Mission Yearbook: Presbyterian Foundation event explores the power of legacy giving

Editor’s note: This information is for educational purposes only. We recommend that you consult with legal and financial professionals regarding your particular needs and circumstances as you make your legacy plan.

How will your story continue after you’re gone? How can the values you hold dear, the faith that guides you, and the generosity you practice today ripple out to bless future generations?

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The Rev. Sandra Moon and Karl Mattison spoke at the Presbyterian Foundation Day of Learning.

At a recent Presbyterian Foundation Day of Learning, the Rev. Sandra Moon, ministry relations officer, and Karl Mattison, vice president of Planned Giving Resources, explored how we can leverage storytelling in planned giving to inspire a lasting legacy, ensuring ministry thrives for years to come.

Moon began with her own story. “I was born in Toledo, Ohio, to first-generation Korean Americans,” she said. Her grandmother lived in Korea but would often come to visit and then came to live with them.

“When I would wake up in the morning,” Sandra recalled, “I’d see her reading the Bible and praying. Even with our language challenges, I knew she was praying for us.”

When her grandmother’s health failed, she returned to Korea to die in her homeland. Upon her death, she left a small inheritance to her children and a special gift to her home church in Seoul: a new set of pew Bibles. “Considering that my grandmother attended one of the largest Presbyterian churches not only in Korea, but in the world, this was a significant gift,” Sandra shared. “In life and death, we belong to God, and I’m so grateful for my grandmother’s legacy.”

This is the heart of planned giving. It’s about weaving together your values, your faith, and your generosity into a lasting story.

Legacy is more than money. It’s the intangible-yet-powerful effect of a life lived with purpose. It’s the stories, values, recipes and faith practices we pass down.

Legacy is woven into the very fabric of our faith as a call to remember, teach and create a path for others to follow.

Many people intend to plan their legacy but hesitate, thinking they don’t have enough assets or that the process is too complicated. The starting point is simpler than you think.

Estate planning deals with the tangible elements of your legacy, Moon said. It is the preparation for the management and distribution of your assets upon your death or incapacitation. Far from being just a financial task, it is an act of faith and a gift to your loved ones, easing their burden during the challenges of managing your care and your assets as they are dealing with stress and mourning your loss.

In the United States, the majority of a typical household’s assets are not in cash. They are in homes, retirement accounts and investments. “One day we will all be finished with all of this,” Mattison said. “We have the opportunity to decide who uses these resources to continue on our story on our behalf.”

Here are some common ways to make a planned gift to your church or other ministries:

• Bequest: A gift made through your will. It can be a specific amount or a percentage. If tithing is your practice, leaving 10% of your estate is a powerful final tithe.
• Retirement plan beneficiary: Naming your church as a beneficiary of your IRA can be highly tax-efficient. Heirs pay income tax on IRA distributions, but a church does not.
• Other beneficiary designations: Bank accounts, investment accounts and life insurance policies can all have a charity named as a beneficiary, bypassing probate.
• Donor-advised funds: This tool simplifies all your giving. You make a tax-deductible gift of cash or securities to a fund and then advise the fund to make grants to your favorite charities over time.

Planned giving is more relevant than we imagine. The peak years for making a first planned gift are the 40s, 50s and 60s. Yet only 5% of Americans have a planned bequest, while studies show 28% would if asked.

The Presbyterian Foundation is here to help. Resources like the Center for Print Resources, Stewardship Navigator, and dedicated Ministry Relations Officers can help your congregation build a legacy giving program from the ground up.

Erin Dunigan for the Presbyterian Foundation (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Robyn Davis Sekula , VP, Marketing and Communications, Marketing, The Presbyterian Foundation
Anish Sharma, Software Developer, Digital Strategy & Information Systems, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

Gracious and wonderful God, we thank you for the magnificent world you created. We thank you that you have made us a people who seek relationships with others and with you. Keep us ever mindful of your presence among us. Amen.

