An investment in MIF enables Trinity Lutheran Church to fund improvements and be more welcoming

Having received a large endowment, the church west of Portland, Maine, knew just where to invest it and how best to use the interest their investment generated.

Trinity Lutheran’s investments in MIF have helped fund the church’s social ministries and improvements to the church itself.

Trinity Lutheran Church was founded 135 years ago by Danish immigrants settling in the area just west of Portland, Maine. Today, Trinity is welcoming new arrivals from parts of the world far from Denmark. And Jane Sinclair, who has been Trinity’s treasurer for the past 25 years and is the great-great-granddaughter of two of the church’s founding members, can proudly recite the list.

“We have people in the congregation from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania, the Congo and Saint Lucia.” Sinclair said. “They worship with us on Sunday morning, and the Ethiopians and Eritreans also have their own service, Ethiopian/Eritrean Song and Praise Worship, on Sunday afternoon.”

On special occasions, some of the new congregants will sing in their native languages, Oromo and Amharic. One such occasion was a recent Palm Sunday, when two children receiving their First Communion happened to be from Ethiopia and Saint Lucia.

But Trinity’s support of the new members is evident beyond what takes place during worship. “We’ve become a really multi-cultural congregation in many ways.” said Trinity pastor, the Rev. Karen Indorf. “We’re very active in our community.”

The church’s investment in the Mission Investment Fund helps make that engagement possible. Trinity first connected with MIF in 2006, when the congregation received an endowment from a Westbrook man in honor of his late wife, and a portion of it was invested with MIF.

“We really appreciated that MIF invested in the future of the ELCA,” Sinclair said, “and that they offer opportunities for churches to get loans for capital improvements.”

The interest earned by Trinity’s investment in MIF each year is put to good use. Half of the earnings fund Trinity’s own capital improvements, including construction of a new front entrance, repairs to the church’s electrical system and bell tower, and a new roof. The other half of interest earnings is applied directly to mission outreach efforts supporting the local community as well as global needs.

A Trinity-sponsored food drive in Westbrook, for example, has proved to be a blessing to the many immigrant families now settling in the area, as has a weekly class called “Clearly Speaking,” which helps young mothers become more fluent in English and thus ease the transition to their new homes. Free childcare and transportation are provided.

As Sinclair said of Trinity’s endowment and the decision to invest a portion of it in the Mission Investment Fund, “It has really helped us tremendously in advancing the mission of our church to help the needy.”