Barlow-Thompson Family Speaks on How Estate Planning Impacted Them

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.

Manhattan College Avenue UMC Partners with KMF

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 Story

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 Testimonial

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.

New Seminary Scholarship Named to Honor Gary & Betty Beach

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.

Naomi Green Scholarship

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

2022 Annual Report

In 2022, KMF continued growing our ministry with Methodist families, churches, and organizations. We are called into this unique ministry of stewardship and generosity so that together we make a lasting difference in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you for joining us on this shared journey.

KMF Announces Named Seminary Scholarship Funds

A key to the future of our church is strong, theologically-educated, pastoral leaders.

The Kansas Methodist Foundation is working to help fill the need though partnering with families, like yours, to create a named scholarship fund to support seminarians as they answer God’s call in their life.

“One of the most profound gifts I was given when following the calling God placed in my life to go to seminary, was the vital support of scholarships,” said Dustin Petz, President of KMF. “Strong leaders often lead to strong and vibrant congregations. With more pastors retiring, the church needs new strong leaders. At a time when the base cost for a Masters of Divinity program averages $50,000, scholarships help pave a path for seminarians to follow their call.”

Through a named scholarship fund, you can impact the life of a seminarian through creating a scholarship that will have a minimum impact of $1,000 per year. The fund can be in your name or in the name of someone you would like to honor, such as a pastor who has impacted your life.

Depending on your goals for the scholarship, either a term fund or an endowed fund can be created. An endowed fund will generate seminary scholarships in perpetuity and is created with an initial gift of at least $25,000, which may be contributed over a period of up to five years. The scholarship amount is designed to increase over time and keep pace with normal inflation. If you want to make an impact over a set number of years, a minimum gift of $5,000 will create a fund that is fully distributed over a period of five or more years.

If you are ready to create a named scholarship fund, or would like additional information, please contact Tyler Curtis, Chief Development Officer of KMF, at Tyler@KansasMethodistFoundation.org or 620-664-9623.

Kansas Methodist Foundation announces 2022-23 seminary scholarships

The Kansas Methodist Foundation is pleased to announce seminary scholarship applications are currently being accepted for the 2022-23 academic year.

The KMF Seminary Scholarship provides support for ministerial students who are from or serving in Kansas and working toward ordination in the Great Plains Conference.

The Pass the Torch Scholarship is a ministry of retired clergy of the Great Plains Conference as well as their spouses and surviving spouses who are committed to providing funds to educate quality seminary students to lead the church. The scholarship is open to seminary students from the Great Plains Conference.

For more information on these scholarships, visit www.kansasmethodistfoundation.org/scholarships

The deadline to apply is July 15, 2022.

The Kansas Methodist Foundation is grateful for the many individuals, families, and churches who have given to make these scholarships possible. If you are interested in helping raise up the next generation of church leaders by supporting one of these scholarships or creating a named scholarship to honor your ministry, a mentor, or a loved one, please contact Tyler Curtis at tyler@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or call 620-664-9623.

Pass the Torch Scholarship Impacts Next Generation of Clergy

With aspirations of serving every seminary student in the Great Plains Conference, the Pass the Torch committee stepped closer to their goal through the growth of the scholarship fund.

Since its founding, the Pass the Torch Scholarship has provided more than $100,000 to help seminary students answer their call. Through generous gifts and memorial funds, in 2021 alone the scholarship endowment fund grew by over $14,000.

“It’s an effort on the part of retired clergy and surviving spouses to address the needs of people wanting to answer God’s call to ministry in the church, but for whom the cost of that was prohibitive,” Pass the Torch Committee Chair Rev. Gary Beach
said.

Started in the 1990s by retired pastors and surviving spouses of the Kansas West Conference, the Pass the Torch Scholarship has since expanded to serve the Great Plains Conference and provide financial support to the next generation of clergy.

“When obeying God’s call and making plans to attend seminary, I had to have faith that God would provide,” scholarship recipient Brenda Hogan said. “The cost of seminary is daunting. While still ‘dreaming’ of going to seminary, I learned about the Pass the Torch scholarship from my pastor at the time, Mark Conard. I filed it away as future help with school expenses. It was an early step in believing in the possibility of this new chapter in life. I was blessed to receive scholarship funds that have been a great help to me in furthering my
education.”

For the students receiving the scholarship, it not only helps provide financially, but also provides encouragement in the seminary journey.

“While the Pass the Torch scholarship only covers a small percentage of the annual cost of seminary, the impact is far greater,” Victor Peterson, a scholarship recipient said. “It warms my heart to know that former pastors and spouses are willing to invest in the future of the church and specifically help fund young pastors, like me, in training. Most retiring pastors are not wealthy, and there are numerous causes I’m sure they feel called to help fund. So their generosity toward me and my call both affirms my call and makes me feel valued and appreciated. Being in seminary and ministry simultaneously can be challenging and exhausting at times, but their gifts encourage me to continue pushing through.”

Brenda and Victor are just two of many scholarship recipients impacted by the generosity of past and current retired clergy and spouses.

As seminary costs continue to rise, the committee is hopeful it will be able to provide a greater impact through increasing the number of scholarships awarded and the dollar amount.

“The cost of seminary is far in excess of what we retired clergy would ever have had to pay for a seminary experience,” Gary said. “The retired clergy want to continue to beef up what we are able to do.”

The Kansas Methodist Foundation is honored to partner with the Pass the Torch committee to support the next generation of clergy through investing the scholarship endowment funds and helping administer the
scholarship program. If you are interested in joining the retired clergy in their efforts, please contact the Kansas Methodist Foundation.