Growing in Faith to Reach Out in Love

Thank you for giving to God through Zion. Every gift you gave became ministry in Jesus's name. Large or small, steady or occasional, your giving changed lives for good. Here are a few stories of what God did with what you gave.

This summer, Zion joined Grace, St. James, and Trinity Lutheran Churches for Vacation Bible School. I watched two daughters of Zion grow a friendship. As far as I know, they had never met; they don’t even live in the same state. But they bonded over crafts, lunch, silly songs, and sitting on the lawn learning about snakes. This fall, five Zion youth joined about 10 students from the same three congregations for confirmation. At our first class, they shared pictures of their baptisms and told their stories. Together is better. We can do more, and we are more. Your gifts brought EWALU counselors to lead VBS and bought new tables and chairs for confirmation.

Zion's food pantry is a here-and-now version of Jesus's loaves and fishes miracle. Demand keeps growing. Some days, in just 90 minutes, the pantry served as many as 40 people, almost twice what used to be typical. But the food never ran out. God provides through Food Rescue deliveries, a new partnership with River Bend Food Bank, and your generosity. It can get chaotic, but pantry volunteers stay on mission, because this is how we reach out in love. Your gifts bought laundry pods and toilet paper and kept the building safe and hospitable for Zion's guests.

Zion begins and ends and begins again in worship. I could point to any number of moments from the past year, but a recent one stands out. Sunday, August 30, my first Sunday back after my accident. We sang "For the Beauty of the Earth," and how beautiful it was! I couldn't sing it or bear to stand. But I was alive, and we were together. What more did I need? Your gifts paid the musician who led that hymn, printed those bulletins, and kept the candles burning.

When you give money to the church, you have less money. That's just math. But in Christ, less can become more. Not more money, but more healing and deeper faith. Gratitude and generosity are medicine. They heal us so we can trust God enough to open our hands, both to give and to receive. Isn't it healing to hear what God did with your gifts? Doesn't it give you hope and energy for the future? It does for me.

Look for the stewardship letter in the mail this coming week. Prayerfully consider your 2027 giving. Then bring your Estimate of Giving to worship on Celebration Sunday, November 8, or submit it online. Thank you for opening your hands to God through Zion. Because you did, faith grew and love reached out.

And thanks be to God.

Pastor Clark Olson-Smith