The Trust Fund was created in 1981 to support Belmont UMC’s missions, ministries and church infrastructure projects separate from the operating budget of the church. It is supported primarily by church members including the Trust Fund in their wills or living trusts.

How Your Trust Fund Gifts are Serving our Ministries

Here are a few examples of the wonderful ways that Belmont’s Trust Fund has been supporting the ministries of the church over the past year with part of their funding:

The new piano in the chapel was made possible through memorial gifts and a contribution from the Trust Fund. This new instrument has enhanced worship extensively by supporting congregational and solo singing as well as providing its beautiful tone for piano solo offerings.

The Trust Fund benefited Belmont’s Senior Adult Ministry by providing funding for an Adult Spiritual Assessment which will be helpful to the church as we plan for future Belmont UMC adult ministries. The Trust Fund also provided funding for the Wesleyan Heritage Tour to Savannah and St. Simons Island, GA.

Our aging facilities require maintenance and updates every year. Last year we installed new flooring in the foyer and upgraded our church lighting system which made our church feel so much brighter and more welcoming.

Our Youth Ministries team sent members to learn more about empowering youth to dream about what God might be calling them to do.

Our Congregational Care Ministries team learned about resourcing caring ministries which will benefit the Homebound and Hospital Visitation Ministries.

We also helped support the Golden Triangle Fellowship with transportation to and from worship services.

With the generous support of the Trust Fund, Children’s Ministry was able to begin Godly Play, an open-ended curriculum steeped in the traditions of story-telling with our preschool students. After hearing the story of God’s creation, one child proclaimed “There is something missing!” She then drew a large red heart saying, “Before anything else was created there was love!”

Punky’s Legacy

Elizabeth Smith, known t0 many as “Punky,” was a devoted supporter of Belmont UMC. She came to Belmont as a young woman in 1977 and participated in so many areas in our church; Disciple Bible study, knitting group, Sunday School class, chair of Administrative Board were just a few of her contributions during the 39 years she was here. She believed in living life to the fullest and traveled around the globe with close friends. She was also a talented dancer who taught ballroom dancing before the annual youth sponsored “Moonlighters” dance. She also loved Beersheba, and the All Church Retreat was very special to her. Our church continued to be an important part of her life; when she passed away in 2017, she left a gift to the Trust Fund to support our church, our ministries and members. She really loved Belmont with her prayers, her presence, her gifts, and her service.

Howard’s Gift

Howard Hayes was an active member of Belmont UMC for 55 years. He was a member of the Harbison Fellowship Sunday school class with his sister, Jean. He loved having sit-down dinners for his Sunday school class. Howard was an usher in the balcony every Sunday. He also went on mission trips, one to St. Vincent and another to Mexico. He passed away in 2014 and left a gift to Belmont’s Trust Fund that allows us to support the missions and outreach of the church.

Leaving a Legacy, Building a Future

You can continue to support the missions and ministries of the church by including the Trust Fund in your will or trust. A will and estate seminar will be held this spring during Midweek at Belmont. For more information, contact Joan Cato.