Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

152 THE PASSIONATE STEWARD
crisis-oriented campaigns, or even annual pledge appeals, then
individuals, too, must be encouraged to think in the long term, for
the sake of the future. Stewardship needs to be freed from the
limitations of spontaneity and annual giving, and allowed to
flourish as a life-long and longer-than-life habit.
This invites a consideration of planned giving, or what may
more aptly be called a “legacy of faith.”
The fact that the baby boom generation is now reaching old
age means that over the next two decades, both the United States
and Canada will experience the greatest ever intergenerational
transfer of wealth from the elderly to their children and heirs. Many
charities have scrambled to position themselves to benefit from this
fact by launching planned giving programs.
Many view this newfound enthusiasm for planned giving as
crass opportunism—and in some cases, it may well be! However,
the Church has always encouraged the faithful to consider
stewardship and philanthropic giving as part of their estate
planning. A “legacy of faith” is a gift which allows people to
dispose of their estates in a manner consistent with the values and
interests they embraced in life, and which will enable the Church to
meet the challenges of the future in continuing to do God’s work on
Earth. There is compelling scriptural precedent for this:
With great power the apostles gave their
testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great grace was upon them all. There was not
a needy person among them, for as many as
owned lands or houses sold them and brought the
proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the
apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as
any had need (Acts 4:33–35).
Until recently, most people thought of planned giving chiefly
in terms of wills and bequests—testamentary gifts from the