BULLETIN and NEWSLETTER IDEAS

• We’ll miss you when you’re gone, but…

  not entirely, if you leave a legacy from your estate to the First United Methodist Church endowment fund. You can keep on getting your missional objective done for Christ through this church long after you’re physically parted from us. We’ll remember with great fondness your work in and support of this church as your endowment fund contribution works hard, a long time into the future. Thanks for thinking about this. It makes a difference, and so do you!

• How much is enough?

  For some people there’s never enough they can do to keep the First United Methodist church’s endowment fund growing. But others ask what a reasonably effective gift might be. The answer: if you give to our endowment fund an amount that is 20 times your average annual giving, that will be enough to ensure that your average annual gift will always be there for the church’s needs. Year in and year out, your gift will always be there. Thank you for thinking about this. It makes a difference, and so do you!

• The Tax Man Cometh, but the Lord Requireth.

  That one-two punch is enough to make us think about next year’s income and what it can do for the cause of Christ in the world. After all, Wesley said that all we have is God’s and our job is to find ways that what we have can be used for God’s purposes. A gift to the First Church endowment fund would be nice. Perhaps you have some highly appreciated stock we could have? God would love you, and so would the church. And Uncle Sam will "second the motion" by letting you escape all that capital gain tax and giving you a charitable income tax deduction. Thank you for thinking about this. It makes a difference, and so do you!

• "A penny saved is a penny earned,"

  said Ben Franklin. And Everett Dirksen said, "A million here, a million there; pretty soon you’re talking about real money." First Church’s endowment fund falls somewhere in between there. We’ll take your endowment gift and earn money on it; we won’t actually spend your gift amount, just some of the earnings, each year, remembering your generosity. If you and everybody else at First Church does this, we’ll soon have :some "real money" in that endowment fund. Thank you for thinking about this. It makes a difference, and so do you!

• In the very, merry month of May...

  you could be planning that summer vacation trip. Have you checked your will or other estate documents to make sure they’re up to date? After all, if something happened to you, you wouldn’t want the state or some previous circumstances to dictate what would happen to your estate today, would you? And while you’re having your attorney make any needed adjustments, don’t forget to add in a contribution from your estate to the First Church endowment fund. That way you’ll keep getting your objective for Christ done through this church for years into the future. Thanks for thinking about this. It makes a difference, and so do you!

• Mother, may I?

  That was a game we played as kids. And now we look back and remember our mothers. Chiefly we remember their hard work and frugality, as well as their generosity toward us. You can live out her legacy in your life by leaving a legacy to First Church’s endowment fund in your will. If you leave an amount that’s about twenty times your annual giving amount, it will ensure your annual gift for years into the future. It’s a nice way to remember our mothers. Thanks for thinking about this. It makes a difference, and so do you!