To give or not to give

Your May issue surrounding concerns of stewardship and giving to churchwide ministries seems to put all the blame on local congregations for being myopic and unaware of the worldwide connections between communities of faith and service. As a voting member to the 2003 Churchwide Assembly, I witnessed a churchwide office that seemed almost completely disconnected from local congregations. The disconnect isn't the congregations' fault for they are doing what they're supposed to be doing. The churchwide infatuation with matters of sexuality and ecumenism is divorced from the reality of the majority of ELCA congregations. This is reflected in the smaller amount of dollars sent through to the churchwide office. In matters of stewardship, one reaps what one sows.