8xThousand of the Lutheran and Baptist Churches

Rome (NEV), June 13, 2020 –  To promote the collection of 8xthousand signatures, the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Italy (CELI) has relied this year on a series of videos that tell stories of life, integration, hope, future.
There is the young migrant who found support and affection in the services offered by the community of Catania, the young Chinese musician who plays the organ in the church of Venice, the project aimed at mothers and children from the community of Rome and also the desire to be a community by bringing tango to church as it happens in Merano. Many different and creative ways, to tell the story of a minority church that lives the country also through social and cultural projects.

The  Italian Lutheran Church, through the 8 per thousand of the Income Tax funds raised each year,
carries out numerous initiatives throughout the Italian territory, relying on local communities: from anti-bullying programs in schools, to the reception and integration of migrants, from game actions and after-school activities with children up to the attention to motherhood and women, from health services to scholarships for young students.
Being a church means – says CELI – “to live with people. Share the suffering. Promote integration. Making the future possible. Combat discrimination. Communicating culture. Provide assistance. Give hope ”.
“8xThousand: A signature – today for tomorrow” is the slogan chosen this year to ask taxpayers to allocate the Eight per thousand to CELI. “In order to be a church, we need your help. Thanks to your signature we can be close to people not only in faith but with concrete help. With your signature for the 8xthousand to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy you can support social and cultural projects throughout Italy”, reads the website.

Also the Baptist Evangelical Christian Union of Italy (UCEBI) invites taxpayers to allocate the Eight per thousand to Baptists for humanitarian, social and cultural purposes.
In 2008 the General Assembly of UCEBI decided to take advantage, “for humanitarian, social and cultural purposes only”, of the opportunities offered by the law 222/85 through the Eight per thousand. 

UCEBI continues to use 100% of the funds received every year “with extreme strictness, allocating them – up to the last cent – exclusively to social, welfare, humanitarian and cultural interventions, in Italy and abroad”, write the Baptists on the web page dedicated to the campaign.
The commitment of Baptists is divided into three main areas of intervention, with the aim of “offering opportunities to those who cannot choose”, summarized as follows: “three ambitions, a dream”, where the three ambitions concern support for elderly people, environmental protection and humanitarian interventions for migrants. In the 2020 Campaign, biblical verses and videos illustrating the actions and intents of the Baptists are dedicated to each of these three areas of intervention.