Pastor's Life - Midwinter

In the Bleak Midwinter: January in church life by Rev. Philip Beck It’s approaching January and in western Pennsylvania, from where I write, the bleakness of winter is present. Whether or not this time of year is indeed "bleak" depends on perspective, of course. Some people love this time of year. I have a friend, he looks a bit like Yukon Cornelius from Rudolph, and he and his family love winter. They embrace all the opportunities winter has to offer — hiking, skiing, snowball fights, even a midwinter jump into a pond where they have to break the ice before they plunge. I would love to have their enthusiasm, but I don’t. Gray days, slush, and piles of dirty snow in parking lots with an inventive youth, most likely, parking a shopping cart at the very top of the pile, does not fully warm my heart. Like the song, I find this time of year a bit bleak, foreboding, and even barren.

Continue Reading...

Rev. Philip Beck is the pastor at First United Presbyterian Church of Tarentum, north of Pittsburgh, having served there since May of 2001. Phil and his wife Christa have three adult children. In their spare time, Phil and Christa travel to visit their children and to experience the world. Phil likes to cook, plant flowers and vegetables at home and in the community garden, take walks, and nap occasionally. You will also find him the first two weeks of the season at the Chautauqua Institution every year.

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Mission Yearbook: Scholar says New Testament calls Christians away from gun ownership

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Dr. David Lincicum

The final installment of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) webinar series “Gun Violence and Christian Ethics” examined the appropriateness of gun ownership through a New Testament lens.

“My thesis is simple,” said the University of Notre Dame’s Dr. David Lincicum. “The gun is a temptation to arrogate life-destroying power to the wielder and should be resisted by those” who have an allegiance to “a crucified Messiah.” 

Lincicum, an associate professor of Christianity and Judaism in antiquity, was the featured guest of the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness, which began the series featuring leading Christian ethicists in the spring.

Early on in the final installment, Lincicum explained that using the New Testament for theological and moral guidance, he would be trying to “mount an argument to dissuade Christians from owning guns.”

His lengthy argument focused on owning guns for self-defense or to defend others but excluded owning a gun for hunting, sport shooting or collecting. He also excluded carrying guns for jobs, such as the police and military, that come with public duty.

Along the way, he acknowledged that humans are living in an increasingly violent world filled with political manifestos, mass shootings and petty squabbles settled with bullets.

He also acknowledged that scads of Christians already own guns, so much so that arguing against it might seem stupid.

“According to a 2023 report by the Pew Research Center, the U.S. has the highest number of guns per capita, followed at some distance by Serbia,” he said. “Something like 32% of the population owned guns, with 42% of adults living in a gun-owning household, so these numbers already suggest that there are tens of millions of Christian gun owners in the U.S.” 

He added, “This suspicion is confirmed when studies of religious affiliation of gun owners are taken into consideration. Protestants comprise the highest percentage of gun owners, with white evangelicals, perhaps predictably, leading the way, more than Catholic, Jewish or non-religious populations.”

So, again, why is gun ownership by Christian people problematic?

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Photo by Joshua Lindsey via Pixabay

For one thing, “the Christian should be a signum amoris, a sign of love, marked by contrast, rather than an armed repetition of the armed world,” Lincicum argued. “The gun is a temptation to become a kind of powerful self, with the capacity to kill instantaneously. This is an arrogation of power that the New Testament witness does not support, even in self-defense.”

Some of his other points included:

• “The New Testament envisions humans as subject to self-deception and violent tendencies and does not think of fear or self-defense as legitimate motive for violence or lethal force.”
• “The master narrative of the Christian faith involves Jesus facing those who wish to take his life and renouncing the violent strategies of resistance that might have saved him. This is the narrative that wants to structure Christian practice in the world, rather than the counter narrative that enshrines a violent hero who overthrows the evildoer” with good marksmanship (The “good guy with a gun” story).
• Matthew 5:39 says do not resist an evildoer.
• Jesus doesn’t indicate that fear is an acceptable motive for violence.
• Compare walking according to love with the right of private choice. “We might imagine Paul addressing American Christians in light of the tragic statistics of human devastation to which gun usage in this country has led. He might say: For if for the sake of owning a gun your brother or sister is grieved, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not for the sake of mere gun ownership destroy the one for whom Christ died.”
• Paul urged doing good to one’s enemies.

