“In GOD we trust!”

Grace Notes

Office: 904-829-8272 Fax 904-829-8201

8 Carrera Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084

E-Mail: office@gracestaugustine.org

Website: gracestaugustine.org

Our Mission Statement:

“Help people find life in Jesus Christ.”

NOVEMBER 2016 STAFF: Revs. David & Carolyn Williamson, Co-Lead Pastors

Peggy Namie, Office Administrator Nataliya Birmingham, Church Treasurer Mike Sanflippo, Music Director · Robert Meade, 7:45am Organist Emeritus Jason Forrest, Contemporary Music Director Zach Grant, Youth Minister · Martha Yamnitz, Children’s Ministry Director Amanda Richter, Nursery Attendant Supervisor Bob Rusin, Property Maintenance Manager Barbara McColskey, Deaf Interpreter · Justin Abdulghani, Sound Tech Head Ana Villada—CCW Flagler Student Hire · Madeleine Dittmer— 9:15am Student Hire

Brian Matthews, Mackenzie Taylor, Rebecca Woods—Choral Student Hires

Grace United Methodist Church 8 Carrera Street

St. Augustine, FL 32084

OUR OCTOBER MISSION OFFERING — UMVIM (UNITED METHODIST VOLUNTEERS IN MISSION) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS INCLUDED IN THIS NEWSLETTER *Please use your mission envelope when giving.

Grace Notes & the monthly calendar are sent out via email unless you request otherwise. Printed copies of Grace Notes & the monthly calendar are available at the church

or via mail (upon request). You may also view the newsletter at gracestaugustine.org .

OUR SPIRITUAL STATEGIC JOURNEY UPDATE On Sunday, October 30 ninety people joined together for a church-wide gathering to hear three creative presentations on the future story of Grace United Methodist Church. Twenty-four people made up three writing teams that presented a fu-ture story of an Inspiring church, an Inviting church, and an Involving church. We are so thankful for the deep and thoughtful engagement from those on the three writing/presentation teams. You can see a copy of the three scenarios on the media page of the church website or at the entrance of the church sanctuary. If after looking over the scenarios, you have questions or comments, you can speak to our Lay Leader, Steve Ziemer; Council Chair, Conley Weiss; or one of our Co-Lead Pastors. After the three presentations were made Sunday night and questions of clarification were answered, each person had a chance to reflect on their affirmations, challenges and suggestions for each scenario. A response form was completed where they were asked to choose which one of the three scenarios most impresses them spiritually as the one around which the Future Story of Ministry for Grace UMC should be written. They were also asked what elements of the other two stories they hoped would be included in the final Future Story of Ministry. Sixty-nine people completed and submitted the response forms on Sunday night and the results were a statistical tie. An Involving church received 25 responses (36%). An Inspiring church received 23 responses (33%) and an Inviting church re-ceived 21 responses (30%). One of the things this tells us is that the Future Story of Grace may be characterized by an Involving emphasis on compas-sionate community outreach in St Augustine and beyond to all of God’s world. The spiritual foundation for this would be the Inspiring nature of the worship of God, spiritual growth, and becoming equipped to serve through various ministry in-volvements. And one result of the emerging ministry of Grace is an Inviting focus that welcomes diverse groups of people to connect with the congregation and to proactively care for their holistic life needs. Our next step in the Spiritual Strategic Journey will be the formation of a Future Story of Ministry Writing Team which will be made up of representatives from each of the three scenario writing teams plus our Co-Lead Pastors. This team will be ap-proved by our Church Council and include 9-10 people total. This team will work together over the next two months to fur-ther craft the future story and develop a narrative and multi-sensory presentation to make to the congregation on Sunday, January 15 during worship. Please continue to pray as we listen and discern God’s vision for the ministry of Grace United Methodist Church.

