Grace Abounds: Celebrating $1 Million in Grants Awarded to SW MN Synod Rostered Ministers for Education Loan Reduction, Retirement Readiness, and Medical Expense Grants
This fall the SW MN Synod reached a milestone. Since 2016, the synod has awarded over $1 million in grants through its Gifts of Grace program to its rostered ministers to help ease their financial burdens and plan for their future financial wellbeing.
Over $1 Million in grants: 238 Education Loan Reduction Grants. 170 Retirement Readiness Grants. 129 Medical Expense Grants.
These numbers are more than just stunning figures. They embody stories of grace: given, shared and received.
By God’s Grace
These numbers are a beautiful testament to the conclusion of the synod’s mission statement, “By God's grace, together we have what we need.”This level of support has been made possible by the generosity of many: individuals, congregations, synod organizations, synod endowment funds for pension equity and and rural ministry debt reduction, and Lilly Endowment Inc. These grants are one of the ways that members of the SW MN Synod have come together and lived out their baptismal identity as the body of Christ—many parts but one body—by lightening the financial burdens that many of its rostered ministers carry and, in turn, helping them to find greater freedom to live out their call. Thank you!
Gifts of Grace
These grants have been gifts of grace to rostered ministers across the synod.
As a synod and through these grants you have:
- been there for rostered ministers in times of great vulnerability as they or their households faced the many uncertainties that come with medical crises.
- helped rostered ministers chip away at what can feel like an overwhelming mountain of seminary debt when faced alone.
- pushed rostered ministers across the finish line in paying off their student loans sooner than they could have done so on their own.
- helped to close the gap in retirement savings for those paid below guidelines.
- provided encouragement to rostered ministers to take steps to invest in and improve their financial outlook in retirement.
These grants have made a real difference in the lives of rostered leaders in our synod in both measurable and immeasurable ways. On behalf of those who have received these grants, thank you SW MN Synod for these generous expressions of support!
Would you like to help sustain the Gifts of Grace program (and by extension the grants it offers) into the future? Click here to give online or send a check payable to the SW MN Synod with “Gifts of Grace” in the memo line to:
SW MN Synod
175 E Bridge St
PO Box 499
Redwood Falls, MN 56283