East King County Chapter

Four page newsletter: East King County Chapter, Fall 2005

Four page newsletter: East King County Chapter, Fall 2005

East King County Chapter, Fall 2005

Welcome to FALL!

As the seasons change, we all get out our planners and start to get ready for holidays and special events. Your East King County Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is also busy planning out the end of the calendar year!

We, as a Board, are so enthused with the wide variety of projects we are privileged to hear about in our grants process. The churches in our Chapter are a busy bunch, in their congregations, in their local communities and in the larger community we all share!

This is also the time of year we gear up for Chapter Leadership Board Elections. We have had great leadership from Joe Peach, Floyd Lukecart, Janet Broadus, Susan Baird-Joshi, Jeff Brady, Kathy Fisher and Joe Hart, but many of them have served to their term limit and we are in need of some ‘fresh spirits’. Is that YOU??
The East King County Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is looking for fresh faces to help distribute more than $34,000 to the church community in our chapter. Our goal as a Chapter Board is to assist in the good works the 28 Lutheran Churches in our chapter are doing. The great news is the more we give away ~ the more we get! Put yourself on the Board that gets to make those happy decisions! We need you to prayerfully consider helping the larger Lutheran church community through the generosity of Thrivent Financial. By receiving this newsletter, you are in the Thrivent Financial family. You know how it works, so put yourself in the chairs that have the happy job if distributing funds to so many worthy causes! We meet once a month. We are ‘wired’ – able to check requests from congregations and individuals via email. We keep all members informed at our chapter website. It is a small time commitment that yields huge rewards ~ and all the people are nice, too! The open chapter leadership positions are President, Vice President, Records Director, Communications Director, Events Director, and Community Service Team Director.
To find out what the East King County Chapter has been busy with this year, please visit our website at www.lutheransonline.com/eastkingcountychapter . Please take a moment to read the volunteer position descriptions we have posted and send an e-mail back to the chapter at eastkingcochapter@yahoo.com indicating your interest, or contact any board member directly via chapter’s e-mail address above. We are praying to have the Board nominations in place by September 18th , but no later than October 9th, for our November chapter leader elections.

East King County Chapter Leadership Board Elections

Now that you’ve thought about running for a position, let’s talk about voting!

East King County Chapter leader elections are set for November 20. We will inform our Chapter members about candidates and elections polling places in a mailing, via e-mail and on the website! Be sure to check often for update.

You can make a difference as a chapter leader (mission and vision)

Did you know that as a member of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, you are a part of one of nearly 1,400 groups, or chapters, of Thrivent Financial members? The chapter system provides opportunities for members to "make a difference" by helping others through fund-raising or service activities. It also is an integral part of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' mission and vision because it helps maximize the good that we do for others.

Where Has Our Money Gone??

The East King County Chapter has helped fund – through supplementing fundraising efforts to straight donations - youth mission trips, quilters working on projects for Lutheran World Relief and Ronald McDonald House, hunger projects – feeding homeless in various communities, Tent City, Boy Scout projects, Ice Cream Socials, Angel Trees. Your efforts have helped The Compass Center, Woman’s Compass Cascade Center, Hammond House, Hopelink, Congregations for Kids, Foss Home, Lutheran Ministry Services, Maritime Ministry. We have found our congregations to be creative and tireless in their ability to help others.

FREE COFFEE

Does your congregation have a special recognition Sunday coming up?? Perhaps to honor those who serve on Council, in Children’s Ministry, or committee support? Did you know that East King County Chapter will give each congregation $200 to host that reception?? All you have to do is ask! Send an email to eastkingcochapter@yahoo.com , mark it RE: Reception Funds and our financial director will send you a check! That can buy a good bit of Starbucks and a fancy cake! “Ask and you shall receive …”

How to help your congregation

Did you know that Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has a program called Care in Congregations® where funding is provided to Thrivent Financial members to conduct fund-raising and/or hands-on service activities to benefit your congregation or its related Lutheran institutions? In fact, Thrivent Financial members are encouraged to use the funds to help the congregation in its ministry to the community. If you see a need in your congregation that could be helped through this funding, please contact a Thrivent Financial congregational coordinator in your congregation. If you don't know who your three congregational coordinators are, please contact a member of our chapter leadership board as noted in this newsletter, and he/she will help you get in touch with a coordinator.

