Planned Giving
By Jim Thompson
All of us are indebted to the past, to those who precede us. We drink from wells we have not dug. We enjoy liberties we have not won. We share faith whose foundations we have not laid.
At the same time, we are seeds of the future for those who succeed us. We dream and envision and set things in motion. The fruition of our decisions will be known only to others whom we will not meet. We are called to partner in faith with those who have gone before us and to offer the best that we have to give to those who will follow.
God calls us to make wise and faithful choices about the use and disposition of our property. By planning our future gifts now, we are graciously responding to the blessings in our lives, reflecting our faith that we will continue to recognize God’s generosity.
Planned gifts create a vision of abundance for the church of the future, empowering its mission to continue long after we are gone.
Recently our church was the beneficiary from the planned giving of Adele and Thomas Foy. Although not members of our church, they were life time residents of the Germantown community and were familiar with the many organizations that provide valued support to the community. In their estate planning they identified our church, as well as other organizations, to receive proceeds from their estate. Some of the other organizations, with which we are very familiar, included Whosoever Gospel Mission, Center in the Park and St Vincent de Paul Church.
If people such as Adele and Thomas Foy are committed to the future support of the mis-sion of our church, is it time for you to make such a commitment?
You will be hearing more in the upcoming months about how you may implement a planned giving strategy that will help the future mission of our church. In the meantime Kathy Charlesworth, our Financial Secretary, can provide some guidance and information.