“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people.” 

Galatians 5:22-24  

Later this month my niece will turn 14. I recall the Thanksgiving Day she was born, 6 weeks ahead of her due date. Even though my brother and sister-in-law were in Rochester, Minnesota where I knew they would receive some of the best care in the country, it was cause for concern. As we sat down to our turkey dinner, we gave thanks for Madeleine’s birth, despite the worry about the coming weeks she’d spend in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit. On that holiday, when we traditionally give thanks to God for the abundance of our lives, we also gave thanks for the gift of Madeleine. The unexpected-ness of her birth gave us an even deeper sense of gratitude in our hearts! 

When you received a gift that was unexpected - perhaps something came in the mail and it wasn’t even your birthday, or a friend stopped by with a bouquet of flowers to brighten your grief-laden day – how did you experience gratitude? Was it different from the gratitude you feel with gifts that are anticipated? In preparation for the coming holiday season, this November I invite you to take some time to reflect on your experiences of gratitude. Name some of your specific examples. Write them down and/or send a note to that person for whom you are grateful every day, even if you haven’t told them recently how much they mean to you. Taking active steps in your response to gratitude will fill your hearts and minds with joy and generosity!

Now to some things in our synod that inspire gratitude. Many of our congregations and ministries have received financial gifts from the SHARE fund. The acronym S.H.A.R.E. stands for Synod Help and Response Endowment. It was started in 1998 to partner with congregations in the Northwest Intermountain (back then the Eastern Washington-Idaho) Synod. Thanks to so many generous donations over the years along with market increases, the endowment has now reached an amazing $1.6 million dollars. The fund is managed by the ELCA Foundation and each year a distribution of 4% is withdrawn to respond to grant requests from congregations and ministries in our synod. The application becomes available in January and each spring the Executive Committee of our Synod reviews and awards the SHARE grants with the available money from the distribution. You can read more about it on the synod’s website.

During the past two years, the Executive Committee also approved a special application of the funds called Walking Together grants to help meet the extraordinary needs caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Combined with appropriated funds from the ELCA Covid Appeal and Lutheran Disaster Response, many congregations and ministries in our synod territory received grant money. Talk about unexpected gifts for which to be grateful! Some grants were used to provide direct support to people who were hardest hit by the pandemic, others to congregations to respond to the unexpected need to take worship online. Here are just a few of the stories from around our synod where the SHARE grants made an impact.*

• From Pastor Meggan Manlove: Trinity Lutheran (Nampa, ID) received synod grant funds to pay for this new Region III Housing Coalition website, designed by Lin Carlson … It looks fabulous! Visit the website and learn how it is helping meet housing needs in 9 counties in western and southwestern Idaho.

• From Darcie Price, Celebration LC, East Wenatchee WA: the grant we received…was used for the more immediate need of updating our church website; check it out! As Sarah Toney (our Intern) was working on it, she found a professional photographer who having fled the war in Ukraine is staying with a family in Wenatchee. He took many of the photos on the new website and we gave a donation to support his family for his artistic gift. We now regularly have people come to church saying, “we saw it on your website” or “I searched for churches in the area and your website popped up”.

• From Bill Gustafson at Lord of Life, Kennewick, WA: We added a screen in the sanctuary to better integrate our in-person and online congregants…bring a more modern worship experience of the liturgy and have the ability to play videos…for example, children’s sermons are pre-recorded and allow us to dedicate a special time to the kids while still adhering to COVID protocols. Examples are on the LoL YouTube channel where we can now stream and archive weekly worship services.

• From Mary Rickerd at King of Glory, Boise: We experienced long delays in receiving equipment ordered using the grant funds, but this gave us time for deliberate planning and visioning of ways we can more effectively use the equipment. Church and council leaders discussed The Hybrid Church by Dr. Dave Daubert to learn how we can incorporate this new ‘hybrid’ way of being church. During adult forums we introduced the idea to congregation has encouraged creative thinking to enhance our outreach. Every week we are amazed at the way technology has blessed us in the past! Every week we are excited at the progress we are making into the future!

*The stories shared here have been shortened and edited.

This November may you experience God’s presence in unexpected ways!

Mary Morrow
Director for Evangelical Mission