As followers of Christ, we are called to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. One of the ways we can express our love is through stewardship: the responsible use of the gifts and resources that God has entrusted to us. Stewardship is not only about money, but also about our time, talents, abilities, and passions. There are many ways we can practice stewardship in our church and community. Two of them are volunteering and donating. Volunteering: Love in

Summer will soon be here! After the deep snows in April, it seemed like we’d never see green grass again. As all Minnesotans know, summer will be fleeting, and we need to take advantage of the nice days while they are here. But just like the inevitable road construction season, Zion, along with most churches, will be facing the traditional ‘Summer Slump.’ The ‘Summer Slump’ is a slowdown in church attendance and giving during the summertime when many people are

Steve joined us as we took our break. John, Dave, and I had started the morning in jackets and sweatshirts and now we were down to our t-shirts as the day warmed. We ate burgers and fries but he was satisfied with only a malt. Tim had stopped by earlier and dropped off tools and much-needed advice. The prep work was done and we would paint as much as we could on the stairs, deck, and porch that day. Now

Pastor Bahe pointed out seven forms of generosity in her January 29 message from the “5 daily habits from the Bible to truly bring joy” sermon series: Generosity of thoughts Generosity of words Generosity of money Generosity of time Generosity of things Generosity of influence Generosity of attention She went on to say: When we are faithful, even in little ways, following these seven forms of generosity; we will also be faithful in much. If we are generous in these

“It’s what you sow that multiplies, not what you keep in the barn.” Adrian Rogers Donating monetarily to Zion and/or any charitable organization is great.  But did you know, there may be ways to significantly increase your impact by donating appreciated assets such as stocks, mutual funds, and bonds?  There are a few benefits of donating the asset directly instead of first selling and converting to dollars.  First, you can potentially avoid the capital gains tax you would incur if

On Friday, January 6, we communicated with our offering envelope provider about not yet receiving our 2023 January/February envelope packets. Our provider quickly responded by email informing us that due to supply chain issues and their inability to add employees needed, they will not be fulfilling our January/February envelope orders. They determined that if they tried to play “catchup” it would jeopardize their ability to fulfill future orders in a timely manner. Therefore they stopped the production of January/February orders.

First, choose a charity that you really care about. Of course, I recommend giving to Zion Lutheran Buffalo. But, if giving to an organization outside the Lutheran church, before making any donations, spend a few minutes looking up the nonprofit on watchdog sites such as Charity Navigator, or CharityWatch. These sites rate nonprofits and allow you to find out more about the organization and how donations are spent. Does your household prepare a monthly budget? If so you’re in an

We have received reports of more attempts to scam our members and attenders by someone pretending to be Pastor Bahe. The email message claims to be from Pastor Bahe and generally asks you to reply to the email because there is a request she wants you to handle confidentially or discretely. Unfortunately, because the emails are from someone impersonating Pastor Bahe, there is very little we can do as a staff to prevent this. However, there are a few things

It’s smart and responsible to take advantage of available tax benefits when giving to a worthy charity like Zion. Following are a few ideas you may want to implement before the end of the year. Donating Appreciated Securities Stocks and other securities like mutual funds that have gained value since purchase can be tax-efficient charitable giving tools. Don’t sell the investment, pay tax on the gain, donate the proceeds and take your charitable deduction on the value of the proceeds.