Ashley Prescott Barlow-Thompson and Adam Barlow-Thompson both serve in ministries in the Wichita area. They are one of hundreds of families who have benefited from partnering with the Kansas Methodist Foundation to plan their estate, provide for their family, and support the charitable causes they value most.
College Avenue United Methodist Church in Manhattan is one of many churches that partners with the Kansas Methodist Foundation to manage investments and ensure the church has a bright financial future. As a financial steward independent of church membership, KMF adds value as the church grows resources in a way that reflects United Methodist values.
United Methodist Open Door in Wichita shares how their partnership with the Kansas Methodist Foundation adds value as they fulfill their mission to provide for basic human needs, promote positive life changes, and restore hope and protect dignity. As a steward of their investments and a partner in inspiring people to give, UM Open Door and KMF are a winning combination in alignment with the United Methodist Book of Discipline.
Dan and Jenny Bennett of Wichita Chapel Hill United Methodist Church share how their partnership with the Kansas Methodist Foundation helped them create a plan for their future. Using the resource of our expert estate planner, John Griffin, the Bennett’s were well served both in their estate planning and in their ability to make a generous gift to organization’s they care about supporting in the future.
The Kansas Methodist Foundation is pleased to announce the creation of a new seminary scholarship fund, the Rev. Gary and Betty Beach Seminary Scholarship.
A family approached the KMF about naming a scholarship to honor the longtime United Methodist pastor and past Treasurer of the Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church and his wife. Now funded, this scholarship will provide resources for seminarians who will be selected by the Pass the Torch scholarship committee.
Born in Paola, Kansas, Gary went to Wichita State University after high school, where he graduated with a degree in business and financial administration. While in college, he worked for the National Shirt Shop chain in Wichita, where he was promoted to assistant manager, studying during the time he didn’t have customers.
An offer came to make Beach a manager at the store, but he turned it down – he felt a calling to enter seminary.
After graduation from St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, he served churches in Pittsburg, St. Mary’s-Emmett-Belvue, Council Grove and Ottawa, all in Kansas. He became the Emporia-Manhattan district superintendent from 1995 to 2001 and was director of connectional ministries for the former Kansas East Conference from 2001 to 2010.
A vacancy in the treasurer/director of administrative services office of the conference led to his appointment in 2010. The Kansas West conference was added to his duties in 2011. He was then appointed to the same position in the Great Plains Conference as it was formed in 2014. He has 43 years in the ministry.
Beach and his wife, Betty, a retired educator, are longtime residents of Manhattan. He enjoys gardening and reading while he and Betty both love to travel and explore genealogy. Their daughter and son-in-law live in Wichita, and their son lives with them in Manhattan.
If you are interested in adding resources to this scholarship, then you can send checks to the Kansas Methodist Foundation, 100E. 1st Ave., Hutchinson, KS 67504 or give online here (note: scroll down to OTHER and insert “Rev. Gary and Betty Beach Seminary Scholarship”). If you have questions about other ways to give to this scholarship or related to other funding opportunities, please contact Tyler Curtis, Chief Development Officer, at tyler@kansasmethodistfoundation.org.
The Kansas Methodist Foundation is grateful to have the opportunity to announce the creation of the Naomi Green Scholarship. Created by Naomi’s parents, Oliver and Johne Green, along with her daughter Alora, this scholarship will provide resources for students to encourage recipients, especially single parents, to earn a post-secondary education credential from an accredited institution of higher education. A committee at Asbury Mt. Olive United Methodist Church in Topeka, KS, will solicit scholarship applications and select recipients.
Naomi Regina Green was born on August 12, 1982. Named after her paternal grandmother, the name “Naomi” means “Pleasant Queen.” Her determination and energetic spirit brought much joy to the Green Family. Naomi was a music and animal lover. She would hum the soundtrack of Jurassic Park and the theme from the movie Willow or sing “I’m walking on Sunshine” all the time. Hamsters, ferrets, baby rabbits, and a dog named Kingston were her pets.
Naomi attended MacEachron Elementary, French Middle School, and Topeka West High School. She was a good student and showed athletic ability in soccer, basketball, bowling, and softball. She settled on softball being a natural hitter and outfielder. Her love of live theatre led her to join the Topeka West Players. She was cast in several productions. Her signature role was Tituba in The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
An excellent student, Naomi continued her education majoring in English and Literature at Washburn University. She continued her writing as a columnist for the school newspaper, specializing in political commentary and drama critic. She also performed in plays at Washburn as a member of the Drama Group. Naomi financed her own education through scholarships and working part time at Gage Bowl.
