Insights
Bountiful Beauty
September 3, 2026 · Sara Culp
Across our connection, many of us find joy, peace, and rest in the outdoor spaces around our faith communities. Some congregants have even chosen to prioritize their ongoing care through gifts in their wills.
Many of us are still enjoying bountiful harvests from our gardens and beautiful blooms from our yards. Orchards UMC in Vancouver recently shared that volunteers were helping to make their outdoor spaces beautiful in anticipation of their anniversary. Across our connection, many of us find joy, peace, and rest in the outdoor spaces around our faith communities. Some congregants have even chosen to prioritize their ongoing care through gifts in their wills.
The Thiede Trust was established with the Foundation to benefit the Central United Protestant church in Richland. Minister of Operations, Chris Garza, shared that Roger Thiede
“was so dedicated to our roses and flowers around our church, and his passion for them and all the Church grounds stays alive through this Trust.”
Bothell UMC has a Rose Garden fund that makes annual distributions to help maintain a peaceful garden near the church featuring a beautiful selection of roses. It is a lovely space to pause, take a breath, and smell the flowers. The roses are carefully curated, labeled, and tended to create a welcoming space that shares beauty with all who visit.
Many of our faith communities have memorial gardens providing a space for us to remember and honor our loved ones in a setting of beauty close to home. At Des Moines UMC, Beverly Heunisch shared that “by placing money in an endowment fund, we are assured that the care and upkeep of the Memorial Garden will continue for many years.” Their peaceful Memorial Garden features trees, benches, statues, and commemorative bricks that were given in honor and remembrance of members who have passed away. Wenatchee FUMC has been blessed by a gift to maintain their Memorial Garden, which recently helped provide bushes, watering lines, mulch, and additional memorial stones.
These gifts and investments remind us that caring for a faith community can take many forms. Sometimes it looks like trimming roses, weeding a garden, or making sure a beautiful gathering space continues to welcome people for years to come.
For those who have a special connection to a garden, courtyard, memorial space, or other outdoor area, a designated gift can be a meaningful way to ensure that place continues to flourish. It is an honor to manage funds that support the improvement and ongoing care of faith community grounds. Sometimes a legacy takes root in a very literal way, and blesses the community with its beauty long after it is planted.
