Hosanna Lutheran Church in Forest Lake has recently undergone a transition in which it acquired a new pastor and congregants armed themselves with a plan to recommit to their mantra of “Living, Loving and Serving.” Pastor Linda Friesen took time during services Sept. 28 and Oct. 1 to introduce a new stewardship program meant to nurture that plan.
“I could tell that the people of the congregation were ready to move out into the community and into the world,” Friesen said. “We were working on a series about stewardship and what it was and what it meant, and this project fit right in.”
The project included 25 volunteers ranging in age. Each volunteer received a $100 bill. They were told that the money did not belong to them, but rather it belonged to the Lord. As a rule, the participants were not to use the money for themselves, but had to instead find creative ways to use the money to further God’s kingdom. The 25 people are to report back in eight weeks and explain how they chose to use to use the money.
The project stemmed from the biblical Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, in which three servants were each given a sum of money. Two of those servants were rewarded as they used the cash to increase the value of the property they were entrusted to watch over. The third servant received no reward, as he simply buried his money and kept it hidden.
“It has been a full week since we began this effort, and so far no one has wanted to give the money back,” Friesen said. “Occasionally some are not up to the task and choose to return the money, but the fact that we are not seeing that here at all tells me that this congregation is very dedicated to being good stewards. The church is going to be able to provide 25 projects that will directly benefit the community.”
Several proposed projects include a fourth-grade student’s plan to gather friends and knit hats to be given to the homeless, a baker’s effort to make cakes and auction them off with the proceeds going to the Forest Lake food shelf, and a young boy’s idea to enlist the help of family and friends to sponsor a child in Africa.
“The larger message that we are trying to promote with this project is that not only does the money belong to God, but everything belongs to God as we would not have any of it if it weren’t for him,” Friesen said.