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Humble Excellence and a Lifetime of Quiet GenerosityOne woman’s gift opens up possibilities to dream big dreams

F A L L / W I N T E R 2 0 1 2

©2012 A publication of the Presbyterian Foundation www.PresbyterianFoundation.org

P r e s b y t e r i a n F o u n d a t i o n ’ s

Choir at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Pensacola, Florida

i n s i d e :

Ministry Partnership Program

Generosity for every Generation

Planning the use of a Generous Gift

building relationships to expand reach

Iris Suber was, to those who knew her well and to those who were

only somewhat acquainted with her, a woman who exuded a sense

of humble excellence in all aspects of her life. Never one to be

self-aggrandizing, her bequest of a substantial gift to her church,

through the Presbyterian Foundation, came as quite a surprise.

“When we first announced the gift to our session they just kind

of sat there,” shared Trinity Presbyterian Church’s pastor, Rev. Dr.

Hugh Hamilton. “The next meeting they came back and said, ‘We

were just so overwhelmed, we didn’t even have any questions,”

Hamilton remembered.

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2012 marks my third year of leadership at the Presbyterian Foundation. As I visit Christian missions and ministries at home and around the world, I never cease to be amazed at what God is doing to advance the good news of Christ’s grace and justice. One partner ministry that I recently visited was the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan. Though Christians make up only a small minority in that country, the Presbyterian Church’s influence is felt throughout the entire region.

A few years ago, the leadership of the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan (PCT) took two years to reshape their church’s mission, consulting nearly every leader and pastor in the denomination about the plan. This effort has resulted in stunningly exciting and impactful directions. Knowing that they had limited resources and personnel, the PCT chose intentionally not to try and do everything a Christian ministry might want to do. Instead, they

The Presbyterian

Foundation was

established in 1799 to raise, steward, and

distribute funds for mission. We work with

congregations, councils, agencies and other

entities to ensure that they have resources

for mission today, tomorrow, and two

hundred years from now.

From Our President

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continued from cover story

Humble Excellence and a Lifetime of Quiet Generosity

Left: Iris Stuber (standing in middle) valued spending time with her friends. Right: Children at Trinity Presbyterian listen intently during Sunday service.

Got 10 Minutes?

It only takes a few minutes to unlock valuable insight and

resources for making your church more generous and

financially healthy.

The Financial Health Assessment Tool is a free and simple online

tool designed to give a comprehensive view of your church’s

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Clear and honest, the report reveals potential gaps in your

stewardship practices and even provides next steps toward

fundraising improvement.

To get your FREE giving assessment from our Financial Health

Assessment Tool, visit assessment.PresbyterianFoundation.org

today.

“Iris wanted us to dream big, to really give people a chance

to step out and try things that they didn’t think they could

try,” continued Hamilton. He has challenged the church’s

ministry teams with the question, “What have you been

wanting and waiting to do, dreaming to do someday? Now

is the time — let’s put this money to good work.”

“All of a sudden, we have this blessing to say, ‘We can do

that. How freeing and exciting that is,’” shared Hamilton.

Iris Suber was a private person. It was not that she did not

reach out to people, but that she was never boastful or did

anything to call attention to herself. A schoolteacher for 30

years, Iris was typically found behind the scenes rather than

in the limelight.

It was only after she passed away in 2009, at the age of 72,

that the church members learned that Iris left a large gift to

her church, establishing the Iris Suber Memorial Fund with

$4 million.

“It is in keeping with Iris’ wishes that her example would

be one that others would hear of and ‘go and do likewise’,”

explained Ruth White, longtime friend and fellow member

of Trinity Presbyterian. White is quick to add that her friend

would not want the attention gathered by such a gift, but

rather would hope that it would be an example for others to

consider how they, too, might give.

As Iris progressed in her struggle with cancer it became

clear that she would need to begin to prepare for how her

estate would be dealt with after her passing. It was only then

that she began to confide in White regarding these financial

matters. Iris did things properly, correctly, and tastefully —

including planning her estate.

“She would say, as she began to talk with me about her

financial status, ‘I sure can’t take credit for all of this,’”

remembered White. Iris, an only child, had inherited much of

her wealth from her parents’ estate.

“When I think of how she handled that wealth — she never

flaunted it, she quietly shared it with others, and she used it

well,” said White.

What Iris came up with was a fund that would help Trinity

to become a ‘model congregation of the Presbyterian

Church (USA)’. It is a tall order for Trinity Presbyterian, but

one that has the congregation and its leadership excited

about the possibilities.

“At this point we are just counting our blessings and thanking

God for Iris’ legacy as we wonder how we might be good

and faithful stewards and glorify God with the way we serve

people with this great gift,” said Trinity’s Pastor Hamilton.