ALL meetings at the church are open for anyone to attend. For SPRC meetings, please call the church office in advance. NOVEMBER MEETINGS: STAFF PARISH RELATIONS COMMITTEE (SPRC)—Thursday, November 3rd, 1pm, Wesley Room CHURCH COUNCIL—Thursday, November 3rd, 6:30pm, Wesley Room FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING—Tuesday, November 8th, 11am, Room #4

ST. FRANCIS HOUSE DINNER PREP You are invited to come help prepare a meal in the GUMC Kitchen. This meal is then delivered and served off-site the sec-ond Thursday and the last Tuesday of each month from 4-6pm in the GUMC Kitchen. If you are interested in helping or want more information, contact Ben Gambino, 917-536-7247, nonoorso@aol.com . The dates for November are the: 10th and 29th.

DINING WITH DIGNITY The November Dining with Dignity will be held on Friday, November 18th at 6pm. You are invited to come help do any or all of the following: set-up, prepare, serve, and clean up after the meal. If you are interested, contact Mike Osgood, 904-377-2686, dcs0823@bellsouth.net .

The district superintendent will conduct SPRC Trainings on November 29, 2016 @ Middleburg UMC & December 12, 2016 @ Ft. Caroline UMC from 7-9pm. Please register online www.flumc.org to attend one of the training sessions. We ask that your SPRC chair/committee attend one of these trainings, especially if they will be new to their position in January. As a reminder, S/PPRCs ARE NOT authorized to take a vote on whether their pastor should remain or be moved unless you specifically receive permission from the district superintendent. In regards to training for Finance, Trustees, Nominations, Church Council etc., we encourage/recommend that you view the webinars that the General Board of Discipleship has produced. Each team can watch them together and it will save folks from having to travel. Those webinars can be accessed at: http://www.umcdiscipleship.org/leadership-resources/archived-webinars. You can also find additional training resources on the Conference website: www.flumc.org

BUSY FINGERS Do you enjoy handwork or would like to learn to knit or crochet? Please join the group that meet on Thursdays (except 2nd Thursdays) to learn and share your knowledge The shawls, baby blankets, and afghans that are made are available for anyone in the church or friend of a church member. Contact Vee Markel for more infor-mation budvee@bellsouth.net . They will meet on Thursdays: November 3rd and 17th for the month of

November. They will not meet on the 24th because that is Thanksgiving Day.

STOP HUNGER NOW!

STOP HUNGER NOW will take place at Shores UMC on Saturday, November 19th 9am—Noon. Volunteers are needed! If you are interested in helping with this very worthy cause, please contact Peggy Namie via email office@gracestaugustine.org or call 904-829-8272 with your name, phone number, and email address. About Meal Packaging Events: Meal-packaging events are the heart of our work. We work with volunteers from corporations, faith congregations, schools, colleges and universities, and civic groups.

Meal-packaging events take place either at a Stop Hunger Now warehouse or at the volunteers’ location through a mobile operation that delivers ingredients and supplies. During the event, volunteers work in teams at each packaging station. Volunteers set up and take down packaging stations and equipment, fill bins with raw ingredients, scoop ingredients into meal bags, weigh and seal the bags, box and stack them on pallets, and load the pallets and equipment onto a truck.

Meal-packaging events are a great way to educate volunteers about global hunger and inspire them to get more involved in fighting it. The events also give volunteers hands-on experience in leadership development, team-building, relationship-building, creative problem-solving, and goal-setting and achievement.

“PROGRESSIVE CHOIR” ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20 AT 11AM WORSHIP SERVICE

Our chancel choir will combine forces with our two neighbor churches, Memorial Presbyterian and Ancient City Baptist Combined Choirs will sing two anthems at each church, then proceed to the next. This should be an exciting Sunday for all three congregations and singers alike.

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ENDS NEXT SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2016 Don’t forget to set your clocks BACK 1 hour on Sunday at 2am...you get to sleep an extra hour before coming to church!

NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS 1st: Roger Mullins 3rd: Diane Appel 4th: Rebekah Braxton 5th: Bill Cooke 9th: Willow Steward 11th: Tim Tillotson 12th: Isabel Garner · Garner Kaiser 13th: Steve Ziemer 14th: Doris Boldt 15th: Stan Russo 17th Timothy Paul 18th: Tom Heineken 20th: Sean Forrest · Marie Russo 25th: Mary Paul 26th: Ellie Earnshaw · Shirley MacMullen 29th: Darlene Hiebert 30th: Mary Lou Hensel

NOVEMBER ANNIVERSARIES 3rd: Jim & Paula McMillan 16th: Thomas & Karen Bradley 23rd: Chris & Kendra Stone 27th: Michael & Mildred Thomas

CIRCLE OF CONCERN

Please lift up in prayer: all unspoken prayer requests, Grace United Methodist Church, Phyllis Reed Adzima, Elwyn Kinney, Betty Fleming, Carlos Avilles, Francessca Bellavista, Mark Hunt, Norm Allmen, Claudia Johns, Jason Morehead, Haleigh McKee, Jason Harvey Breeze, Judi Smith, Louise Brown, Norman Pickett, Elaine Edwards, Judy Kieffer, Dan Kingston, Marc Anthony Johnston, Vinny Louden, Jean Backlund, Craft Family, Sally Barnhart, Elaine Hudson Tillman, Christina Shaffer, Lynda Namie, Eddie Walker, Family of Mariana A. Shorb, Eric Miller, Cindy Amy, Bill Amy, Family of Erich Geyer, Sally Barnhart, Curt & Cathy Tucker, Family of Jim Jarrard, Family of Lila Reyes Allegro: Fred Grubb Bayview: Elaine Frenzke Bayview—The Pavilion: Don Allen Brookdale: Lovie Fox, Maria Schineller Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans’ Nursing Home: Jim Donnelly Moultrie Creek Nursing & Rehab Center: Elwyn Kinney Westminster Woods: Midge Berger In the Military: Phil Smith, Lt. Col.,USAF, Joel Prevatt, US Air Force, Maj. Will Bermeo, Lt Jg. Christopher Bordino-US Navy, Jacob Bradley, M Sgt. Kat Brumfield-US Air Force, Brandon Burnette-US Army, Nicholas Callahan, Brandon W. Clark, Capt. Jimmy Harris—US Army, ISC Ray LeMieux, SSgt Miles Massey/USAF-OSI, Brian Riggenbach, MAC Albert J. Spiess, Master Sgt. Justin Smarr, CTR Mark Spurling, Jr., Jason Strohmetz, Thessalomica Vila-Navy, Tom Wetmore, John Young, Jr., Haley Parks, USAF, Adam Martinez—Petty Officer Second Class, PVT Nicole Mullen PLEASE NOTE If you have a friend of loved one in the military, please send in their picture and their rank to be placed on the bulletin board. You may drop it off at the office Monday—Friday during regular office hours, mail or email Peggy Namie at office@gracestaugustine.org

CHORAL FESTIVAL ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18th! Our Choir will be one of several groups participating in the annual St. Cecilia Choral Festival at St. Anastasia RC Church down on A1A near the border of Butler Beach. Please join us! Here is the announcement from Peter Morin, Music Director:

Save the Date---St. Cecilia Sing 2016! Please join us for an evening of choral music to celebrate the patron saint of sacred music! Each November, throughout the United States, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) sponsors concerts and events to honor St. Cecil-

ia. St. Anastasia Catholic Church will host an event for St. Augustine area churches on Friday, November 18 at 7:00 PM.

We warmly invite you to join us for this ecumenical music celebration. Each choir will share an anthem and then combine to create a mass choir for the final selections. Last year we had nearly 200 singers sharing music and helping raise donations for Home Again St. Johns. We welcome Michael Sanflippo, Director of Music at Grace United Methodist Church and Music

Director of the St. Augustine Community Chorus, as our guest conductor.

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CANTATA… Our annual Cantata will be presented on Sunday, December 4th at 11am “Let There Be Christmas” by Joseph Martin features many of your favorite carols plus new music to prepare your hearts and souls for the arrival of the Christ Child. Our Choir will be accompanied by a chamber ensemble. Don’t miss it! This is a great time to invite some friends and neighbors to come and see what’s happening at Grace.

