Dear friend in Christ,
Jesus invites us to be intentional about how we live our lives, not just as a way to make the world a better place but also as a pathway to something better for us. While our faith certainly highlights expectations of what God might want from us, at its best, our faith should also clarify what God wants for us. Jesus promised “abundant life” and “the life that truly is life” to convey what we might expect from following him.
Have you ever wondered what Jesus’ invitation to be deliberate as stewards and disciples looks like at the end of life? Whether our physical lives reach a typical duration or end prematurely, eventually they will end. How do we prepare for and steward those end times, keeping in mind both the well-being that God desires for us and how we might still be a blessing to others? This issue of stewardNet looks at some of those questions and challenges.
We are a church that is energized by lively engagement in our faith and life. Thank you for doing God’s work with a faithful, generous heart!
Faithfully,
Steve Oelschlager
Stewardship Program Coordinator
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
I’m interested in hearing your thoughts. Let me know what you are thinking.
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| Being Mortal |
Stewarding the end of life
Exiting this world as gracefully as possible requires thoughtful reflection and conversation about a very uncomfortable topic — our death. What are our fears, hopes and wishes? How might we live as long as possible with a sense of meaning and purpose? How do we think about our quality of life, and to what extent do we want medical intervention to continue in the face of diminishing returns? What will our legacy be, and how will we plan for the final stewarding of our assets after we pass?
Atul Gawande is a medical doctor who has written a thought-provoking book titled Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. He claims that by not proactively thinking about aging and illness, we do ourselves and those we love a disservice. Without this kind of conversation and preparation, doctors don’t know when to curtail treatments that are unlikely to be effective. When is enough enough? Dr. Gawande writes:
Being mortal is about the struggle to cope with the constraints of our biology, with the limits set by genes and cells and flesh and bone. Medical science has given us remarkable power to push against these limits, and the potential value of this power was a central reason I became a doctor. But again and again, I have seen the damage we in medicine do when we fail to acknowledge that such power is finite and always will be.
We’ve been wrong about what our job is in medicine. We think our job is to ensure health and survival. But really it is larger than that. It is to enable wellbeing. And wellbeing is about the reasons one wishes to be alive. Those reasons matter not just at the end of life, or when debility comes, but all along the way. Whenever serious sickness or injury strikes and your body or mind breaks down, the vital questions are the same: What is your understanding of the situation and its potential outcomes? What are your fears and what are your hopes? What are the trade-offs you are willing to make and not willing to make? And what is the course of action that best serves this understanding?
How might our churches promote these kinds of questions and conversations? How could our understanding of stewardship provide a framework for these issues and motivate us to move past the discomfort? Read about one congregation’s ministry around these critical topics. For resources, check out the book Being Mortal. Also, see information from Aging With Dignity, including its booklet “Five Wishes,” to help people engage with the topic. |
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| A Good Death |
Making our death our final gift
Henri Nouwen writes about what he describes as a “good death,” one that is not our final defeat but that, in Christ, we embrace as our final victory.
Yes, there is such a thing as a good death. We ourselves are responsible for the way we die. We have to choose between clinging to life in such a way that death becomes nothing but a failure, or letting go of life in freedom so that we can be given to others as a source of hope. This is a crucial choice and we have to work on that choice every day of our lives. Death does not have to be our final failure, our final defeat in the struggle of life, our unavoidable fate. If our deepest human desire is, indeed, to give ourselves to others, then we can make our death our final gift.
The ELCA Foundation exists to help congregations and individuals make an impact in the world. Regional gift planners are available to help you evaluate your estate plan and identify opportunities to not only care for your family but, as a final testament to them, leave a legacy of generosity to the ministries that matter most to you. For more information, please visit the Foundation’s website to find your local gift planner, or contact the ELCA Foundation at 800-638-3522 or elcafoundation@elca.org. Download this useful resource on wills and trusts, as well as this PDF on estate planning. |
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| The Legacy of Stories |
The ministry of mission interpretation
A recent gathering of my family revealed previously untold stories that engaged not only my interest but those of unrelated guests. These stories provided insight and understanding of an elder’s character and passions. Listeners will repeat these reminiscences in years to come. Many stories, personal and otherwise, often go untold, especially in the church. And yet we yearn for stories. Ever notice how all ears prick up for the children’s message? That’s because storytelling engages the brain in a variety of ways, so whether you’re a visual, auditory or kinetic learner, you have heard and understood the story.
Mission interpreters seek out and lift up stories in their congregations and around the synod that tell of God’s work in the congregation and through the greater church. “Stories of Faith in Action” is one source for stories. Other potential stories are shared by synod staff members and mission interpreter coordinators. To learn more about how you can tell the story of God’s work in your congregation, click here or join the Facebook group ELCA Mission Interpreters. For more information, contact ELCA Mission Interpretation Ministry Coordinator Karen Kaufman at 330-929-9020. |
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| Other items of interest |
- Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are an easy, low-cost way to assist people with their charitable giving. Gifts to a DAF are tax-deductible in the year you move assets to them, even though you have several years to distribute the funds from your DAF to the nonprofits of your choice. You can also transfer appreciated assets to your DAF to avoid paying capital gains tax. See this article for more information.
- The ELCA Federal Credit Union now offers a corporate credit card program and a small-loan program specifically suited to the unique needs of ELCA ministries. The ELCA Federal Credit Union World Mastercard for Ministry is a cost-effective alternative to standard corporate credit card programs, with flexible terms that include a shared/deposit-secured option. For ELCA congregations and related ministries looking to fund small projects or make purchases, the credit union extends loans of up to $50,000 at favorable rates. Learn more here.
- When children, youth and adults are bombarded 24/7 with messages urging them to spend, your congregation can become a faithful voice teaching them to share. Engaging all generations and equipping households to respond daily to God’s extravagant generosity is a year-round opportunity. Equipping individuals of every age and stage of life to live as grateful stewards and committed followers of Jesus offers many creative possibilities. To download resources and learn more about the Generosity Project, join the Facebook group or visit the new website.
- The Generosity365 Academy is a series of one-plus-day, workshop-based conferences. Academy participants increase their understanding of faithful generosity and receive practical information for implementation. See this link.
- Save the date for stewardCast on Saturday, March 14, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Central Time. This year’s presentation will focus on how Mission Support enlivens congregational life and encourages the growth of strong leaders. Contact Neil Bullock for connection information.
Sayings, quotes, thoughts
— Fr. Ron Rolheiser
“Our deaths, like our lives, are either a source of blessing or frustration to those around us. Ultimately the choice is ours.”
Biblical foundations
— Romans 14:8
“If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” |
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