wfn.org | Georgia church inherits $60 million from estate

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Nov. 1, 2000 News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71B{501}

By Alice M. Smith*

(UMNS) - A South Georgia church has been named the beneficiary of a whopping
$60 million bequest from the estate of a longtime member, and now is
struggling with the best way to use the money for mission and ministry.

The 715-member St. Marys (Ga.) United Methodist Church was bequeathed the
money by Warren A. Bailey, a former local mayor and businessman, who died
July 14 at age 88. Though the church was notified in July that it would
receive a large bequest, it did not know the specific amount until October.

It may be the largest bequest ever given to a local church, said the Rev.
Derek McAleer, pastor of St. Marys.

"We are awed, even stunned by this responsibility," McAleer said.  "The
amount of money of staggering. We don't yet know what we want to do ...
(but) we still want to be a faithful church."

In preparation for receiving the money, an advisory board of 13 members was
named at a church conference to determine how the funds would be managed and
disbursed. "We knew (once the word got out) we would start getting phone
calls, and it would be so chaotic we couldn't think," McAleer said.

The announcement of the $60 million amount was made during worship services
at St. Marys Oct. 29, and the Jacksonville (Fla.) Times-Union carried a
front-page story the next day. Just as McAleer expected, "every broker in
Jacksonville" called, along with a bevy of national and local media
representatives. St. Marys is in Camden County, on the Georgia-Florida state
line.

At this point, the church has no actual funds in hand. The bulk of the
money, $50 million, will come to the church in January and the remaining $10
million in July after estate taxes, bills and other matters have been
settled.  

The advisory board will present its recommendations to a church conference
Dec. 3, although some decisions have already been tentatively made, McAleer
said. Part of the principal will be given away up front, and the remainder
will be turned over to a church foundation to be invested, with the earnings
used for ministry causes.  

"The church has repeatedly affirmed its intention not to place these funds
in the normal operating budget of the church," McAleer said, "but to use
them for the wider work of God's kingdom. No decision has been made on how
much to give away up front and how much to invest."  

Those specific recommendations may be part of the advisory board's report to
the Dec. 3 church conference. At that time, the congregation will vote on
articles of incorporation and bylaws for the foundation and elect members of
the initial board of directors.  

Since its appointment in August, the advisory board has investigated how
other churches have handled large bequests; met with lawyers; attended a
conference on Christian community and church foundations; and consulted with
members of the congregation.

Bailey was a lifelong resident of Camden County and a two-time mayor of St.
Marys. He and his two brothers, Wallace and Wilbur, owned the Camden
Telephone Co., which has been sold to Telephone and Data System Inc. Bailey
was briefly married and divorced in his youth, had no children, and "was a
very private person who wanted to live his life away from anybody else,"
McAleer said. 

While Bailey was not a regular churchgoer, he did support St. Marys and
other churches in Camden County financially, and for the last several years
had given the St. Marys congregation $100,000 annually. However, the church
was not aware beforehand that it had been designated as one of eight
beneficiaries in Bailey's will. The other seven received amounts ranging
from $20,000 to $100,000.  

No decisions have been made at this point on which ministries will be funded
by the bequest. "The best we can say," McAleer said, "is the church has
historically funded certain ministries, so it may reasonably be expected to
continue to support similar organizations and ministries."   

Some of the agencies he listed are related to the South Georgia Annual
(regional) Conference: the children's home; Magnolia Manor, for senior
adults; Wesley Glen, for people with developmental disabilities; Vashti,
serving troubled youth in Thomasville; and Kingdom Builders Club, a program
for funding new churches in South Georgia. Other programs historically
supported by St. Marys are medical missionaries in Mexico; the Camden County
Habitat for Humanity; Camden House, a battered women's shelter; and Heifer
Project International.   
# # #
*Smith is interim editor of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate newspaper, which
serves the United Methodist Church's North and South Georgia annual
conferences.

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United Methodist News Service
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