MISSION OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER—UMVIM (UNITED METHODIST VOLUNTEERS IN MISSION) United Methodist Volunteers In Mission (UMVIM) is a grassroots movement within The United Methodist Church designed to provide an official channel whereby Christians, both lay and clergy, may offer their skills and talents for Christian service at home and around the world on short term assignments at their own expense. Their work includes construction and renewing of mission facilities, teaching, witnessing, conducting medical clinics, con-ducting Bible study or Bible School for children, and serving in disaster relief efforts around the world. - See more at: http://www.umcmission.org/Get-Involved/Volunteer-Opportunities/About-UMVIM#sthash.0pB9u0pX.dpuf

If your name is not located in the birthdays or anniversaries and it should be, please contact Peggy Namie in the church office via phone 904-829-8272 or email office@gracestaugustine.org . Thank you!

TECHNICAL SUPPORT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED If you work on a computer or have ever run a power point or slide show, we could use your help! We are creating a Tech Team that can help with running the slideshows during the services. We are also looking for people who would like to learn to create the slideshows and work with the Tech Team. There are a few of us who are making this work right now, but we need more people. Please let the pastors or Mildred Thomas know if you are interested.

REPORTING FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER-

In September: DINING WITH DIGNITY served 46

General Fund

Needed through September $ 513,873

Received through September $ 503,875

Mission Offerings:

Mission Trip to Cuba $ 2,981

Transportation $ 946

Youth Mission Trip $ 1,826

Stop Hunger Now $ 1,673

Florida Conference $ 700

VBS Mission Project $ 1,250

Gideons $ 620

Children’s Home $ 3,572

Young Life Capernaum $ 220

PDF $ 642

MUip (Cuba) $ 1,295

OFFICE HOURS: The office hours for Grace United Methodist Church are: Main Office: Monday & Friday, 9am—3pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 8am—3pm/Peggy Namie—Office Administrator Finance Office: Tuesday & Thursday, 9am—3pm/Nataliya Birmingham—Church Treasurer ALL Offices will be CLOSED on Thursday/November 24th and Friday/November 25th

for the Thanksgiving holidays

DEADLINES FOR CHURCH PUBLICATIONS: →WEEKLY BULLETIN SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY 2PM THE WEDNESDAY PRIOR TO THE BULLETIN THAT THE INFORMATION IS TO BE INCLUDED IN: November 6th bulletin—submissions are due by November 2nd 2pm November 13th bulletin—submissions are due by November 9th 2pm November 20th bulletin—submissions are due by November 16th 2pm November 27th bulletin—submissions are due by November 23rd 2pm December 4th bulletin—submissions are due by , November 30th 2pm →NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS FOR THE DECEMBER ISSUE OF GRACE NOTES ARE DUE BY 2pm Friday, November 18th

ST. FRANCIS HOUSE COLLECTIONS We continue to collect canned goods and non-perishable items for St. Francis House. There are bags for this. The bags are located in the Breezeway Hallway. Thank you for your generous support!

VOLUNTEER NEEDS: Video Tech • Fellowship Time Host/Hostess First Wednesday Community Meal Host/Hostess Ushers • Office Help Please contact the Office if you are interested in vol-unteering for any of these needs— contact office@gracestaugustine.org or 904-829-8272

PowerHouse! A Family Worship & Study Service focused on bringing the POWER of GOD

into our HOUSE through family discipleship.

We held our first PowerHouse worship service in September, missed October due to Hurricane Matthew, and are eagerly looking forward to our next service on November 2nd. All are invited to this active family worship service which meets the first Wednesday of every month for a time of praise, prayer, and Bible learning followed by breakout groups where parents, kids, and youth meet in separate groups to enhance the Bible message and discuss ways to continue the learning at home throughout the month. We would love for you to join us for the service November 2nd, 5:00—6:30pm.

Thanking the 1st Responders!

The Red Train Trolley gave us a free ride to the police & fire de-partments to thank our heroes. Thanks to all who made cookies! It was a wonderful way for our kids to get involved helping our community following the storm!

