Dear Partners in Ministry,
It is with a deep sense of thanksgiving that a grateful synod says thank you! Thank you for the gifts of mission support shared by your congregation for the mission we share in our Northern Illinois Synod and Evangelical Lutheran church in America.
Because of your congregation’s gifts of mission support and those from the other 146 congregations of the Northern Illinois Synod, we have been able to share the good news in Jesus Christ in ways that no congregation can do alone. Because of your congregation’s faithfulness and generosity, we were able to fund 98% of our ministry budget in 2017. Because of your generosity in sharing gifts for mission support, we have the joy and privilege to partner in ministries such as ELCA colleges and seminaries, campus ministries, LSSI, Lutheran Disaster Response, global mission, developing and redeveloping congregations, and so much more as we share in God’s mission. As we remember our ministries in prayer, we give thanks for you and all you do in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for your generosity! It is in the sharing of gifts for mission support that we can boldly partner in the mission that God has given us to do.
Thank you again for the many ways in which you participate in God’s mission through your congregation’s ministry. Thank you too, for your generosity in sharing gifts for mission support for the ministry we share as wider church. Together, we are about God’s work with our hands. Together, we remember one another in prayer and give thanks for the ministry we share in Christ’s name.
Walking Together,
Bishop Jeffrey Clements,
Northern Illinois Synod Bishop
Rev. Kurt Nordby
Northern Illinois Synod Assistant to the Bishop
Stewardship and Development