Thank God for His Goodness


"The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time; you open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing" (Psalm 145:15,16).
Our gracious God never ceases to amaze us with his blessings, both spiritual and physical. Recently, our synod learned of another in an unending stream of blessings from God's hand.
Several weeks ago, a longtime member of our synod was called to his eternal home at the side of his Savior. During his life, he showed his love and thanks to God by his faithful stewardship of God’s material blessings. In addition to supporting the gospel ministry with his gifts while he lived, he also made provisions for his gifts of faith to continue after his life on earth ended.
In his estate, this humble man of God has given more than $3.3 million to support the ongoing mission and ministry of the synod. This gift, completely unexpected, represents one of the largest individual bequests ever received by the synod. In addition to his gift to the synod, he also provided $57,294 to the WELS Church Extension Fund and additional gifts to his congregation and to two Lutheran high schools. We offer our humble thanks to God, and to our sainted brother, for this gift.
As is the case with all undesignated bequests, this gift to the synod will be placed into the Financial Stabilization Fund. Since this is a one-time gift, its use in the coming year or years will be carefully considered by the Synodical Council as it strives to be good stewards of the financial resources available to the synod.
Serving in Christ,
Mark Schroeder

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