Gift

       When I was at Zion Lutheran, Davenport, IA, an organizer from the Gamaliel Foundation was working to organize congregations in the Quad Cities for social change. The basic concept is community organizing applied to congregations. Zion, and I, got involved.

     Then I relocated to Minnesota and St. James Lutheran, Crystal, a suburb of Minneapolis. Jay Schmidt, a Gamaliel organizer hired by the St. Paul Catholic Diocese, called on me. His charge was to organize congregations in the first ring suburbs of Minneapolis. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul had Gamaliel organizations. When Schmidt learned that I was familiar with congregation based organizing I was quickly recruited into leadership in the effort to organize suburban congregations. 

    A suburban organization was formed and I served as president. Eventually the three groups, suburban, Minneapolis, and St. Paul, merged to form ISAIAH. Again I served as president of the newly formed consortium for several years. My involvement continued until my retirement in 2007. Lars now works for ISAIAH.

     Today's issue of the Minneapolis Paper announced that Mackenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos' ex., had made a number of awards to Minnesota non-profits. Included among the recipients was ISAIAH, which was awarded two million dollars!  These gifts are given with no strings attached. It's Scott's intention to give away most of her wealth. 

    ISAIAH's growth and effectiveness has been a source of deep satisfaction for me. It has grown far beyond anything that I imagined in those early years of organizing. It's recognition by Scott, and the awarding of this major gift, affirms what a significant player it has become. Now it can do even more good for the citizens of Minnesota.

     Of course I'm delighted!

Takk for alt,

Al