A New Lens for Generosity
The Generosity Project was featured in the ELCA’s Stories of Faith in Action (SOFIA), in an article called A New Lens for Generosity originally published in 2020.
Diane Krauszer, ELCA pastor, leads a Generosity Project workshop at Epiphany Lutheran Episcopal Church, Valdez, Alaska.
Sharing God’s gifts with one another through stewardship is an integral part of the Lutheran faith. But sometimes stewardship is misunderstood, equated simply with giving money rather than sharing time, spirit and love. Linda Staats is trying to change that with the Generosity Project, a stewardship resource funded in part by Mission Support.
Developed through a partnership between Staats, the Rocky Mountain Synod and the churchwide organization, the Generosity Project challenges Lutherans to rethink stewardship through innovative, intergenerational programming.
When Diane Krauszer, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Palmer, Alaska, introduced her congregation to the Generosity Project two years ago, it shifted perspectives.
“One [person] exclaimed, ‘We never talked about any of this when I was a kid, and I wish we had,’”Krauszer said. Believing this resource could benefit neighbors at Epiphany Lutheran Episcopal Church, Valdez, Alaska, she took a cue from the project and shared it with them.
In 2019, Krauszer partnered with Kaitlin Pabo-Eulberg, Epiphany’s pastor, to introduce the blended Lutheran-Episcopal congregation and a neighboring Catholic church to the Generosity Project.
“It [was] a very natural partnership to invite them,”Pabo-Eulberg said of Epiphany’s Catholic neighbors.“They were really excited to talk about giving from their perspective.”
The event included participants ranging in age from 8 to 89, and Pabo-Eulberg recalled enthusiastic listening and understanding across the generations.
Among them were Epiphany members Donna Newcomer, a baby boomer, and Steve Newcomer, of the Greatest Generation.“[Now] every time somebody comes to [our] house, when they leave, I say, ‘Thank you for spending time with us,’”Donna said.“Because that’s the greatest thing you can give somebody — they noticed you and spent time with you.”
Staats said this new lens for generosity is the project’s aim.
“The goal is not to increase giving by a percentage,” she said.“The goal is to change the culture in a congregation [and in homes]. We’re building a culture to bring all generations together … and equipping the home as a place where generosity is practiced.”
Thank you for your generous gifts of Mission Support, which made this story of faith in action possible. Mission Support is the portion of your offering your congregation shares with your synod, and your synod shares with the churchwide organization. To learn more, visit ELCA.org/SOFIA.