“We have supported the organization for a long time, and I have received much of my global education from Church World Service. It’s my connection to the world,” says Fletcher Farrar, of Springfield, Illinois.

Farrar and his wife, Rev. Mary Jessup (pictured above), recently established a $300,000 gift annuity naming Church World Service as the charitable beneficiary. Farrar is editor of the Church of the Brethren’s “Messenger” magazine. Jessup, an ordained Church of the Brethren pastor, is currently serving Buffalo Hart Presbyterian Church, in Buffalo Hart, Illinois, northeast of Springfield. The couple saw a charitable gift annuity with CWS as their avenue toward both compassionate giving and financial peace of mind.

In 2001, the two traveled to India where they saw Church World Service’s work firsthand. “The trip gave us an on-the-ground feel for the work that is being done with the gifts we give,” says Farrar. “It inspired us even more to work at giving.” Through their gift annuity, Farrar and Jessup are able to continue their support of the work of Church World Service, while also receiving a life income they can count on. Adds Farrar, “It’s nice to know that my allowance is coming, regardless.”

What motivates someone to establish a charitable gift annuity? While individual circumstances may differ, most Church World Service donors are responding to the biblical call to share their gifts, talents, resources. They feel good about creating a legacy of hope, while enjoying the fixed life income payments and tax deductions that charitable gift annuities afford. Others may wish to honor or memorialize a loved one. In any case, the individual, couple, or family finds that their charitable gift annuity helps them fulfill both their philanthropic and personal goals as people of faith.

Church World Service is thankful for friends and supporters like Farrar and Jessup, and has established a Legacy of Hope program to honor and acknowledge those who have named CWS as a beneficiary of a life income gift or bequest. For further information about life income opportunities — such as a charitable gift annuity — or the Legacy of Hope program, please call Church World Service at 1-800-297-1516.