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| After All Is Said And Done, Pay It Forward |
By Barb Lagozzino, St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Edmonds, Washington
I am a St. Alban's parishioner, and Endowment Fund Board Member and Member of the Bishop's Society. I have been asked to write an article about Planned Giving for the Grapevine.
For me, this article has not been an easy task. I have made several attempts, stammered, stumbled and found about a zillion reasons to distract me. I feel this probably sounds familiar to most, when it comes time to face our personal Planned Giving. As Sharon Pethers, Canon for Planned Giving for the Diocese of Olympia puts it: "PROCRASTINATION IS THE BIGGEST SIN IN LIFE PLANNING." A few reasons we might put it off are: 1) Distaste for legal documents, 2) Too little property to merit a will, and 3) Life gets in the way.
Planning for the future is a very real subject to me. I was widowed at the age of 39, my husband's age was also 39 at his death. Ralph Lagozzino's death was sudden and without warning. We had not given much thought or time to discussing death and dying and even less time spent contemplating our Last Will and Testament. After a death, shock and confusion are all consuming emotions. Urgent decisions are to be made and without the direction of a Will it is oh so stressful, often wondering if you have done the right thing. Absence of a Will can have a devastating impact on an estate. A Will is your opportunity to carefully articulate your wishes, your values and your legacy. How much better to decide what happens to what you own at death, than have heirs be burdened with resolving who gets what. I now know the importance of a Last Will and Testament.
After having lived through this experience, I gained a great deal of knowledge. Needless to say, planning for the future became very dear to my heart. I executed a Will designed to make it easy for very personal wishes to be known and followed. After realizing I had not mentioned my church as a benefactor I had a new Will drawn up and executed, making several distribution changes, one of which to include a bequest to my church. What do we mean when we say: All things come from Thee oh Lord and of Thine own have we given Thee (1 Chronicles 29:14).
When you come to church do you ever think about those who have gone before us who left a legacy to provide this beautiful safe place to worship? Do we want future generations to have a church community that can welcome and support them and carry on the work of the church in the world? By remembering your church in your Will, you make your memories and your Christian values live on.
There are Planned Giving handouts on the table in the Narthex. Information is also available at the Diocesan planned giving website www.ecwwgift.org.
I pray my story offers encouragement, God's grace and direction as you are moved from PROCRASTINATION to ACTION.
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