“The example of Jesus and the teaching of Paul urge us toward Christian difference, toward an embodied protest that might call the followers of Jesus to be like him, an innocent sufferer, a lamb to the slaughter,” Lincicum said. “They call us to be a bodily witness to a violent world” and to the “power of nonviolent love.”

Go here to watch a recording of Lincicum making those points and more. Learn more about the PC(USA)’s Decade of End Gun Violence here.

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Communications (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Jose Santana, Project Manager Academic Books, Operations, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Michelle Schulz, Administrative Manager, Information Technology Infrastructure, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we ask that you give members and leaders creativity and patience as they move expectantly into the new way in the wilderness you are creating for them. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Presbyterian pastor writes book on reflecting and healing after Texas floods

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Less than a month after the devastating floods in the Texas Hill Country, the Rev. Elaine Murray — who lives in Kerrville and serves as co-pastor, along with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Rob Lohmeyer, of nearby Pipe Creek Presbyterian Church — wrote and self-published a theological book of essays and devotions called “Hill Country Strong: Reflections for Healing Through the Texas Flood.” All proceeds from the book are going toward supporting local rebuilding efforts.

“As a pastor, you’re not a first responder,” Murray said. “But you want to encourage people and find a way to make sense of what’s happening.”

“I thought there was a need to tell a deeper story of this incredible community and that God is at work even in this storm,” she told Presbyterian News Service. “This is the way God’s power, God’s love and God’s presence in a tragedy are being known.”

Murray introduces that theme with an essay, “Where is God When Waters Rage?”

“What this book aims to bring you close to is the reality of God’s intimacy and deep involvement in times of crisis and disaster,” she wrote. “God cannot bear to be apart from us — even in our terror. There is no depth of human emotion or experience in which God is not deeply close to and intertwined with.”

That’s “a far more powerful story to me than the idea of God with some sorcerer’s hat, conjuring up a whirlpool of rising river tide in the middle of the night,” she wrote. “This storm was not punishment. This storm was not God’s design. This storm was an intersection of lots of things, which we will parse out and research in weeks and months to come. But where was God as the waters raged? With us, heartbroken open and muddied up. God was with us in the terror, in the relief, in the sadness and in the mourning. God is with us in the suffering.”

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The Rev. Elaine Murray

Murray envisions the book as a devotional or “for particular aspects of the healing process where you or others feel stuck,” she wrote. “God’s big enough to handle your mad and sad and all the other big feelings. The writer is big enough to handle your pushback, too. This book is my gift to a community I love, as we are in pain together.”

On the morning of July 4, Murray and others checked on people who’d been camping along the Guadalupe River, who survived. One person who didn’t survive, Jane Ragsdale of First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, was Murray’s Sunday school teacher in sixth grade.

While all the members of Pipe Creek Presbyterian Church’s Rockin’ RVers group got out in time, the restaurant where they’d eaten the night before was completely washed out, Murray noted.

“The losses have been one after another,” she said. Part of her task putting the book out as quickly as she could was that “I thought I could do spiritual cleanup” that complements all the cleanup and restoration work going on in the affected area.

“It was the shock energy” that propelled her across the finish line, she said. “I thought, ‘This is what I can do.’”

Her husband is “an uncredited partner” in her project. “As we were weeping over all this, he helped me see that Creation started with a flood. ‘That’s an essay,’” he told her. “I thought it was better to give an imperfect timely offering,” she said, “than to hold off.”

