From Rev. William G. Utke, Pastor and Teacher at Desert Garden United Church of Christ, Sun City West, AZ:

Our congregation has recently received a very generous gift through the estate of a longtime member, Inez Smith.  A substantial portion of that gift has been set aside to support enhancement and continuing education opportunities for clients, staff, and volunteers involved in nonprofit, educational, and service work. Nearly all of you represent organizations with which our congregation has partnered in the past, and we wanted to share this opportunity with you.

Inez (known as Iny to us) and her partner, Sue, were important and much-loved members of our congregation. Following Inez’s death, Sue moved to Denver to be closer to family.  In Inez’s memory, Desert Garden UCC has established the Igniting New Yearnings (INY) Fund—a way of extending Inez’s generosity by supporting people who are learning, growing, and serving others.

We hope this fund can help provide meaningful opportunity to encourage continued learning, growth, and service. Please feel free to share this information with appropriate members of your staff, volunteers, or clients. It may be posted on social media and/or websites, bulletin boards, in newsletters or whatever way you provide information.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at pastorbill@desertgardenchurch.org.

Click here for a full description of the fund.

Click here for the application.