Your gift to a Lutheran organization can accomplish even more through the GivingPlus® program

Are you aware that as a member of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, financial gifts you make to a Lutheran organization might be able to be supplemented by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans? Through Thrivent Financial's GivingPlus® program, members can donate financial gifts to two different Lutheran organizations enrolled in the program each year, and Thrivent Financial will contribute $1 for every $2, up to $300 per year for each organization. For example, if you donate gifts of $600 or more to two eligible Lutheran organizations each, Thrivent Financial will contribute an additional $600 ($300 for each organization). In addition, Thrivent Financial will contribute an additional $25 for members who volunteer 25 hours or more at the organization receiving their gift. All you need to do is complete a GivingPlus® Member Gift form (available online or from the Lutheran organization) and submit it with your donation to the Lutheran organization. It's a very simple process. For complete details and guidelines about this one-of-a-kind member benefit program and for copies of the Member Gift form, go to www.thrivent.com/fraternal/churchcommunity/givingplus.html. If you used the program in the past, please review the site for excellent enhancements made to the 2005 program, which allow even more members to make an even greater impact to the organizations they support through their gifts.

Join Hands Day

The East King County Chapter sponsored a wonderful Join Hands Day on May 7th! Adults and youth from several congregations met at the Adele Maxwell Childcare Center in Bellevue to spread new playchips on their playground, clean all the outside play equipment and spruce up planter boxes for the children! The planting included colorful plants for the babies to a ‘salad garden’ for the preschoolers. Many thanks to the Thrivent Financial member, Laurie Sperber, for chairing the event, Ken Smith and Bellevue Nursery for their generous donation and all our friends who gathered to assist in this well-received project!! Now about next year…

What is the difference between a fund-raiser and a hands-on service activity?

What type of activity—fund-raiser or hands-on service activity*—best meets a need your congregational service team has identified in your congregation? Look at the goal or purpose of the activity and ask these questions:

- Is the activity being done to generate funds (dollars)? When yes, a fund-raiser activity should be planned.

- Is the activity being done to assemble, create or improve something using volunteer labor? When yes, a hands-on service activity should be planned.

A fund-raiser activity uses Care program funds to supplement the dollars raised. A hands-on service activity uses Care program funds to purchase materials used for the volunteer activity. Funds are not to be used for paid labor or gift certificates.

Here are some examples of each type of activity:

Fund-raiser activity - Silent auction, benefit dinner, rummage sale, auction, car wash, bake sale, spaghetti dinner, appeal/collection.

Hands-on service activity - paint the church hall, construct a wheelchair ramp, landscape the church grounds, clean the church and school, create gift baskets for shut-ins, clean-up church grounds, build cabinetry for the fellowship hall.

Visit CHIP, located in Members/Chapters at Thrivent.com, for more detailed information and examples of Care in Congregations® activities.

*Note: If a service team determines that both a fund-raiser and hands-on service activity are needed, create two different service teams and report these activities separately (even though the activities may be conducted on the same date and for the same need).

For Members By Members

This newsletter was written and edited by volunteer leaders of your local Thrivent Financial for Lutherans chapter to keep you informed of chapter news. If you have any questions and/or comments about the content of this newsletter or would like to learn more about chapter activities being planned in your area, please contact one of your chapter leaders. To access your chapter leader contact information, go to www.thrivent.com; Members/Chapters; Information About My Chapter; View Leadership/Activities/Website; Chapter Leadership Board.