galatians 5:19-21 were cited as a couple of lists of “deadly sins” in the Bible, but the deadliest sin for all Christians is fear, because it keeps us from doing that which we know God has called us to do – it is nothing more than a lack of faith in God. Our small group discussions focused on our experiences with these four stewardship behaviors, and how we were molded into the kind of stewards we are today by our experiences growing up. But it also gave us each a chance to review where we were on our journey to be the kind of stewards we thought God wanted us to be, and to focus our efforts on areas where we still needed to grow.

As we closed for the day, it was pointed out that while we often encourage Christians to be “tithers” (those who give 10% of their income) in giving to God, in fact, giving among Lutherans is at about 2% - 2.5% on average, and a congregation where the giving is at 3.5% is considered to be “mission-minded.” Clearly, we have a long ways to go in developing and/or sharing our stewardship behaviors! Two books on this subject that were recommended for further reading were “Ask, Thank, Tell” by Charles “Chick” Lane, and “Giving to God” by Mark Allen Powell.

Below are opportunities provided through Mt. Carmel to help others. If you would be interested in volunteering to help with any of the following, please contact the church office at 503-244-5143 or email.

Burnside Meals: Once a month, on the first Friday, we cook and serve a meal at Transition Project's Glisan Street Men's Shelter. We also cook and deliver a meal twice a month to Jean's Place a women's shelter.

Mt. Carmel Day Care: This independent infant and toddler day care service is supported by the congregation with space at a reasonable rate.

Neighborhood House & Peoplebank: Mt. Carmel provides volunteers and some funding to this local volunteer service agency. Volunteers from Mt. Carmel pick up food from local grocers and deliver it to Neighborhood House for distribution. We also support them with collections for food and other goods which they distribute to the homeless and needy of Southwest Portland.

Friends of Seasonal and Service Workers: Mt. Carmel supports this organization which advocates for and provides services to the migrant and seasonal workers of Oregon with donations of goods, meeting space and volunteers.

Birthday Gifts: At birthday time we offer you a special opportunity to donate to our Birthday Fund. The money collected for this goes to a variety of charities which are voted on by the congregation at the Annual Meeting. Some of the agencies to receive Birthday Funds are CASA, Heifer Project International, House of Zion, Amy's Fund, and many more.

Music At The Mount: This monthly concert series serves as a fund raiser for various agencies and charities. For more information see our Activities page.

Mt. Carmel is a community of active volunteers, people who care about other people and their community. Well over half of the members are involved on a regular basis in our mission of service to the world.

Contact: Office for more information.
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Mt. Carmel Evangelical Lutheran Church
515 S.W. Maplecrest Drive, Portland, OR 97219
503-244-5143
Updated: January 8, 2008