In a devotional on John 11:35 and the death of Lazarus that led to Jesus weeping, Murray writes that “sometimes the best thing we can do is wait and weep. Hold the space, get curious about what heals in times like these.” In the week that followed the floodwaters, “2,000 people showed up to sniff, wade, swim, search and retrieve the lost,” she wrote. There’s “value in weeping with and for them. In doing so, we show solidarity and gratitude. We remind these folks that they are not alone, like Jesus did with those grieving Lazarus’ death. The time would come for miracles, but it is miracle enough to be, to share in the heartache, to create and nurture safe places for rest and renewal.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service(Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Alicia Samuels, VP of eCommerce & Marketing, Electronic Resources & Strategic Business Development, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Elizabeth Sanders, Customer Service & Logistics Associate, Operations,  Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

Let us pray:

Loving God, you know us better than we know ourselves. Help us find moments to identify how you are working in our lives and using our gifts as we minister as your disciples. You do call each of us. May we hear and follow that call. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Grace in the quiet places: Discovering God in everyday struggles

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Martha Hagemann 

Life is often measured by milestones -- graduations, weddings, promotions and achievemenets. Yet most of our days are not lived in the spotlight but in the quiet places: the ordinary routines, the hidden struggles, the moments when no one is watching. It is in these quiet places that God often does God's deepest work.

Many Christians feel pressure to present a polished faith. We share testimonies of victory but hesitate to admit weakness. Yet beneath the surface, many o fus carry burdens: loneliness, financial stress, family conflict or spiritual dryness. These struggles rarely make headlines, but they shape our lives profoundly.

Scripture reminds us that God is not distant from these realities. The psalmist declares, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18). Our hidden struggles are not hidden from God.

Grace is not reserved for extraordinary moments. It meets us in the ordinary, When we feel unseen, God sees. When we feel unheard, God listens. When we feel unworthy, God calls us beloved.

Consider Elijah in 1 Kings 19. After his dramatic confrontation with the prophets of Baal, Elijah fled into the wilderness, exhausted and afraid. He did not need another miracle; he needed rest, food and the gentle presence of God. The Lord met him not in the wind, earthquake or fire, but in a gentle whisper. Grace often comes quietly, meeting us in ways that sustain rather than dazzle.

The church is called to embody this grace in community. Too often, congregations celebrate visible success but overlook quiet suffering. Yet Paul exhorts us to "carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2)

This means creating spaces where honesty is welcomed, where members can admit struggles without fear of judgment. It means practicing hospitality not only at church events but in everyday life--sharing meals, listening deeply and offering presence.

Profiles of grace in action include:

• A widow who quietly prays for her neighbors each morning, unseen but faithful.
• A young man who struggles with anxiety yet finds courage to lead worship, trusting God with his weakness.
• A congregation that organizes meals for families in crisis, embodying Christ's compassion in practical ways.

These are not headline stories, but they are testimonies of grace. They remind us that God's kingdom grows not only through grand gestures but also through small acts of faithfulness.

How can we cultivate awareness of God's grace in everyday struggles?

1. Silence and prayer: Begin each day with a few minutes of quiet, inviting God into the ordinary.
2. Scripture medication: Reflect on passages that affirm God's presence in weakness (e.g., 2 Corinthians 12:9).
3. Community connection: Share honestly with a trusted friend or small group
4. Acts of service: Look for small ways to embody grace--a phone call, a meal, a listening ear.

Grace is not only for the mountaintops; it is for the valleys, the kitchens, the workplaces and the hidden corners of our lives. In the quiet places, God whispers God's love, reminding us that we are never alone.

As Presbyterians, we are called to embody this grace in our communities, to be attentive to the unseen struggles and to trust that God is at work in the ordinary. When we discover grace in the quiet places, we find that everyday life itself becomes holy ground.

Martha Hagemann is a reflective writer based in Namibia, currently working on her first book, "A New Beginning." Her work explores memory, emotion and the quiet spaces between people, with a passion for inspiring women to rise from pain and walk in purpose.

Let us join in prayer for:

Carol Rusciano, Foundation Trust Officer, Operations, The Presbyterian Foundation
Yvette Russell, Vice President, Customer Engagement, The Board of Pensions

Let us pray:

God of mercy, you meet us in the quiet places of our lives, where struggles are hidden and burdens are heavy. Remind us that Your grace is near in ordinary moments, whispering hope and strength. Help us to carry one another’s burdens with compassion, and to see holiness in the everyday. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: New Jersey church celebrates 130 years

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Presbyterian Church at Hammonton

We recently celebrated the 130-year anniversary of the Presbyterian Church at Hammonton in New Jersey as well as 164 years of ministry in our community.

