Good for the Giver

by Tom Moline, Stewardship Committee

Posted August 2021

If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else. —Confucius

There are many ways that giving is beneficial to to the giver: gratitude, cooperation, social connection, health. In this article, I will focus on recent studies of giving and happiness.
As the purse is emptied the heart is filled. —Victor Hugo

Studies comparing donors and non-donors indicate that those who give report that they are 43% happier than those who do not give. In addition to their self-reported happiness, giving has been proven to reduce anxiety and lower stress – both of which can increase happiness levels. (Linked In, Catherine (Katie) Chapman, Philanthropic/Charitable Consultant)

A 2007 experiment using fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) found giving simulated the ventral striatum. That brain region is associated with a range of rewarding stimuli, from cocaine to art to attractive faces. The results suggest that giving, in the form of charitable donations, is inherently rewarding. (Harbaugh, Mayr, and Burghart)

A 2014 book by two Notre Dame social scientists, called The Paradox of Generosity: Giving We Receive, Grasping We Lose, combined in-depth interviews, national surveys, and group observations. They determined that “the more generous Americans are, the more happiness, health, and purpose in life they enjoy. This association…is strong and highly consistent…. Generous practices actually create enhanced personal well-being. The association…is not accidental, spurious, or an artifact of reverse causal influence.”

The scientists made this conclusion. “People often say that we increase the love we have by giving it away.” In this, they write, “generosity is like love.”

9th Grade Lock-in 2022

From the evening hours of October 7, well into the morning hours of October 8, our awesome Zion ninth graders…

Fall 2022 at Zion!

Our mission is to partner with families for faith formation and connection. We are always looking for ways to connect with you and to be helpful to families as they seek to raise their children in the faith. There is nothing like fall in Minnesota! But, there is also nothing like the busyness that accompanies it. Registrations, new schedules, new routines, new forms to fill out and keep track of, new school supplies to find and purchase, and new anxieties to calm. We started asking: what if the church found a way to curb some of that, instead of participating in it?

We started asking parents: “Would it be helpful if we moved the start of Sunday School and Confirmation to October?” And, overwhelmingly, parents told us that would be AWESOME and helpful. So, Sunday School (both at 8:30 & 10:30 this year!) will begin Sunday, October 2nd, and Confirmation will begin Wednesday, October 5th.

September will be focused on connecting your family to the joy of Sabbath. We hope you will be connecting back to worship if you’ve taken some time away. To help you focus on Sabbath and worship this Fall, the 10:30am outdoor worship service is continuing into September. Children love the chance to dance, run, and worship under the trees, and Zion has the perfect set-up. It is casual, low-key, a little bit shorter, and filled with music. Bring chairs or a blanket and worship outside the first two Sundays in September. Then, be ready for Z-Fest on the 18th! Food trucks! Games! Fun!

Each Sunday in September will have extra special ways of connecting with children & youth in worship (beyond our ever-popular children’s sermon time. Enjoy the breather and grace this new start date will provide and connect with friends old and new at worship this September. After all, God has commanded Sabbath rest, because we need it!

Choirs & Bells Sunday School Confirmation