For Starters — A roundup of articles on the topics of faith, finances and volunteerism

An At-Ease Retiree | A Concrete Reminder | The Master Barber | A Time To Rebuild | GodStock Is A Godsend | Medical Music | Members Around The World

MOVING FORWARD

An At-Ease Retiree
Once a year, Merwin Ryan, 76, made his way from his home in Oakland to the office of Thrivent Financial Consultant Ray Carlisle in Fremont, California, for his financial review.

Until 2004. That’s when Ryan got lost on his way to Carlisle’s office. Then he lost some important paperwork. Carlisle was concerned.

“We began talking about his need for alternative living arrangements,” says Carlisle. “I put him in contact with a Lutheran life transition counselor, Donna Christner-Lile, who took care of all of the details. He’s never been married, so he has no children and no local support.”

Over the years, Ryan had slowly but surely built his retirement plan with the help of Carlisle and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. From annuities and mutual funds to disability income and long-term care insurance, Ryan made decisions to ensure he had the coverage he would need for a comfortable retirement.

Ryan recently moved into Aegis of Fremont, an assisted living facility. At first, he wasn’t sure he could afford it. But with his long-term care insurance and annuity payments, the majority of the monthly bill will be paid for the rest of his life, Carlisle says.

“When I first got long-term care insurance, I complained about how expensive it was,” says Ryan. “But I have an entirely different attitude now.”

But that’s not the end of Ryan’s story. Recently, Carlisle referred him to a local Lutheran estate planning attorney, Randall Thompson, to formalize his will, trust, power of attorney and advance medical directive. Thrivent Financial Bank is acting as Ryan’s trustee, and is providing investment management services, which include bill paying.

“As trustee, Thrivent Financial Bank transfers $500 a month to his bank account, and pays most of his bills,” says Carlisle. “He likes the feeling of going to his local bank and using the ATM to withdraw some spending money.”

At Ryan’s death, Thrivent Financial Bank will handle the settlement of his estate.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to have this all in place,” says Ryan.

For Carlisle, the satisfaction comes from knowing his client is well taken care of. “It’s wonderful to see the many different levels that Thrivent Financial can assist its members,” says Carlisle.

—Donna Mulder

Long-term care insurance is marketed through Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ wholly owned subsidiary insurance brokerage agency.

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FOUNDATIONS

A Concrete Reminder
It’s a sculpture that no longer carries such a big load on its shoulders. Originally commissioned by the Reformation Lutheran Church of Wichita, Kansas, in the early 1950s, The Hands of God and Man, by the late Bernard “Poco” Frazier, is a 34-foot tall, 16-foot wide, 30-ton concrete sculpture that once served as the outside wall of the church’s sanctuary.

When the congregation moved across town in 1994, they wanted to bring this important piece of their heritage with them. In 2000, after a five-year, $75,000 fund-raising campaign, the sculpture was transported from a storage location to the new church grounds. It now sits as a centerpiece of serenity in the church’s new Meditation Garden.

“It’s our past; it’s our history,” says Waldo Gerards, Reformation congregant and former member of the building committee. “It’s also a place that is open to the community to stop and rest, to relax and to think about things.”

—Sarah Asp

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A LUTHERAN MOMENT

The Master Barber

Who: Peter Beskendorf, Martin Luther’s personal barber.

Where & When: Germany in the middle 1500s, the height of the Reformation.

What: When Beskendorf asked Martin Luther how to pray without being distracted by worldly things, Luther penned a 40-page letter that outlined a combination of Bible study and prayer. To simplify his message, Luther gave Beskendorf a list of questions to consider as he meditated on Scripture, instructing that each answer be his prayer: What does the Bible teach me to do? What does it teach me to be thankful for? What does it teach me to confess? What does it teach me to ask for?

From this initial dialogue came one of Luther’s best-loved devotional books, A Simple Way to Pray. The dedication on the book reads: “For a Good Friend…For Peter, the Master Barber.”

—Sarah Asp

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SERVICE SCENE

A Time to Rebuild
On the third Sunday in September 2005, the Rev. Ron Unger stood at the pulpit in Christ the King Lutheran Church, 10 miles outside of New Orleans, and introduced himself to the approximately 100 congregants who had gathered for worship.

As he recalls, “I stepped in front of the congregation and said, ‘My name is Ron Unger, and I’m your new pastor.’ They all broke into applause.”

Unger, like nearly 50 percent of his congregation, had returned to New Orleans the previous week to find his home damaged by Hurricane Katrina—but Christ the King was still standing. From that moment, Unger and his congregation set out to help rebuild their community.

“We did a needs assessment immediately. We asked people to write down the amount of damage they were experiencing, what they needed or what they could provide, and we gave that to a group of our people right away that evening who went through the whole list and started figuring out ways to help each other,” Unger says. “We let Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) know of our availability to be a staging area for people coming in to the area to help.”

