Designated Offerings

“When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. (Leviticus 2:1)

As part of our current stewardship emphasis, you probably have heard about “designated funds,” but you may not understand their function in the life of our community. When given, certain gifts come with “designations.” The donor gives their gift for a particular purpose. The root of this practice goes back at least as far as Moses and the people of Israel.

My devotions recently had me reading from Leviticus, an Old Testament book that records the ritual rules and regulations to be followed by the people and their priests. This time reading through it I was struck by the number of offerings and how they were each designed to deal with a particular situation: burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. Not only did each offering have a designated purpose, but each offering had specific designations as to what could be given and how it would be used.

Like those offerings of old, modern designated funds are a matter of the law. Once given to the church, leaders have an obligation to use those gifts for their designated purpose. At St. Luke, we have designated funds to support our Blanket, Sawdust, Christmas Tea, Orangeville Manor, Food Cupboards, and other ministries. I am pleased to say that careful accounting practices ensure those funds are used appropriately. It is the law.

Designated funds are an important part of our ministry and must be managed well. Blessedly, St. Luke has few such funds, and they are managed very well. Trust between members and leaders forms the heart of any healthy ministry.

God has blessed St. Luke. We are healthy, trusting, and working together. Glory be to God!