In worship
Offering plates are passed at both services. Envelopes are in the pews. You may also bring a gift to the office during the week.
Stewardship
Give to the work God prepared.
Online gifts, recurring offerings, designated funds, memorials, and every other way this congregation supports Word and Sacrament in Rhinelander.
Where gifts went last year
400+
Quilts shipped through Lutheran World Relief
$4,670
Local missions — New Dawn, DVC, Camp Luther, By the Way
$3,200
Member-designated gifts we forwarded in their name
Sunday 9 AM
Gospel preached on the livestream you help keep running
Pastor Miller wrote in August: the congregation added the cost of training the next pastor without removing other work, and the first half of the year ran behind. He is not asking for panic. He is asking each of us to sit with the question, “Why am I here?” — and to let the answer shape our giving. Average weekly worship is 96. God is not done with this church.
Other ways to give
By mail
Make checks payable to St. Mark Lutheran Church and mail to 21 S. Baird Ave., Rhinelander, WI 54501. Note a fund in the memo if you wish.
If you have Thrivent
Choice Dollars and Action Teams
These are Thrivent’s own generosity programs — not a gift from your account. Eligible members choose where Thrivent sends grant funding, and can lead volunteer projects with seed money. St. Mark is enrolled. Direct Choice Dollars to us, and tell the office if you want to run an Action Team for quilts, the fair booth, or another need here.
Thrivent Choice Dollars
Choice Dollars are designated at the start of the year from a member’s prior-year qualifying activity. Each Choice Dollar you direct is $1 in grant funding to the organization you choose. Direct them any time through December 31; unused Choice Dollars do not carry over. You cannot earmark them for a specific ministry inside the congregation — they arrive as Thrivent’s grant to St. Mark.
- Log in at Thrivent and open Direct Choice Dollars.
- Search for St. Mark Lutheran Church, Rhinelander, or browse the organization catalog.
- Or call 800-847-4836 and say “Thrivent Choice.”
Thrivent Action Teams
Action Teams (sometimes called action grants) let a member lead a volunteer project. Benefit members may lead up to two teams per calendar year; associate members, one. You apply, Thrivent sends a kit, and a Community Impact Card holds up to $250 in seed money for supplies — quilting fabric, fair-booth kits, food-pantry needs. Apply at least 14 days before the project (and no more than 120 days ahead). Unused card funds return to Thrivent after 90 days.
- Pick a project that serves neighbors, not a cash gift to the church.
- Apply in your Thrivent account. Approval is typically a few business days.
- Use the kit and the $250 card, then submit the short report Thrivent asks for.
Members here have already used Action Teams for quilting materials and education kits given out at the Oneida County Fair. Talk with the office before you apply so we can point you at a real need.
Scrip and the endowment
Both programs already serve this congregation. The details below are what we can say with confidence today. Fuller descriptions — participating retailers, how to order Scrip, and how the endowment is governed — will be added once the office and stewardship board provide them.
Scrip
St. Mark runs a Scrip program: you buy gift cards at face value, the retailer returns a rebate to the church. It is a quiet way to support ministry with grocery and household spending you already do. Ask the office for the current order list and dates.
Call 715-362-2470 or write [email protected].
Endowment
Gifts may also be made to the congregation’s endowment for the long work of Word and Sacrament here — memorials, bequests, and planned gifts. Debbie Kinney (treasurer) and Kathy Lueck (financial secretary) can receive those conversations privately. Policy, named funds, and suggested language for a will will be posted here when they are in hand.
Giving questions
- Is this tax-deductible?
- Yes. St. Mark is a 501(c)(3) congregation of the LCMS. You will receive an annual giving statement. Sign in on the account page to see gifts recorded under your name.
- Can I give to more than one fund?
- Complete the form once per fund, or leave a note and the financial secretary will split the gift as you ask.
- How do recurring gifts work?
- Weekly gifts process each Thursday. Monthly gifts process on the 1st. Call the office to pause or change a recurring gift — or send a note from the contact page.
- I would rather talk to a person.
- Call 715-362-2470 or write [email protected]. Stewardship is a conversation, not a transaction.
- Does directing Choice Dollars count as my offering?
- No. Choice Dollars and Action Team funds are Thrivent’s charitable dollars, not a tax-deductible gift from you. Your offering, Scrip rebate, and endowment gifts are separate. Direct Choice Dollars anyway — they still help this congregation.