Garrett Alumnae Invests in Future with a Planned Gift

Throughout her career, Garrett-Evangelical Alumni Beverly Judge (GTS '67) has done a lot of thinking about stewardship and charitable giving.

She spent 35 years in New York City working for faith-based organizations and initiatives. She started at Global Ministries working for its Advance program, which encouraged United Methodist Churches to "go the second mile" and give to U.S. and worldwide mission projects. She later managed Global Ministries' Office of Field Interpretation, helping missionaries visit their supporting churches and setting up mission interpretation events throughout the country. After that, she did freelance communications work for many faith-based organizations including the American Council on Gift Annuities and the Stewardship Commission of the National Council of Churches.

So, when it came time for her to create a planned gift of her own, Judge knew exactly what she wanted to do. "When we give to causes and organizations, we are making an investment as well as a charitable gift," she explained. "Just as we try to make wise choices when we invest in stocks or bonds, we have a responsibility to invest wisely in our charitable giving."

Providing Scholarships for Future Generations

That's why Judge decided to invest in Garrett-Evangelical. She created a planned gift through the Florida United Methodist Foundation and named Garrett-Evangelical one of its beneficiaries. Upon her death, the money will go to Garrett-Evangelical to provide scholarships for women. "I wanted to do something for my seminary," she said. "It meant a lot to me as a student and a staff member."

Judge came to Garrett Theological Seminary after graduating from McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas, with a degree in religion. As a college student, she had wanted to be an ordained minister, but by the time she arrived at Garrett, she had decided that it was not a good fit for her. "I didn't have the pioneering spirit that it would take," she said. "This was in the early 1960s, and while it was technically possible, it was not easy."

She chose Garrett because she was looking for a seminary that offered a degree other than a master of divinity and a master of religious education. At the time, Garrett had joint MA program with Northwestern University that allowed students to study theology from more of an academic than professional viewpoint.

A year after she graduated from Garrett and Northwestern, Judge returned to Garrett to work in the seminary's admissions office. She stayed until she moved to New York to work for Global Ministries in 1973.

While she did not have a traditional church ministry, Judge said she considered her work with all her religious-based clients a lay ministry. "Perhaps I could have made more money if I had spread my wings and worked with more secular organizations, but that is not who I was."

Now retired and living in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, Judge enjoys traveling, and she remains active in her church. She is also on the board of directors of the Florida United Methodist Foundation, where she created her planned gift.

According to Judge, there is a hymn in the Presbyterian hymnal that summarizes how she views charitable giving. "We give thee but thine own, whate'er the gift may be; all that we own is thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from thee."

Your Generosity Matters

Your support of the Ministerial Education Fund Apportionment helps schools like XXXX to prepare people to discover their calling through the challenging curriculum. Your generosity enables the church to increase financial support for recruiting and educating ordained and diaconal ministers and to equip annual conferences to meet increased demands.

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary website, Evanston, IL

This story shows the power of the Ministerial Education Fund—one of seven apportionment funds of The United Methodist Church—to prepare and equip those answering God’s call to ministry. Your church’s support provides theological education, scholarships, and leadership development through our United Methodist seminaries and boards of ordained ministry. Together, we ensure that faithful, well-prepared leaders continue to guide the Church into the future.