Sign Up for a Christmas Ride on the Red Train!

The church will be taking a special ride on the Christmas Train on December 1st. We will be meeting at the church at 6:45pm and hopping on the train at 7:10pm. The cost for the train is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children. I hope most of our families can fit this into the hectic Holiday schedules as this is a great time for our kids and parents to have fun together. You can call the church office at (904)829-8272 to reserve your seats on the train!

Looking for Legos

We have a shortage of Lego building blocks in our

kid’s classrooms, and we LOVE Lego blocks. If any-

one has any at home they are no longer using, we

would love for you to donate them to our children’s

ministry. And if you are a garage sale guru and you

should come upon some Lego blocks at a good

price—grab ‘em up for us if you would.

Thanks so much!

Children’s Ministry Weekly Schedule Sunday—Sunday School at 9:15am and 11:00am Wednesday—Kids of Grace or PowerHouse 5:00pm—6:30pm Friday—Bible Tales for Tots 11:00am—12:00pm

STEPHEN MINISTRY CORNER

An Open Invitation to Consider Becoming a Stephen Minister at Grace Church

Dear Members and Friends of Grace UMC: Our congregation is now in the midst of exciting happenings in the area of lay caring ministry. In January of this year, Sue Amole and I were among those attending a weeklong training course in Orlando where we learned how to imple-ment the Stephen Series, a program of lay caring ministry for our congregation. Our instruction included both how to train and supervise lay people in caring ministry. Now it’s time to find men and women of our congregation who are willing to answer Jesus’ call to serve as Stephen Ministers, beginning with 50 hours of stimulating and useful training in Christian caring skills. This training will be led by trained Stephen Leaders and will include a variety of topics such as listening, Christian assertiveness, maintaining boundaries in caregiving, and grief. The training is distinctively Christian and focuses on God as the one who cures as we care. When Stephen Ministers have completed training, they will be commissioned and ready to begin their ministry. Work-ing under supervision, these Stephen Ministers will be available to meet weekly with persons experiencing such prob-lems as these, and many more: bereavement, single parenting, job loss, relationship difficulties, terminal illness, long-term hospitalization, and natural disasters. Stephen Ministers commit to at least two years for training, service, and regular supervision. Many Stephen Ministers enjoy their ministry so much that they choose to serve beyond the two years. While being a Stephen Minister requires commitment of time and effort, it also brings joy and fulfillment. It may be one of the most rewarding challenges you will ever embrace. In addition, you will use the skills you learn not only in your caring ministry, but also in your everyday relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. We invite you to think and pray about this opportunity. If you decide you would like to be a Stephen Minister, please contact either Sue or me right away and we can talk about how you can get started. If we agree that you would be well-suited to be a Stephen Minister, you will then begin training for this exciting ministry on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. We are excited to see what God is going to do in the lives of those who undertake this ministry and in the lives of those who will receive care from our Stephen Ministers. Blessings in Christ, Roger Carlson & Sue Amole A link to Stephen Ministry from our Church Website (www.gracestaugustine.org) is now up and running so that you can stay updated on our first training dates as well as other Stephen Ministry news and events! (From the church website, click on “Ministries” in the menu, and then click on “Stephen Ministry”). In addition, please don’t hesitate to contact our Stephen Leaders:

Sue Amole: samole2013@gmail.com; 904-553-8536 Roger Carlson: revrogerj@yahoo.com; 240-483-7183