With the help of Thrivent Financial and LDR, Christ the King opened its doors to volunteers from across the nation who came to the area—and are still coming—to clean up and rebuild.

“We committed the next two years at minimum to housing volunteers coming through,” says Unger. “We can house 50 at a time in our fellowship hall. There are cots and air mattresses everywhere.”

With help from sister congregations, Christ the King was able to build a shower trailer in the parking lot. For meals, volunteers are sent to “tent city,” at Atonement Lutheran Church, a neighboring congregation that has set up a cafeteria tent in the parking lot.

On top of being a home base for volunteers, Christ the King provides office space for LDR personnel, holds weekly services, runs a preschool and is home to one LDR staffer who congregants affectionately call “the concierge.”

Now, a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Christ the King’s relief efforts show no signs of stopping.

“God has confronted us with this challenge and opportunity,” says Unger. “We’ve thrown ourselves into it.”

—Sarah Asp

For more, visit www.thrivent.com/magazine/links.

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LABORS OF LOVE

Godstock Is a Godsend

Jacob Aaron Courtney was just 20 months old when he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer that attacks the nervous system. Chanda and Brian Courtney of Charlotte, North Carolina, turned all of their energy into caring for tiny Jacob. Eventually, Chanda ran out of family leave at work and had to quit her job. Accustomed to living on two salaries, the Courtneys feared they would not be able to pay their mounting bills. Then Godstock stepped in.

For thousands of North Carolina families, Godstock, a non-profit Christian organization that provides spiritual and financial support to chronically ill children and their families, has been a Godsend, taking over mortgage payments, giving out gas cards and paying household monthly bills.

“For more than a year and a half, Godstock helped us emotionally and financially,” Chanda wrote in a letter to Godstock founder John Bouk. “Godstock paid our house payment and for flights for my husband to and from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and anything we needed, even groceries. The financial support was a huge blessing in a time of deep despair and stress.”

Now in its 12th year, Godstock continues to donate 100 percent of its proceeds to children and their families, supported by fund-raising, donations and supplemental funds from the East Rowan, Southwest Rowan and Greater Charlotte chapters of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. In addition,  financial associates Eric Brady, Lynn Lippard and regional specialist Jennifer Myers from Salisbury, N.C., contribute volunteer hours.

Families from all over the world contact Godstock for support, but presently the program is only able to support families of children receiving treatment at one of three North Carolina hospitals—something Bouk hopes to change. “There are so many kids out there, there are so many families that are struggling,” says Bouk.

“Jacob Aaron Courtney passed away on December 18, 2003,” continued Chanda’s letter. “Deep in our broken hearts we know that he is without pain and suffering any longer, and for that we are grateful. We will also be forever grateful for the financial support and friendship of Godstock and their tireless efforts of fund-raising for families like ours who desperately need help.”

—Sarah Asp

Get Involved
Godstock’s main fund-raiser is an annual Christian music festival, which will take place Sept. 9–10 at the South Rowan YMCA. Thrivent Financial chapters help raise funds and organize volunteers. For more, visit www.thrivent.com/magazine/links.

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HIGHER ARTS

Medical Music
Sarah Schwartz and Melanie Brown each play the harp, but you won’t find either in a concert hall in their hometown of Medina, Ohio, any time soon. Schwartz and Brown bring their specially crafted therapy harps (they are smaller with a softer tone) into area hospitals and homes where patients are receiving hospice care to help soothe patients, including pregnant women in labor, those going into surgery and terminally ill patients and their families. Through harp music, they are able to help those in a time of transition and potential stress and pain.

Both Schwartz and Brown are graduates of the International Harp Therapy program based out of the Hospice of San Diego and have received certificates of completion from the Sacred Art of Living program in Bend, Oregon, where they received training in end-of-life care, learning about its history and current developments.

The women discovered their calling after years of musical training and a dedication to helping those in need of peaceful and healing music. “I immediately felt called to this work,” says Brown.

Their fellow members at St. Matthew Lutheran Church are fortunate enough to enjoy the two musicians’ talents year-round through special presentations.

—Morgan Shada

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DID YOU KNOW?

Members Around the World
From Anguilla to Zambia, Thrivent Financial has a global reach that might surprise you.
We found 1,936 member households in 88 countries outside of the U.S. To view the full listing, go to www.thrivent.com/magazine/links.

Anguilla	1	Japan	107
Bahamas	5	Latvia	2
Brazil	12	Norway	55
Canada	669	Saudi Arabia	7
Cayman Islands	3	Senegal	2
China	20	Sweden	23
Germany	205	Thailand	13
Jamaica	2	Zambia	3

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is authorized to conduct business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Products issued by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans are available to applicants who meet membership, insurability, U.S. citizenship and residency requirements.