STEWARD'S CORNER
40 Days of Giving
Every year during the season of Lent, the ELCA and Gethsemane have a “40 Days of Giving” campaign. You can find devotional giving calendars and study guides in the narthex. These resources help connect your faith with ending hunger using reflection, prayer, and service through daily practices of scripture reading, inspirational stories, and acts of generosity. The ELCA’s World Hunger support is the focus of our Lenten stewardship as a congregation.
An estimated one out of every 11 people in the world are hungry at any given time. That translates to around 720 million people. Rising food and housing costs, global conflict, and climate change related disasters have made it much harder for the estimated 831 million people living in extreme poverty (under $3 a day). In the US, over 47 million people face food insecurity at a time when funding to many aid organizations that help them has been eliminated or cut.
Hard and dangerous to reach countries with high poverty rates, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), can have corrupt government leaders that simply confiscate any monetary aid sent to the region. So the ELCA’s World Hunger organization tries to alleviate the root causes of hunger and poverty by supporting sustainable solutions such as health clinics, microloans, water wells, and community meals. In the DRC, World Hunger and Luther-an World Relief have also supported families by providing kitchen supplies, soap, cookstoves, quilts, & kits (including kits for babies, personal care, school, & sewing). They have also invested in farmers to help produce more food with advanced planting & harvesting tech-niques. In the US, World Hunger has numerous education & networking grants for sustainable food systems. Daily Bread Grants go to food pantries, the Strong Baby Sanctuary gives dia-pers & food for babies and educates mothers, and Good Trouble Church helps organize com-munities with farm food to table initiatives and leadership development to reduce poverty.
God calls us in Matthew 25:35 (ISV): “Because I was hungry, you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” Lutheran relief organizations are known as the “first to arrive and the last to leave” when disaster strikes. This Lenten season, we have the opportunity to share that spirit of steward-ship and giving.
Kim Toohey,
Congregational Life Chair
THE PRESIDENT'S OUTBOX
Rev. Priscilla Geerdes, Assistant to the Bishop for Ministry Transitions (the synod’s “matchmaker”) returned to Gethsemane on January 18. Her objective was to kick off the writing of the Ministry Site Profile (MSP). For much of the last half of 2025, the Call Committee received extensive input from the congregation about who we are, where we see this congregation going, and what we are looking for in a new pastor. Writing of the MSP is the next step in that process.
Rev. Geerdes’ joint meeting with Call Committee and council members went a bit off script. In a good way. Almost immediately the discussion turned to our SAM, Kathy Gosnell. (Kathy wasn’t present because she was off teaching a first communion class.) There was broad agreement that she had done a remarkably good job of providing spiritual leadership to the congregation through her sermons, her caring support of members in spiritual need, and her “leadership by example.” Rev. Geerdes remarked that this was extremely good news because at this time the synod has no pastoral candidates to send us even if we were ready!
The Call Committee will be considering how to respond to this, but it’s safe to say, some of the angst we felt six months ago about the absence of an ordained pastor at Gethsemane has been eased. At the same time, Kathy will be considering how her position as SAM will develop in the future. I will leave it to Carol Stuckert, Call Committee chair, and to Kathy to expand on all of this as they see fit.
There are many opportunities for prayer here. As you read this, pray for Rev. Geerdes and the I-K Synod that they may be able to address many of the pastoral vacancies that exist. Pray for the Call Committee that they may discern the will and guidance of the Holy Spirit as they address the MSP. Pray for Kathy that she might find strength in the Lord and go where He leads. Pray now.
Blessings,
Dave Leverenz, President