GRACE UNITED METHODIST WOMEN Dear Ladies of Grace. It is very hard for me to write this article because my mind is running wild with all that has happened before, during, and after Matthew!! That word used to bring to mind the first book of the Gospels a nice, heavily Jewish oriented book about the life of Jesus and now when we say that word, our minds go directly to the most recent horrifying event called a Hurri-cane about to hit our beautiful city and change some of our lives forever. Even the people who did not suffer the loss of all of their worldly possessions, were terrified that it could happen and what would they do if it did. For myself, I was so blessed and so lucky that my house only had minimal damage and did not cause a disruption of my life except for evacua-tion of the island for 4 days and the wondering of what we would find when we returned. For one of my sons and his wife, that wondering turned in to the worst possible scenario--their home was flooded and they lost all of their contents and the water went 3 feet up their walls. As the wonderful Hurricane relief teams arrived to help them and began to demo their home, my mind shifted to my Bible and the words found there that state in Romans 8:28--" And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." The numbers of first responders who came to help their fellow man was so reassuring that love and grace were alive and well and appearing in St Augustine. It will take months for the ones who lost everything to replace and rebuild but Jesus is still at the right hand of God and they are still on the throne and out of the rubble comes hope and love and that is so GOOD!! Forgive me for rambling on about the storm, but these things are what either tear our lives apart or bring them together and I sense that Grace Church is all about bringing people together in many different ways and one of them is UMW where the ladies can come together and create ways to be interested and involved in each others lives and the lives around the world. The November meeting will be held, as usual, at 10:00 AM in the Fellowship Hall on the second Thursday, which is Nov. 10th. The program will be given on The Emergency Services Homeless Coalition and will be presented by Debi Red-ding. The devotion will be given by Diane Appel and the hostess will be Eileen Holden. I missed the last meeting because I was keeping my children's four dogs and leaving them was not an option. Please join us for all the conversation, the good snacks and a chance to learn about what is going on in our area and other places. Also to thank God for being safe from the storm and being grateful for all of our blessings!!! In God’s Name and my own, Paula Namie

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW! The GUMC ride on the Big Red Christmas Train will take place on Thursday, December 1st. Plan on an evening of FUN, FELLOWSHIP, and FOOD! The cost is $10 per adult & $5 per child. You may sign up for the Red Train by calling the church office 904-829-8272, fill out and turn in the form included in the weekly bulletin on Sundays: November 6th, 13th, and 20th or via email office@gracestaugustine.org . You must pay before the event. The DEADLINE for forms and payment is Wednesday, November 23rd. On Thursday, December 1st we will meet at the church at 6:45pm and board the train in front of the church at 7:10pm. After the Train ride we will return to the church to have cookies and hot chocolate.

ADVENT SEASON

Can you believe that our season of celebrating the birth of Christ Jesus begins Sunday, November 27th? So, to be prepared to usher in this sacred season we are planning to decorate our church on Sunday, November 20th. After every service, we are asking you to help with making our church warm and welcoming to members and visitors. Bob Rusin is making sure our decorations are prepared and ready to go. We really need helping hands as this decorating includes the Fellowship Hall, the Wesley Room, the Sanctuary with the Crismon Tree and the hanging of the greens inside and out! Please contact Mildred Thomas if you would like more information. Each Sunday during the Season of Advent our church lights a candle on the Advent Wreath with the Christ candle being lit on Christmas Eve. We are looking for volunteers to help with this. If you and your family would like to participate, please contact Mildred Thomas.

GRACE UNITED METHODIST WOMEN November 10th at 10am in the Fellowship Hall Program: Emergency Services Homeless Coalition Presenter: Debi Redding Devotion: Diane Appel Hostess: Eileen Holden GRACE UNITED METHODIST MEN’S BREAKFAST November 19th at 8am in the Fellowship Hall

FIRST WEDNESDAYS COMMUNITY DINNERS—NOVEMBER 2nd @ 6:30pm Every first Wednesday of the month from 6:30pm—7:30pm, we host Grace Community Dinners. The pur-pose of these dinners is to make connections with people in the community, Flagler students, and mem-bers of our church. These are a great opportunity to welcome Flagler students, get to know someone old-er or younger than you, and enjoy good food. If you are a regular at Grace, make an effort to sit at a table with someone you don’t already know. You’ll be blessed! Please confirm your attendance by completing a RSVP form and place it in the offering plate or by returning the form to the office. The RSVP forms are pro-

vided in the weekly bulletins or you may fill one out while in the office. You may also call Peggy Namie/Office administrator 904-829-8272 to RSVP.

2016

Mark your calendars now...Angel Tree names will be available starting

November 18, 2016.

