| Conference Endowment Fund provides support for mission and ministry By Linda Worthington
UMCONNECTION STAFF Churches have the opportunity to do good and help themselves when they observe the annual Conference Endowment Fund Sunday, May 16. Contributing to the endowment fund helps to support missions and ministries throughout the conference. The Conference Endowment Fund, now part of the conference affiliated Stewardship Center and Foundation, 'has helped so many churches over time,' said Ann Whisenhunt, who has served on the board of directors of the fund, the loans and grants committee, and now on the new body. The fund was created in 1992 with proceeds from a capital funds campaign, in response to Bishop Joseph H. Yeakels dream 'for a conference fund in perpetuity,' Whisenhunt said. It currently has $1.2 million invested. Grants for mission and ministry to conference churches come from the interest earned on the investment. The more money in the fund, the more that is earned and the more that is available to local churches in need. One church that benefits from Endowment Fund earnings is Paw Paw UMC in West Virginia. Families in this economically distressed area have discovered that basket weaving is a marketable cottage industry. With a $7,000 grant from the Conference Endowment Fund, church members purchased materials and established a crafts business. The cottage industries have grown and now include ceramics, crocheted doilies, butterfly houses and upholstery. Contributions from churches to help build the Conference Endowment Fund have declined in recent years, partly because there has been little emphasis on it, Whisenhunt said. In 2003, only 22 churches or individuals made gifts that totaled $9,267, less than half the receipts in 2002.Calvary UMC in Annapolis and Wesley UMC in Washington have consistently given $1,000 each year since the fund began, Whisenhunt added. The Stewardship Center would like to see that regular contribution increase and it encourages churches and individuals to participate in Endowment Fund Sunday. The funds principal remains intact, but the earnings are distributed through the loans and grants committee. The Endowment Fund works in partnership with the Board of Congregational Life to provide funding for new models of ministry to reach those outside the church. Grantees are chosen by a 10-person committee that includes the conference treasurer and finance officer and the Rev. Ed DeLong, associate council director for the Board of Congregational Life. Orchard Park Christian Jubilee UMC in Baltimore received a Conference Endowment Fund grant in 2003. The money helped to provide materials and supplies for its new After-school Tutorial and Enrichment Center that meets each day, and the Saturday Institute of Education in Arts and Music, which meets twice a month. St. Pauls UMC in Leonardtown saw their sleepy, quiet community start to burgeon with newcomers. Over the past five years, with the aid of a Conference Endowment Fund grant, the church was able to hire a full-time associate pastor and launch a host of programs. One of these programs helps keep a 60-member youth group active on Sunday nights. St. Pauls averages 220 people in a sanctuary that holds 200, three times on Sunday. Plans are underway for a fourth worship service for youth starting in the fall. 'Over the years, the Endowment Fund has done so much good,' Whisenhunt said. Churches that receive the special offering on May 16, or observe it a more convenient date should send their checks to the Baltimore-Washington Conference Treasurer, 7178 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046. Checks should be marked for the 'Conference Endowment Fund.' | 
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