Help your members make a legacy gift through their will

or other estate plans. Visit PresbyterianFoundation.org to

find resources to help you develop or enhance your wills

emphasis program. Or call us at 800-858-6127 to request a

Legacy of a Lifetime leadership guide to get you started.

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building relationships to expand reach

Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary (JCSTS), located in Atlanta, Georgia, continues

to define itself as a national and international institution committed to preparing

pioneering leaders of diverse backgrounds to serve a rapidly changing Church and

engage the important issues of our day. The school’s leaders say it has been blessed

with a growing list of new ministry partners to help them in reaching their mission

and vision.

“As a denomination, we understand that we cannot be an island. We need to share

in ministry and resources; this is the core of our theology,” said Paul Roberts, Sr.,

President and Dean of the seminary. “At Johnson C. Smith, we are keenly aware of the

need to collaborate and felt that the Foundation hasn’t lost sight of the importance of

developing relationships. We feel we have a valuable partner [in the Foundation] to help

us increase support for our programs.”

While the relationship between the seminary and the Foundation has endured for

decades, it continues to grow and evolve. Earlier this year, Johnson C. Smith became

one of the first ministries to test the Foundation’s new online giving service. At the

time, the seminary was redesigning its website — presenting the perfect opportunity

to offer online giving for their supporters. Seminary leaders report that they are very

pleased with the response to the donate feature on their website.

new initiative hopes to gain support through online donations

The success of the test period has led the seminary to add a second online giving fund,

this time for the school’s HIV/AIDS initiative.

In 2010, a report to the General Assembly found that most churches were

ill equipped to minister to those affected by HIV/AIDS. “The faculty and

students at JCSTS felt an aggressive approach was needed to follow up the

report of 2010,” said Roberts. Working with the Office of Public Witness,

the seminary has developed a conference that will launch a certification

program for clergy, students, and laypeople seeking to implement ministries

for individuals and families affected by HIV.

The inaugural conference, “Creating AIDS Competent Churches and Church

Leaders: Remembrance, Repentance, and Responsibility.” is scheduled for November

28 - December 1. To learn more about the conference, visit smithseminary.org.

The following ministries are now accepting online donations through the

Central Presbyterian ChurchLouisville, Kentucky

First Presbyterian ChurchTallahassee, Florida

First Presbyterian ChurchWarren, Michigan

For Such a Time as ThisA ministry of the Presbyterian Mission Agency

Presbyterian Outreach to PatientsA ministry of the Presbytery of New Covenant, Houston, TX

Presbytery of Ohio ValleyBloomington, Indiana

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church Tucker, Georgia

Westminister Presbyterian ChurchBay City, Michigan

Westminister Presbyterian Church Portland, Oregon

White Plains Presbyterian ChurchWhite Plains, New York

Wycliffe Bible Translators Orlando, Florida

continuation of

From Our President

trained their focus particularly on evangelism, education, and health. The result has included programs through which, for instance, PCT leaders are asking each one of their church members to make a written covenant with their church to lead just one person (whom the member names on a pledge card) to a discipleship relationship with Jesus Christ. They have developed nationwide after school and other educational opportunities for low income children that have been so effective that the government of Taiwan has asked to partner with them in this endeavor. They have built and developed some of that nation’s largest and most advanced hospital complexes that not only heal people’s physical and mental maladies, but also remain close to the church in integrating spiritual care for each hospital’s patients.

The Foundation is privileged to be a part of gathering, managing and disbursing funds to help these and thousands of other similarly effective ministries. In this issue of Cornerstone, you will see specific ways that, during these past three years, our staff has worked tirelessly and seen significant progress toward changes that are aligning our work more closely with the most leading-edge needs of our Church, its members, and their ministries. As pastors, Mid Council leaders, and other ministry partners work in these challenging times to find funds for mission, the Presbyterian Foundation is committed to offer help to each one of them.

endowment FundsStewarding more than 7,000 endowment funds for the benefit

of congregations, Mid Councils and various ministries, the

Foundation ensures that the use of the funds continue as

the donor had intended. Trusted for more than 200 years by

thousands of Presbyterians, congregations and ministries,

endowment funds are created to celebrate an event, honor a

loved one, or support a cause that is dear to the donor’s heart.

Permanent Endowment Funds The permanent endowment funds managed by the

Foundation were up 1.9% in the month of September

bringing the third quarter return to +4.2%. Policy benchmark

was up 2% and 5% respectively for the time periods. The

fund is up 9.8% year-to-date vs. the index up 8.5%.

The Asset Allocation of the Permanent Endowment Funds at

September 30, 2012:

Anita Clemons, Vice President, Investment Relations Officer,

is available to answer your questions. She can be reached at

800-858-6127, ext. 5912 or ajc@fdn.pcusa.org.