The love of her life, Alora Patrice Johnson was born on October 11, 2003. Naomi took a leave from school to care for Alora and returned to school with renewed determination.
The presidential candidacy of President Barrack Obama awakened a political activism in Naomi. She founded the Washburn Students for Barack Obama. She was zealous in this endeavor, registering voters, networking with her fellow students, organizing meet-ups, attending rallies, caucusing, and distributing flyers. The work she did earned her a position as a member of the Kansas delegation, serving as a page at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She also earned an internship in the office of Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Naomi was awarded a graduate teaching position and a fellowship in English at the University of Kansas.
Naomi was called home on December 1, 2023, at 8:20 am. Unfortunately, Naomi’s was born with a misaligned jawbone that had to be surgically corrected. During the procedure, she suffered an anaphylactic reaction and caused her to suffer a severe anoxic brain injury. She lived with the ensuing disability until her passing, which while sudden and unexpected did not include suffering.
Naomi was a life-long member of Asbury-Mt Olive United Methodist Church. She was spiritually sheltered by the faith community of Lowman and Highland Park United Methodist Churches in Topeka, and Englewood United Methodist Church in Denver Colorado. She was not left out of the community of Christ in her remaining years. She attended Beginning Anew services at Highland Park UMC and when that was not possible, she participated in worship by listening to worship services by DVD provided by Lowman UMC and received communion in person in and out of the hospital by Rev. Kathleen Whitmore, Rev. Harry Christian, and Rev. Ever Mudambanuki.
Naomi was survived by her daughter Alora Patrice Johnson, her sister Jamie Lorene Green, close family friend Jacqueline Hill Barton, Alora’s dad Bobby Johnson, her parents Oliver and Johne Green, cousins Loring and Jennifer Gordon, numerous aunts, an uncle, and more cousins and friends to cherish her memory.
If you are interested in adding resources to this scholarship, then you can send checks to the Kansas Methodist Foundation, 100E. 1st Ave., Hutchinson, KS 67504 or give online here (note: scroll down to OTHER and insert “Naomi Green Scholarship”). If you have questions about other ways to give to this scholarship or related to other funding opportunities, please contact Tyler Curtis, Chief Development Officer, at tyler@kansasmethodistfoundation.org
Andy and Jenny Hutchinson believe in tithing to their church and giving back to their community. With the help of the Kansas Methodist Foundation’s estate planning services, Andy and Jenny created an estate plan in which they can ensure their family will be provided for and their desire to give to their church and other causes important to them will be honored.
“There is a tremendous relief that if we were to pass on unexpectedly, either together or separately, there’s generally a clear plan on what needs to happen,” Andy said. “It makes it easier for our kids once we are gone. It’s one less thing they have to worry about.”
Because they were raised in the church and it is in their hearts to follow God’s word, Steve and Teresa Schulte believe giving charitably is something they are called to do. While recently helping to settle her uncle’s estate, they saw the need to revisit their own plans for the future to ensure their charitable desires would be met and they would take care of their family.
“We wanted to have a plan for our kids and our grandchildren that would persevere,” Teresa said. “We also wanted to give to our church, the Methodist church, as well as some other organizations near and dear to our hearts. When we initially set up our trust documents in 1999, it was in essence an ‘in case of emergency plan’ to protect our children should something happen to both of us.”
However, as they reflected on the plan they previously created, they knew that due to changes in life, such as now having grandchildren and their increased ability to give charitably, their estate plan no longer reflected their current desires.
Through a conversation with Kansas Methodist Foundation President Dustin Petz following his presentation at Stilwell United Methodist Church, Steve and Teresa became aware of the estate planning and charitable giving services provided by the Foundation.
“It’s like a community foundation, but it has the Wesleyan tie to it; it just made sense,” Steve said. “With the help of John Griffin, an estate planning attorney with Stewardship Counseling, LLC, whose service is provided by the Foundation, I thought, ‘This is too good to be true’ and we absolutely wanted to take advantage of it.”
With the assistance of John, Steve and Teresa worked on a complete restatement of their trust. “Estate plans are very personal, and John took a lot of time to listen and educate us to help clarify what we really wanted,” Steve said.
“It was definitely not just a template, which I feel like we might have gotten had we gone directly to the attorney,” Teresa said. “I think the nuances he helped us get into our document were very important to both of us.”
In the restatement, it was important to the Schultes to include a charitable giving component as well as to create a special trust that will provide for their children and grandchildren.
