Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
Blessed to be a Blessing, Trinity Lutheran Church is touching the lives of our island neighbors and reaching the far corners of the world. We do it with buckets of money. Every gift to Trinity Lutheran Church falls safely into one of three buckets. The placement is determined by the donor.
Bucket one is the general fund. All undesignated giving is deposited into the general fund. The general fund allows us to keep the doors of the church open, utilities, paper products, choir music, Sunday school materials and staff salaries are all paid for by the general fund. The general fund also provides over $100,000 a year to benevolent causes.
Bucket number two is the Trinity Lutheran Church endowment fund. The Endowment has just shy of $6,000,000. Each year the Endowment Committee, consistent with their founding guidelines, provide hundreds of thousands of dollars for scholarships and non-profit support.
Bucket number three is a catch all that we call Restricted funds. Donors designate gifts for World Hunger, Helping Hand, Good Cheer or any number of other causes. The restricted fund is a holding bucket until the funds are dispersed. It should be noted that the three buckets each stand alone and are never co-mingled.
On Sunday, October 20th after everyone had gone home for the day, I had the privilege of giving away $85,000. $75,000 came from bucket number two, the result of our generous donors to the endowment. Local grants were approved by the Church Council and TLC was able to support Good Cheer, Gifts from the Heart, Whidbey Island Homeless Coalition, Tiny Houses, Whidbey Island Nourishes, Friends of Friends, Small Miracles, and Readiness to Learn. In addition, grants were approved for ELCA World Hunger, ELCA Hurricane Relief and the Guatemala Project of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services. The final $10,000 came from bucket number three; a restricted gift for ELCA Hurricane Relief.
In Guatemala, Trinity Lutheran Church has become the single largest supporter of a new program to help young Guatemalans returned from the Southern border of the United States. The grants so far this year have allowed 50 young people to establish small businesses in their own communities. But it more than that, the 50 young people are now able to provide hope and stability to their extended families in total 243 people.
Blessed to be a Blessing! Through October of 2024 we have given away more than $600,000 this year. $14,000 every week has left our campus for the common good of God’s people near and far. This is not magic, this is generosity. Generosity that allows us to keep the lights on, to provide space on our campus for dozens of non-profits and 12 step groups, to support our Whidbey neighbors and those devastated by war or disaster. It happens because of you! I thank you for your generosity.
Blessed to be a blessing! I am one beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread, I am your,
Pastor Jim
If you would like to email Pastor Jim direct please send a note to: [email protected]