US Equity 23%Real Assets 14%

Private Equity 4%

Non-US Equity 18%

Market SensitiveHedge Funds 9%

Diversifying Hedge Funds 10%

Fixed Income 22%

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Planning the Use of a Generous GiftWhat does a church do when presented with a gift of staggeringly generous proportions? It is something that Trinity Presbyterian has had to work through. (see cover story)

Iris Suber, long-time member of Trinity Presbyterian Church, passed away after battling cancer and left the church with a $4 million endowment fund.

“Iris was very clear that she did not want these monies to interfere with the regular giving of the congregation,” explained Trinity’s pastor, Hugh Hamilton.

“She hoped that her inspiration would empower people to continue to give and enhance their own regular giving and for those who might have the ability, to make similar type gifts,” shared Hamilton.

During the first several months of the year Trinity was preparing for how, once they announced the gift to the congregation, the monies might be used.

The first step was to create a legacy committee. This committee is tasked with both the promotion of financial gifts and bequests to the church, and with the ‘remembering’ of the history of such gifts in the past. The legacy committee will assist the stewardship committee in regards to issues such as estate planning, as well as advise the session on how to best use the gifts from such bequests.

“The committee has come up with guidelines and an application form — so now we are inviting people to start

considering how we can use the gift,” explained Hamilton.

His concern, and the concern of the donor as well as the legacy committee, was to create a process that would not be overly cumbersome and that would allow the money to be freed up to be used.

For their guidance they are looking to a passage from scripture, 2 Corinthians 9:11-12:

You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.

“We consider it our task to help people equip others to do great works,” explained Hamilton. The gift, in addition to being financial, is also in modeling this type of generosity. “What a great statement for a very humble lady that many people did not know had this kind of gift to offer,” reflected Hamilton.

She also left her household and all of its contents to be sold for the benefit of the youth program. As part of the renovation of the youth room the church had murals painted on the walls. In one corner is a flower, an iris, a tribute to the woman whose gift made it possible. “It is a silent tribute to a wonderful lady who loved our church, our youth, and our community — who loved God and wanted to pull all those things together,” said Hamilton.

Request your copy of Building Your Church’s Endowment by contacting us at 800-858-6127, ext 8919 or serving@fdn.pcusa.org.

Ministry Relations Officers

Eric ChavisEverett, WA888-211-7030enc@fdn.pcusa.org

John TurnerAnaheim, CA866-860-3383jat@fdn.pcusa.org

Lisa LongoIndianapolis, IN866-710-5094ltl@fdn.pcusa.org

Ann EarnestHouston, TX866-746-6730ace@fdn.pcusa.org

Stephen KeizerPortage, MI866-317-0751smk@fdn.pcusa.org

Robert HayAtlanta, GA855-514-3152rsh@fdn.pcusa.org

Minner SerovyPhiladelphia, PA855-514-3077mls@fdn.pcusa.org

Olanda CarrCharlotte, NC888-711-1318olc@fdn.pcusa.org

Mark your Calendar now!

Ministry Partnership Program

March 11-13, 2013 St. Louis, Missouri

WORKSHOP TOPICS WILL INCLUDE:

• Congregational giving analysis for your church• Giving through technology (both online giving and social media

generosity)• Stewardship in small membership churches• How presbytery teams can train congregations• Endowment 101 — beginning and growing one• Role of the pastor in stewardship• Capital campaigns that work

For more information contact Charles Austin at 888-711-1318 or cea@fdn.pcusa.org

www.StewardshipKaleidoscope.org

The Ministry Partnership Program is a simple online system to provide resources to grow support for your mission. You also receive the services of a trusted partner to professionally administer and safeguard the funds you raise.

• Accept secure online donations

• Members can set up recurring gifts — a great convenience

• Easy way to monitor donations and fund balance

• No set up, annual or monthly fees

To learn more about the Ministry Partnership Program, contact Client Services at 800-858-6127 or clientservices@fdn.pcusa.org

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200 East Twelfth StreetJeffersonville, IN 47130

What does your church do to help people with their finances, inspire generosity, and increase church giving?

Source: State of the Plate, Brian Kluth, Maximum Generosity

75% 48%Give sermons on finances/generosity.

Offer financial classes and seminars.

43% 30%Share a Bible verse on generosity when taking the offering.

Have volunteer financial counselors available.

33% 21%Conduct an annual stewardship drive.

Provide pamphlets on finances and generosity.

23% 17%Pastors and leaders participate in stewardship training courses.

Use videos promoting generosity during worship services.

17% 10%Offer estate planning materials and/or seminars.

Distribute 30 or 40 day generosity devotionals to families.

Financial/Generosity Ministry initiatives