If these walls could talk, one can imagine what they would say. They heard the prayers and songs of hundreds of men, women and children. They heard sermons and witnessed baptisms and communions, confirmations, marriages, funerals and children’s plays. They also heard the joys and concerns of the congregants. Hundreds of people of faith have worshiped within these walls since 1895.

This house of God has seen its share of hardship: wars, deprivations, mortgages that were difficult to pay, the rise and fall of member numbers, and the constant need of repair. But through it all, the ministry has always focused on helping others, as taught by Christ. In the early years, Italian immigrants were welcomed and were helped to start their own church. In the 1950s, through the federal program for the resettlement of displaced people after World War II, this congregation sponsored German immigrants, providing them with housing, food and employment. The Spanish ministry flourished for many years, a food pantry fed many people, and the “Goods for the Neighborhood” ministry continues to serve hundreds of people with nonperishable food, clothing and household items. This has always been a mission church with countless volunteers in service to our mission.

When the cornerstone was laid in October of 1895, the founding members of faith had no idea how many physical changes would take place over more than a century. The latest event happened in 2010, providing the congregation with an ADA-compliant sanctuary to serve all. No matter the changes, however, the one constant is the warmth and welcoming spirit that continues to thrive within these walls.

For 164 years, generations of families have committed to worship and to serve the church’s mission right up to today, along with new members beginning their own faith journey here. With our new pastor, the faith and dedication of this church family will keep this church going for generations to come.

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them” — Matthew 18:20.

Johanna Johnson, Church Leadership, Presbyterian Church at Hammonton

Let us join in prayer for:

Lauren Rogers, Associate Director, Stewardship & Major Gift Officer, Administrative Services Group
Jashalund Royston, Research Associate, Research Services, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

God, thank you for the ripple effect of lives when we engage Scripture. Continue to encourage us “to take hold of life that really is life.” As we learn to share our faith and serve our communities, teach us how to be the church — “rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.” Amen.

Introducing Presbyterian Outlook's 2026 Lenten devotional

Dear friends, As we prepare to enter Lent, many of us are carrying uncertainty, exhaustion, or concern for a world that feels increasingly fractured. This year, the Presbyterian Outlook is offering a new Lenten devotional — Discipleship in a Divided Age.  Written by Outlook Publisher/Editor Teri McDowell Ott, this daily devotional helps to anchor us in Scripture and guide our spiritual practices during this sacred season. Discipleship in a Divided Age follows the Gospel of Matthew and speaks directly into our moment. Through daily reflections, thoughtful questions and weekly visio divina practices, this resource invites us to live faithfully amid division and uncertainty. Whether you read it on your own, bring it to your session or small group, or share it with your entire congregation, this devotional offers: Six daily readings each week grounded in Scripture Reflection questions to help integrate faith into everyday life Closing prayers shaped for personal or communal use Weekly visio divina A pastoral voice that meets readers with honesty, clarity and hope Begin your Lenten journey with us What do you get with your order? A digital, daily devotional that you can insert into your bulletin, email out to your congregation, or read like a book at home while drinking your morning coffee Adaptable files that can be printed on a half page or full page Basic printing instructions All files sent to your inbox on January 8, 2026 Intrigued? View a sample of week one. Pre-order today! Want a different option? Consider Grieving Change and Loss. Created last year and available now, this devotional is undated so you can use it any year. Maundy Thursday liturgy: A Service of communion and reflection by Carol Holbrook Prickett Ash Wednesday Service: A season of unmasking by Anne Apple Presbyterian Outlook Lenten devotions from previous years  Ash Wednesday reflections Lenten hymns Ash Wednesday Service: A call to repentance and renewal by Barbara Chaapel

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