“We chose to give ten percent to the Foundation for charitable purposes,” Steve said. “We also felt like it was important that our children have some say in that charitable giving. It’s nice that we can pass along generationally the charitable idea of being benevolent.”
Because of the way the Foundation has established the legacy gifting program, their children will be able to direct a portion of the charitable asset throughout their lifetimes. The Schultes appreciate the flexibility the Kansas Methodist Foundation provides for their charitable giving during their lifetime and into perpetuity. Since the gift to the Foundation is named in their estate plan, they have the latitude to change the charitable recipients of their fund at the Foundation without going back to their attorney and updating their documents.
“I would much more likely give my money to the Foundation because I believe they will be good and faithful stewards of our gift lasting into perpetuity,” Steve said.
| Throughout their marriage, Rev. Lance and Kristi Carrithers discussed the need to create an estate plan, but were anxious about the cost. In 2008, when presented with an opportunity to meet with John Griffin, an estate planning attorney with Stewardship Counseling LLC, they decided to take action and create their plan. During their meetings with John, the Carrithers were guided through decisions on their health care and finances. |
| By having these decision made, they knew that their desires will occur in the event of their death or incapacity. “John helped us understand each decision that we needed to make along the way,” Lance said. “His process allowed us time to really discuss and make decisions with which we were comfortable. Since we weren’t paying an attorney an hourly rate to educate us and answer our questions, we felt like we could get all of our questions answered and not rush through the process out of a concern for the cost.” One estate planning service provided by the Foundation is meeting with John Griffin, free of charge. Ten years later the Carrithers knew it was past time to revisit the plan they created. Since they had worked with John Griffin previously, it made sense to them to meet with him again. This time to review and update their plan. “In reviewing our plan, the best part was the opportunity to update our estate’s charitable giving to better reflect our current wishes,” Lance said. “Kristi and I couldn’t recommend John Griffin more highly to anyone who needs an initial estate plan, or anyone who has one but has not had it reviewed within the past five years.” In their updated plan, they chose the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation to care for a portion of their estate resources. After their plan was finalized with John Griffin and their drafting attorney, the Foundation helped the Carrithers create a way to disperse the charitable gift over a period of time. They chose the Foundation due to the connection to the United Methodist Church, its institutions and agencies in Kansas that are important to their family. In addition, through the Foundation the Carrithers could designate their heirs to make charitable giving decisions on their behalf to a variety of organizations that are important to their family. Through making an agreement with the Foundation, families can choose multiple 501(c)3 organizations to receive a distribution from their fund. In addition, the agreement can be updated, at any time, without returning to the attorney. Through this, families can rest assured that their estate gift will be well managed by the Foundation and they can leave a legacy gift to organizations that impacted their life. The Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation offers the services of John Griffin, free of charge, to donors and friends. For more information on the Foundation's estate planning services, click here. If you or a loved one are interested in creating or updating your estate plan, please click here to let us know or contact our office via email at info@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or via phone at 620-664-9623. |
| As a police officer and a pastor, Don and Brenda Davids know how quickly life can change, but they did not have a trust or a will in place. After planning a series of stewardship seminars for her church that focused on personal stewardship and estate planning, the Davids planned their estate as a testament to their congregation of the importance. |
| Through a complementary service of the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation, the Davids met with John Griffin, an attorney with Stewardship Counseling, LLC to create their plan. Over the course of a few meetings, the Davids worked with John to make decisions on their healthcare, end of life, and estate that will later relieve their family of the burden of wondering their wishes. “It was a painless process that caused us to discuss all of the implications of our health, living well into our old age, and our deaths,” Brenda said. When they started the process the Davids were unsure if they would draft a will or a trust. John presented the pros and cons of each and Estate Planning for an Assured Future allowed Don and Brenda to decide which was best. Throughout the process, the Davids appreciated that John provided the “why’s”, explained the language in a trust, and guided their discussion with open-ended language so that the documents created would be as timeless as possible. After creating their plan, John recommend a cost-effective attorney who drafted their final documents. “It is the greatest act of stewardship to take care of these decisions for each other and for our children,” Brenda said. With their trust in place, the Davids know that their earnestness to leave a portion of their estate to the ministries of Christian based camping will occur and their legacy will live on through the camp. The Foundation offers estate planning services to individuals and families, like the Davids, so that they can leave a lasting legacy to the organizations and ministries close to their heart. If you have questions or are interested in creating or updating your estate documents, please contact us at 888-453-8405 or info@kansasmethodistfoundation.org. |