wfn.org | Legacy Provides Church With Blessings

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (539
notes).

Note 539 by UMNS on Jan. 9, 1998 at 17:18 Eastern (2292 characters).

CONTACT: Linda Green					12(10-71B)539
	    Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470	Jan. 9, 1998

Millionaire's will creates blessings,
options for historic Tennessee church

	
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- A gift of money and land has provided blessings and
options for a historic United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., a
county seat community 45 miles southeast of Nashville. 
	Richard Siegel, a millionaire cattle farmer and member of First United
Methodist Church, died Jan. 2, leaving the 1,900-member congregation $1
million and 20 acres of land. Trustees of the church were also named trustees
of a $4 million foundation he created.  Siegel was not married and had no
children.
Purpose of the foundation is to create new, educational opportunities in the
Rutherford County Public Schools, college and university scholarships for
county students, and recreational opportunities in parks for children and
families.
Siegel's will stipulates that the gift to the church be used to construct an
education and worship center. It does not require the congregation, located
downtown, to relocate, but provides the option for the church to have two
campuses, said the Rev. Jerry Mayo, pastor. The congregation has worshipped at
its present location since 1800, and the community regards the church as a
city landmark.
 Siegel joined First Church only a few years before he donated more than $10
million in cash and property to the church, the city and the county's
children. He gave the city almost 132 acres for a park and 20 acres to build a
new elementary school which was named for his mother.
"He was a quiet and reflective man who did not draw attention to himself,"
Mayo said. 	"One of the things that made him think so much of his local church
was its commitment to ministry with children and youth." 
 	Mayo said the church has 10 years to begin construction. If no building is
constructed within the allotted time, the property reverts to the city and the
money to the Richard Siegel Foundation. 
The foundation money cannot be used for church programming and must be used in
the community beyond the church. Mayo said the congregation considers the
legacy left by Seigel "a blessing," providing opportunities and options for
the church. 
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