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astors and lay leaders of three small churches gathered at the Baltimore-Washington Conference Mission Center for a special presentation Jan. 9. They came to receive grants from the Eugene Otto Memorial Fund.

Years ago (no one seems to remember quite how many), Vivian Otto gave some of her husband’s legacy as a gift to the conference. He had been well known in the conference and, upon his death, his wife thought that a memorial to him would be a gift to the conference endowment funds. She stipulated that any earnings would be given to “small churches.”

“Vivian is modeling Christian behavior,” said Frank Robert, the conference’s representative for the Mid-Atlantic United Methodist Foundation, Inc., that administers the funds. “And she is setting up a legacy for the future.”

Vivian Otto had worked at the district and local church levels as a Christian educator throughout her career, in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

“I went to many churches of all sizes, and saw firsthand what a struggle it was for some of them to even get Sunday school materials,” she said. So when the opportunity came, she contributed funds from her husband’s estate for that purpose.

The story doesn’t end there. The gift was back-shelved and only recently re-discovered. With interest earned over the past many years, it had reached $40,000.

Robert, with the help of a small committee chaired by District Superintendent, the Rev. JW Park, began the process of identifying where to “spend” the money. Honoring Otto’s stipulations, the committee informed churches of fewer than 150 members of possible available funds. They submitted proposals of the activities they wanted supported and the foundation set a date at which Bishop Marcus Matthews could present the awards.

Bishop Matthews spoke briefly at the presentations. He noted that while he didn’t know her husband, he had known Vivian for many years.

“You helped the conference to see the importance of local churches with your passion to provide resources,” he said. “You’ve always had love to empower congregations. Thank you.”

Simpson UMC, a church with 25 active members, received one of the grants, which totaled $2,000. Pastor Gregory McNeil accepted the check, and explained the funds would be used to help transport men and women drug users to a rehabilitation center supported by his congregation.

The Rev. Manuel Balderas and five of his church members from Millian Memorial UMC received one of the grants. “We are working to become a multicultural church,” Balderas said. The money will be used for a musician to help grow the Spanish language church.

The Rev. Laura Schultz, pastor of Howard Chapel UMC, expressed her gratitude for the money. “It’s so exciting to see the gift of giving,” she said. The church plans to use part of it to help teens go to ROCK next year. The rest will be used to help teens grow in their understanding and ability to minister in nursing homes. They plan to create large-print prayer and Scripture booklets for elderly residents in a nursing home. But before presenting them in person, the teens will need some training to know how to talk and act with older, often frail adults, Schultz explained. The grant will be used for that project.

“We are mindful, God, of how you blessed a man named Eugene Otto,” the bishop prayed in closing, “and how his wife, Vivian, has continued to make a difference.”

The Foundation will continue to make the grants each year. Small churches in the Greater Washington or Central Maryland districts will receive word of the process in August and have until Nov. 1 to apply, Robert said. The committee will make the decisions.