Please help to make Christmas happen for someone, that otherwise

would not be able to have a Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

&

God bless!

Gifting Appreciated Stock to GRACE UMC

Keep Your Cash!

Most people donate to charities in the form of cash. This can be an unfortunate mistake, especially if you hold se-curities with unrealized long-term gains. Donating appreciated stock is a cashless transaction that can yield you double tax benefits.

First, you receive an itemized deduction equal to the fair market value (FMV) of the stock. FMV is calculated as the high-low average of the stock price on the day it was contributed. But you also do not have to realize the gain on apprecia-tion of those donated stocks. That second benefit saves you the 20% capital gains tax. (Remember, this is for stock with a long-term holding period.)

Below is a hypothetical example that provides a side-by-side comparison showing the benefits of donating appreci-ated stock, rather than simply donating cash or, even worse, selling stock and then donating the cash. The technique is still valid at different AGI and donation amounts.

[i]Assumes the cash remaining after taxes are paid is donated ($25,000 - $3,000).

[ii]Assumes 400 shares and a cost basis of $10, with a $25 high-low average on the day of contribution.

[iii]Tax is computed based on the maximum capital gains rate of 20% ($150,000 AGI = 20%).

It’s clear that donating long-term appreciated securities is a more tax-efficient way to donate to Grace UMC, yet

very few of our members take advantage of this tax avoidance strategy. It may be because they do not realize they can contribute securities to Grace UMC or because they want to continue to maintain their current stock holdings. But if you wish to continue to own a particular stock, you can always simply utilize the cash that you would otherwise be donating to Grace UMC to repurchase that same stock at the current FMV. This generates a charitable deduction, avoids a taxable event, and still allows you to reestablish your desired position with a (more beneficial) higher cost basis, allowing you to continue participating in any growth and dividends.

Donate

Cash

Sell Stock to

Donate Cash

Donate

Stock

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

Fair Market Value (FMV) of Gift

$10,000

$10,000

$10,000

Charitable Deduction

$10,000

$8,800[i]

$10,000[ii]

Cash Required

$10,000

$0

$0

Capital Gains Tax

$0

$1,200[iii]

$0

SOMEBODY CARES ST.AUGUSTINE/CARE FEST “Somebody Cares St. Augustine/CareFest is a local interfaith ministry that provides goods and services to the needy in our area in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. CareFest 2016 was a a huge success. On September 24, Grace UMC finished one of the 110 projects completed by 33 Churches. What a blessing to our community! We have another opportunity to serve, as Coats 4 Kids is just around the corner. Partner churches will collect new and winter clothing items for the over 800 homeless students in our St. Johns County School District. A collection box has been placed in the breezeway. During the month of November, please consider donating a winter coat, sweatshirt or light weight jacket, new underwear and socks. Items should not have logos for alcohol or tobacco products. Jackets and coats may be new or used in good condition, in sizes for Kindergarten (size 5) through 12th grade (adult all sizes). The items will be delivered to the St. Johns County School Districts Clothes Closet on December 5th by our CareFest Coordinator, Jeff Walton

Summary

Consider discussing your ability to donate appreciated stock to Grace UMC, and the tax benefits that go along with doing so, with your tax advisor. It’s a great tax avoidance strategy that you may find beneficial.

Your donation will be used as you designate – whether it is to help repair our historic structures, support our church programs and ministries, help grow our endowment funds to a level that will ensure the long-term financial solven-cy of Grace UMC, or a combination of the above. Your stock donation can be allocated to the annual operating budget or the annual capital budget and be part of your planned annual giving. The Permanent Endowment Committee oversees the allocation of stock donations.

If this might appeal to you, please contact Peggy (our Office Administrator), Nataliya (our Church Treasurer) or a member of the Permanent Endowment Committee so they can provide more information and help you explore how this could be of benefit.

Berg Magloff Wealth Management Group, at Stifel Financial serves as Financial Advisor to Grace UMC. They can be reached at (904) 760-4517. Stifel does not provide legal or tax advice. You should discuss your particular situation with

your professional legal and tax advisors.