Burt's Bytes (Jan 27, 2012)

I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD!"

Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!

Psalm 122:1-2

In my trip to Haiti earlier this month, I was struck by the tragic, conflicting imagery as we passed by the Cathedral of the Assumption of our Lady in Port-au-Prince Haiti (pictured below).  A symbol of hope was destroyed by the earthquake in 2010 and has not been rebuilt.  Our largest UMCOR project in Haiti is Grace Children’s Hospital (GCH) and 80% of the hospital on the original campus was destroyed.

The incredible work of GCH was propelled forward by an estate gift in the 1960’s.  A woman who had moved to Haiti years before died and left the roughly 2 acres that became what is now the original campus.  She had the foresight to have all of the necessary legal documentation in place so that the transition could take place smoothly after her death.

On January 12, 2012, the Haiti President gave all government employees the day off and ordered that there be no celebrations or remembrance ceremonies.  The campus was so eerily quiet on that Friday and during our visit I had time to reflect on the world I had left here in Amarillo and the world in which I was sitting in Haiti.  Though there were many contrasts, there was a common element.

Grace Children’s Hospital and Polk Street UMC were both recipients of estate gifts that had a significant impact on ministry.  GCH received a gift upon which was built a hospital and PSUMC has received estate gifts that established our Foundation.  The PSUMC Foundation is made up of money that can never be spent, but the interest earned is used under the direction of the Trustees for capital repair projects.

Gifts to the Foundation, especially estate gifts, are a way of making a perpetual gift to the church because the gift earns interest every year.  It is important that you talk to your financial planner or tax attorney when considering your estate planning.  Often times, church members are able to make gifts to the church in their wills and estates after their passing that they could not make while living.

We are blessed with a strong set of rules that guide our PSUMC foundation and as our current building ages and we expand our facilities the interest revenue from our Foundation will become increasingly important.  As you consider including PSUMC in your wills and estates, please consider how important your contribution could be to the ongoing support of our church.  While the most useful estate gift to the Foundation is an unrestricted gift, you may want to consider a specific area of ministry to support.

If you would like to learn more about our PSUMC Foundation, please feel free to contact me or Mike Jones, our Business Administrator.  Either of us would be delighted to share more with you about how important a gift in your will or estate can be for the future of our church.

Every Blessing,

Pastor Burt