Imagine a spinning top.
When balanced, the gyroscopic effect allows the top to spin. As soon as one area of the top is out of balance, however, it topples over.
This is how Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor thinks about a church worker’s wellbeing.
“There’s a symbiotic relationship between the health and wellbeing of the church worker and the ministry that they serve, whether it’s a congregation, a school or a recognized service organization,” said Manor, who is the Managing Director of Human Care and Ministerial Support at The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS).
When a church worker’s wellness is out of balance, it can affect their health in a variety of ways: physical, mental and spiritual. And when a church worker’s wellness is out of balance, it can affect the health of the ministry he or she serves.
“If the workers aren’t well, the ministry might not be well,” said Manor, who also oversees the Life Ministry program at the LCMS. “So that’s where it’s important to help workers understand their personal stewardship – to take care of themselves. To focus on their own well-being and faith. To understand that their identity is grounded in Christ. If there’s any area or facet of wellness in a church worker’s life that’s off balance, then other areas of their life can start to falter as well.”
Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor, Managing Director of Human Care and Ministerial Support at The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, talks with Stephanie Neugebauer during a podcast recording in the KFUO studio in St. Louis. LCMS Communications/Erik M. Lunsford
Serving Through Struggle and Suffering
Under the direction of Manor, Life Ministry has three focal points: Advocating for life, teaching about the value of life and mercy care, which provides care for people throughout all stages of life.
What does this approach look like in real life? It means the LCMS Life Ministry team provides resources for LCMS congregations so that Lutherans are equipped to accompany brothers and sisters in Christ who are isolated and vulnerable to remind them of Jesus’ promise through their baptism and strengthen them with God’s Word.
“I enjoy walking with people throughout their lives, even the times of difficulty and struggling and suffering,” Manor said.
“It’s a huge privilege when people allow me to be with them during the challenges and the hard times. I know it may sound a little odd to say, but I enjoy caring for people who are struggling or suffering. I enjoy serving our Lord’s people and getting to be with them during these times. I enjoy caring for them by extending Christ’s love and mercy to them. I enjoy pointing them to our Lord to share the scriptures with them.”
Bear one another’s burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ.
-Galatians 6:2
Priorities in Service: Faith, Family, and Profession
Manor lists her professional vocation third in order of importance in her life. At the top of the list is her vocation as a baptized child of God.
“That’s the most important vocation and identity in my life, that God saved me and redeemed and called me to be his child,” she said.
Manor is married to Pastor Jonathan Manor. Together, they have five children and three grandchildren. “Those are also really important vocations in my life as a mother and grandmother,” she said.
Just as Tiffany Manor prioritizes her faith and family, she also recognizes the importance of financial stewardship in supporting the Church’s mission.
Supporting Ministry Growth
Manor remembers when she first learned of Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF). As a young adult in her 20s, her congregation was outgrowing its church building.
Church leadership worked with LCEF on a building program, and members were invited to partner with LCEF through investment opportunities. Shortly thereafter, her husband attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis to pursue a Master of Divinity degree.
“That was the first time we invested with LCEF,” Manor said. “And our investments have only grown over the years. We’ve opened young investors accounts for our children and now our grandchildren.”
For the Manor’s, investing with LCEF is another way to further serve the Church.
“Everything we have is a gift from God,” she said. “Our finances, assets like our homes, all of our belongings, they really belong to God. As stewards of what He has given us, we wanted to put a lot of those resources to work for the good of the Church. At LCEF, I know the money we invest is put to work for the good of the church—building churches, investing in new ministries, helping Recognized Service Organizations expand and grow, and much more.”