Council Documents

Remembrance Fund Policy

St. Paul Lutheran Church – Wheaton, Illinois


Purpose: To establish a fund of contributions to memorialize a deceased person.


Memorial Committee:


Organization:

The committee will consist of three persons serving a term of three years with one member’s team expiring each year, appointed by the Church Council. One pastor will be an advisor to the committee.


Duties of the Committee:

Develop a list of items, projects or programs suitable for memorials, establishing approximate cost, if possible.


Secure prior or specific approval from the Church Council for all memorial items, projects or programs.


Arrange for publicity concerning the Fund, so the congregation is aware of the Fund’s purpose and availability.


Apportion the Fund to the memorials, following the wishes and desires, if any, of the contributor(s).


Arrange for printed memorial offering envelopes for use in church pews or funeral homes.


Arrange for acknowledgement of memorial gifts, and notification to the family of the person memorialized.


Arrange for Memorial Book(s) and the updating and display of same.


Report committee activities to the Church Council at least quarterly.


Treasurer: The Church Treasurer will be the Treasurer of the Remembrance Fund, and as such, his or her duties will be as follows:

  1. Be directed by the Remembrance Fund Committee or Church Council in handling monetary transactions involving the Remembrance Fund.

  2. Keep records of the account up to date and prepare annual report of the same.


Other uses of the Remembrance Fund:

  1. Remembrance Fund will not be used for Current Operation Expense or Benevolence.

  2. Remembrance Fund will not be loaned to other church organizations.

  3. Remembrance Fund will not be invested (other than bank savings account) without specific Church Council approval.


(Approved by Church Council 2-2-87; reaffirmed, as modified, by Church Council 5-18-98)



Resolution


Believing that it is important for continuity that written documentation exist in the church office for both the procedures and for any Remembrance Fund contributions designated for specific purposes, the Operations Board recommends:


  1. The council reaffirms the attached Remembrance Fund Policy approved by the Church Council on February 2, 1987, with the exception of the requirement of a separate bank account for Remembrance Fund contributions.

  2. The council appoints a Remembrance Fund Committee no later than the September, 1988 council meeting; the Committee will report to the Nurture Board.

  3. The Operations Board, Financial Secretary and staff begin work to computerize the documentation of cumulative donations made in memory of specific individuals, and the tracking and reporting of Remembrance Fund contributions designated for specific purposes.

  4. The staff include a copy of the policy in the materials given to new council members when they begin their term of service on council.


(Approved by St. Paul Church Council, May 18, 1998)





© 2009 St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wheaton, IL 60187