Leaving A Lasting Legacy of Love to My Parish

UPRISE co-founder, Greg Deja, who serves as the executive director for the Catholic Foundation of West Michigan volunteered during several 2022 evenings at Saint Patrick-Saint Anthony Parish in Grand Haven, MI to introduce Legacy Giving to Pastor Charles Schwartz and his parishioners.

One of our UPRISE movement-makers teamed up with another UPRISE co-founder, Greg Deja to design and launch a new “Parish Legacy Society” experience for the pastor and parishioners of a beloved Catholic Church along the West Michigan Lakeshore, St. Patrick-St. Anthony parish in Grand Haven, MI. In Autumn of 2022, planning for parish engagement & outreach began. First, it was important to clarify why to consider including my Parish in my giving estate plans; what having a new Legacy Fund for our Parish might mean for the future financial support of our church facilities, ministries and liturgy for generations to come. Partnering with the Catholic Foundation of West Michigan, empowered a small group of parish volunteers from the Financial Council of the church to introduce the Parish Legacy Fund over a weekend full of masses, host weekly information sessions over weeks of time, then celebrate the steward over a Sunday brunch with the Pastor those couple and families who had decided to include the Parish in their legacy giving plans of the future. Another Summer and Autumn 2023 set of Parish Legacy Fund invitations are planned to inspire more parishioners to include the parish in their estate plans. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for blessing this endeavor that we pray will strengthen and financially support our Parish, for generations to come!