Four page newsletter: October 2009| Four page newsletter: October 2009 | | |
| West Central MI Chapter, Fall news! |
| Make A Difference By Giving Back |
Want to have an impact on your congregation and other organizations you care about? Attend this workshop, "Charitable Giving: How To Make A Difference By Giving Back," to find out how.
Being a steward of your time, talents and treasures can be a powerful gift. Develop a smart giving strategy. Learn how charitable giving tools may decrease your taxes and supplement your retirement income. This educational workshop was developed by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and will be presented by Marcy Benz, Tony DeNicolo, Kent Johnson, Thrivent Financial representatives, with Special Guest Speaker Doug Lachniet of Lutheran Social Services of Michigan.
When: Sunday, November 8, 2009 from 3 pm to 5 pm
Where: Lebanon Lutheran Church
1101 S. Mears Avenue, Whitehall
Assume Mears Avenue will still be under construction, and travel south on Division St. to Market St.
Contact Marci Benz at 894-8886 or marci.benz@thrivent.com by Wednesday Oct 28 to reserve a spot .
| Care Abounds in Communities Dollars |
It will come as no surprise to anyone that your local Thrivent Board receives more requests for funds than it has funds to grant! The Board has used Thrivent's criteria in deciding how to approve a grant request.
1. Does the grant project benefit the local community and make a difference in that community?
2. What is the impact of the grant on the local community; that is, does it seem to be significant?
The board receives grant applications for Care Abounds In Communities grants up to the fifth of each month, and considers them at their Board meeting.
Thrivent announced in September that it expects no reductions for Care Abounds In Communities funds in 2010, nor in each chapter's operating funds.
| About Quilting Ministries |
Thrivent supports the many quilting groups that do great work throughout our chapter on behalf of Lutheran World Relief and many local organizations. Recent past practice has been to allocate money each March, using the equivalent of one Care Abounds In Communities grant ($1300 in 2009) which has been divided according to the number of quilts each group makes.
If there is any change in this procedure in 2010, the 2010 Board will adopt changes and communicate them to the membership. Until then, congregations should assume that these procedures are in effect, and the early 2010 deadline for quilts is still March 5.,
There are four CROP Walks held annually within our Western Michigan Thrivent Chapter. These walks raise money for world hunger through Church World Services, which sends 25% back to our community to the ministries specifically designated by each CROP Walk committee. It has been the past practice of each year's Thrivent Board that the best way to support these local ministries is to set aside the equivalent of one Care Abounds In Communities grant, and send an equal portion to each walk that applies. That portion has been sent directly to the local ministry that each walk supports. One fourth of $1300 means that each walk has seen $325 sent to its beneficiary.
CROPWalk leaders should use a Care Abounds In Communities application. The chapter will be informed if any change in procedures is made by the 2010 Thrivent board.
| Annual Meeting November 5 |
The annual meeting of the Western Michigan Thrivent Chapter is open to all members. Expect the election of 2010 officers, entertainment, prizes and an excellent dinner with fellow Lutherans.
When: Thursday, November 5, 2009
Where Our Redeemer Lutheran
1215 E. Apple Avenue, Muskegon
Congregation Coordinators are in 2010 permitted to hold elected chapter leadership positions at the same time. Please consider being nominated for a position.
Thank you for all you do for your congregation, and for its wider ministry through Thrivent Financial For Lutherans. Your Board meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at the West Shore Lutheran School 3225 Roosevelt Rd in Muskegon at noon, preceded by a lunch there at 11:30 am. We also thank the school lunch staff for for their hospitality. All are welcome to the Board meetings at any time.
Eligible to remain on the Chapter Leadership Board for 2010 will be Marge Stapleton Community Service Team Director, Steve Burchfield (Youth Director); Sylvia Koski as Records Director . Frank Hollister will return to the ballot. Mike Szserbinski, Doug Ogden, Paul Petersen, Bill Hutton complete their terms. The positions of Communications Director , Vice President, President, Congregational Service Team Director are among the ones to be filled at the November5 annual meeting.
| Thrivent Choice begins in 2010; Care In Congregations Ends |
Thrivent Choice will launch in the Spring of 2010, which will allow members to become active participants in directing the millions of charitable dollars from Thrivent. The Giving Plus and the Care In Congregations programs will end in 2009. Thrivent Choice will be funded at the level of these two programs combined.
Congregational coordinators will see a redefinition in their role, which will be clarified as the new Thrivent Choice takes final shape. This change also means current congregational coordinators can serve as elected chapter leaders at the same time.
The 2010 Thrivent Builds project in conjunction with Habitat For Humanity will be in the White Lake area on property on Whitehall Rd. In order to receive full funding, 50 % of the volunteers need to be Thrivent members. Please ask your congregational coordinators when your congregation will be participating.
The board also thanks Butch Coulier for his willingness to be nominated as our Thrivent Builds Chapter Specialist for next year. We also thank Margaret Sheffer, who has handled the "paperwork" side of the program.
The four-year alliance between Thrivent and Habitat comes to an end, and enters a new phase in 2010. Thrivent will still be the largest nongovernmental contributor to Habitat For Humanity, and congregations are still encouraged to get involved with Thrivent Builds Homes and Thrivent Builds Worldwide.
| Simply Giving makes changes |
The new Simply Giving® Program endorsed by Thrivent Financial Bank is now available for new institutions interested in enrolling in the program.
The existing program will run as is through Dec. 31, 2009. In late 2009, currently enrolled institutions will have the opportunity to transition to the new program, "Simply Giving Program endorsed by Thrivent Financial Bank." See the the Thrivent financial website and its FAQs location for more information about the program transition.
A cost for the program will be added. To make the program economically sustainable, there will be a charge to institutions. The fee will be less per transaction than if institutions worked directly through the program administrator, Vanco Services, which charges 25 cents per transaction.
Also celebrate with Trinity Lutheran, New Era, which made 20,622 meals at 28 cents meal. Fifty percent of the meals stay local, the rest are distributed through the National organization "Kids Against Hunger."
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