In August, I found a letter on my desk.  The return address said, Brooke Jackson Downs LLP (lawyers)

There’s just something about getting an unexpected letter from a lawyer that makes me uneasy, the smiley-face cartoon on the front not-withstanding.

However when I opened it, I understood the reason for the smiley-face.  The envelope contained a copy of the Last Will and Testament of Edward Darznieks.  Edward lived in Sicamous, loved his dogs, but kept very much to himself. Edward passed away in July.  I had talked with him on the phone shortly before going to Ireland in June.  Did he want me to visit, I asked.   He thanked me for the offer, but said `No’.  Andy was his United Church visitor and he was comfortable with that.  But somewhere the United Church connection was important to him, because Edward left a gift of $20,000.00 to Sicamous United Church in his Will. It will likely take a couple years to settle the estate, but that gives us some time to decide how to best honour this gift.

Did you know that the Salvation Army and the SPCA gets a lot of money fromUnited Church people through their Wills?  It’s because they ask, and we seldom do.  But where there’s a Will, there’s a way to leave a legacy to the things that are important to you.  So please consider leaving a gift to the United Church locally or nationally.  It’s already in my will.

Rev. Juanita Austin

For information about legacy gifts, please contact Jane Harding, Financial Development Officer – Gift Planning at jharding@united-church.ca