An Update from the Generosity Committee
Over 100 people gathered Sunday morning, January 19, for an Intergenerational Event and were surprised to receive an envelope containing a $100 bill. The instructions are to use it to spread God’s love in the world. Led by the Generosity Team, this “Love Let Go” Event is part of the generous bequest left to Prince of Peace by Rose Diestler.
This all started when Rose left her house, its contents, her car and a very generous investment fund to Prince of Peace. This past year, the contents, car and house were sold and combined into the church’s Diestler Estate Gift fund. In early January, the balance on hand in the Diestler Estate Gift fund was $762,056.06.
The Generosity Committee recommended to the Congregation Council (and the Council accepted) that they call a special meeting of the congregation for the congregation to consider the following plan for the Diestler Estate Gift fund:
- A tithe (10% or $76,205.61 in January) to be split evenly between Lutheran Disaster Relief and Keystone Community Services
- An allocation of $200,000.00 for a 4-to-1 match for Prince of Peace’s Enduring Gifts Fund (more on this below)
- The remaining balance ($485,850.45 in January) for congregational discernment in 2020
The special congregational meeting will be separate from the semi-annual meeting on January 26th to allow more time to consider this plan and ideas before the special meeting and to allow the congregation to focus solely on the plan for the Diestler Estate Gift fund.
The discernment started with the giving of the $100 to each attendee for them to think of how to use that small portion of the gift. Stories about what participants have decided to do with their unexpected gift can be read here.
About the “Enduring Gifts Fund”
The church’s Enduring Gift fund is an endowment fund organized in the 1990s. The rules adopted at that time say it will be activated when the balance reaches $250,000. It now has a balance of just over $4,000. When it reaches $250,000 the Congregation will elect a committee who will make annual recommendations to the congregation on how to spend 5% of the current balance each year. To reach $250,000 and to involve church members in the process, the Generosity Committee and Council recommend to the congregation that the Rose Diestler Gift fund use $200,000 in a 4-1 match of member gifts so the Enduring Gift fund will reach $250,000.
Over the next year, the plan, if accepted, will be for congregational members to be very active in deciding how to use the balance of the Rose Diestler Gift fund–over $460,000. The details of this process will be presented and discussed at the special congregational meeting.
Questions? Please contact any of the members of the Generosity Committee: Barry Brahier (chair), Pastor Peter Christ, Andrea Clepper, Kent Olson, Diane Syverson, Linda Wagner.
