When a member dies we mourn with hope and faith. We remember how God blessed us with this person. We gather together to celebrate their life. Then we feel the loss of their presence. This has happened a lot this year as we have had a large number of deaths. We look forward to being reunited with them.
Sometimes the member leaves the church something from their estate. Glendale Lutheran has recently received several bequests. The relatives of Lucille and Bill Massie just handed me a check for $100,000. In November, the Savatore Comado trust left the church $20,000. LaVerne Eifert died and gave Glendale $33,000 in January. Vivian Kattentidt’s estate donated $39,000 at her and Klaus’ request. These were very faithful, generous stewards.
So we need to follow their example. We never want to sit on money like this. Jesus warns about stockpiling blessings. Instead we want to discover how we can use this money to God’s glory outside of the regular budget. Years ago the voters ratified guidelines for bequest funds. The 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 rule was adopted. One third of bequests would go to ministry for Glendale Lutheran, one third would bless the wider community and one third would go out to the world. Think of all of the good we could do with this money. Pray for guidance. Come up with ideas and share them with others in the congregation. At a future voters meeting we will make those decisions. God is good all the time.
