Honoring an elder through intergenerational giving

When people of different generations come together around a common cause, the impact can be far greater than what any single person can imagine – and it can be a joyful experience, too! Do you have a vision you’d like to invite others into? Is there someone in your congregation or community who you’d like to honor? To learn how you, your family, church or organization can host a fundraiser for MCC at Christmas or year-round, check out our MCC fundraising DIY guide.

Geraldine Kulp, who’s known as “Gerry” by fellow members of her congregation, got a big surprise this past Christmas season.

When Kulp received a copy of MCC’s 2024 Christmas Giving Guide in the mail last fall, she was inspired to invite children at Zion Mennonite Church of Souderton, located in eastern Pennsylvania, to raise funds for gifts of comfort and joy through MCC.

MCC Christmas Giving is an annual giving initiative where people can donate towards specific MCC projects to honor the causes, values and pastimes that their loved ones hold dear. MCC Christmas Giving invites supporters to discover the joy that comes with making a difference together.

Kulp said, “I just thought, well, it would be something for the children at church to enjoy. Even if we got $100, that would be more than I could give.”

Kulp called up Dave Moyer, associate pastor of congregational care at Zion Mennonite. They filmed a video together, proposing the MCC Christmas Giving project, and on a Sunday in early November, Pastor Dave shared it with the congregation.

Kulp, 96 years old, has been a member of Zion Mennonite Church of Souderton since 1946, but for the last couple of years, she hasn’t attended regularly because of physical mobility limitations.

Pastor Dave described the impact of the recorded proposal on the congregation, saying, “…because she hasn’t been in attendance, seeing one of our senior saints with such a vision was inspiring to people.”

Pastor Dave said he “made a big deal” to the congregation of Kulp’s vision. He emphasized that, while children were invited to participate, the entire congregation could get involved as well.

And get involved they did! Five weeks later, Pastor Dave and Zion Mennonite’s lead pastor, Sonya Stauffer Kurtz, visited Kulp at her independent living apartment at Peter Becker Community in Harleysville, PA. They surprised her with a large ceremonial check from Zion Mennonite Church of Souderton to MCC, with “In honor of Gerry Kulp” written on the memo line – for a sum of $3,000!

Kulp was hoping to fundraise $500 or $700. She said, “I just didn’t expect it to go that high. But I’m glad they all had a chance to give.” Kulp and her pastors were surprised and overwhelmed with the generous response from their congregation, especially during a season when so many nonprofit organizations are asking for donations.

Kulp observed that the Zion Mennonite has decreased in size over the years, but “the people who go there are very generous.”

Together, Pastor Dave and members of Zion Mennonite Church of Souderton of all ages selected a variety of gifts totaling $3,000 from MCC’s Gifts of Comfort and Joy 2024 Christmas Giving Guide. Children in kindergarten through 6^th grade, along with some teenagers, selected specific projects they wanted to give to. One adult individual chose three “barnyards,” which includes goats, pigs, chickens and ducks. This gift will multiply a family’s income now and into the future by raising livestock.

The other gifts selected by Zion Mennonite Church will provide clean water, livestock, groves of fruit trees, sewing machines, books for peace libraries, education for girls, gardens and warmth in winter – all provided to people in need by MCC partners in more than 40 countries where MCC works.

When asked which gift selected by the congregation touches her the most, Kulp indicated the “keeping girls in school” gift. Kulp said, “They need an education, and sometimes the girls aren’t one of the preferred ones to get the chance to go to school.”

She added, “I like animals too. I don’t know which one I would pick, but I do like animals. Wells are important, too.”

Thanks to her church community, Kulp got all that, and more.

Aside from Zion Mennonite’s generous financial support of MCC’s relief, development and peacebuilding work, their decision to honor Kulp, one of their congregation’s oldest members, by carrying her idea forward reflects MCC’s vision for intergenerational community care and right relationships.

Reflecting on this expression of honor and care, Pastor Dave said a passage in Acts 2 comes to mind. He said, “I was looking at Acts 2 where the Spirit comes at Pentecost, and Peter says, ‘No, we’re not drunk, this is the Spirit being poured out,’ and then he quotes that passage from Joel [2] where, you know, your elderly will dream dreams and see visions, and men and women will prophesy.”

Pastor Dave continued, “Prophesy is that idea of call, and Gerry’s vision called us to action in this instance.”

When Kulp was a younger member and regular attender of Zion Mennonite, she and her husband Lloy (now deceased) were part of an active young couple’s class at the church that did service projects, welcomed newcomers to the church, organized progressive dinners and fellowshipped together. She continues to participate in congregational life by providing soups and other foods for the church’s program that provides meals and fellowship to members of their community.

Pastor Sonya said, “Gerry is a role model for thinking outside of herself, and it’s definitely inspiring to other people in the congregation, including our little ones who are learning from Gerry and from the responses of other people in the congregation. So it helps us to continue this ethos of caring about people outside of ourselves.”

She echoed Pastor Dave's sentiment: “Our elders will dream dreams and have visions. Gerry had a vision and a dream.”

Selecting gifts of comfort and joy from MCC’s Christmas Giving Guide is an annual tradition for many individuals, families, congregations, organizations and communities. Many grandparents provide a stipend to their grandchildren and then ‘shop’ the Christmas Giving Guide together. The grandchild gets to select the MCC projects they want to give toward. MCC’s generosity resource makes it easy to teach young people about generosity. 

Of Zion Mennonite’s experience with Christmas Giving, Pastor Sonya said, “The whole thing has been really fun for the kids and the grown-ups. Everyone smiles when they talk about it. We’re doing this project together, and by the way, it helps people out [through] MCC, which is great, too.”

She continued, “Sharing is what we do, and we have a good time while doing it.” 

Pastor Dave, who served internationally with MCC in 1978-80 and has hosted numerous young adults through MCC’s International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP) along with his wife Bonnie Moyer over the years, encourages other congregations to participate in MCC Christmas Giving. He said, “Your money is well-spent with MCC because it’s going to be well-used and go to the cause that it’s destined for…it’s a tremendous organization that does tremendous work in the name of Christ.”