Matching Funds for Donations to Haiti

A letter from LC-MS president Gerald B. Kieschnick

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is with a grateful heart that I write this update regarding support for Haiti earthquake response. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans announced today a 50-percent matching gift – $1 for every $2 its members contribute – to Lutheran disaster relief agencies including LCMS World Relief and Human Care in St. Louis and Lutheran World Relief in Baltimore.

Thrivent Financial has pledged to contribute as much as $1 million to this effort, which they are calling “Helping Haiti.” This campaign may generate $3 million for desperately needed earthquake relief efforts in Haiti – $1 million from Thrivent Financial added to $2 million or more from its members.

Here are ways to give to Haiti earthquake relief that will qualify for the matching gift:

LCMS World Relief and Human Care in St. Louis:

Online: https://catalog.lcms.org/givenow/Gift_input.asp?ID=800

Phone: 888-930-4438 (toll-free)

Mail: LCMS World Relief and Human Care, P.O. Box 66861, St. Louis, MO 63166-6861 (Mark checks “Haiti Earthquake Relief”)

Lutheran World Relief in Baltimore:

Online: http://www.lwr.org/emergencies/10/HaitiEarthquake/index.asp

Phone: 800-LWR-LWR-2 (toll-free)

Mail: Lutheran World Relief – Haiti Earthquake, P.O. Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21298-9832

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans:

Online: http://www.thrivent.com/helpinghaiti

Phone: 800-236-3736 (toll-free) – (when prompted, please say “directory” then enter ext. 83003.)

Please note that the maximum Thrivent Financial match is $250 per member donation for contributions accepted through March 31, 2010. Additional information about “Helping Haiti” is available at www.thrivent.com.

For the latest information on LCMS earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, please visit http://www.lcms.org/worldrelief.

Please join me in thanking and praising our good and gracious God for the wonderful generosity of our friends at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Please respond to this opportunity with your generous gifts. And please continue to remember in your prayers the relief work being planned and accomplished in Haiti, in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick

President

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod