“I want to help the church do something so wonderful, it’s obvious God’s work is in action,” said Ellen “Pinky” Snow when asked about desired outcomes for her endowment to support local mission work through the First United Methodist Church in Angleton, Texas.
A dedicated Methodist in her nineties, Pinky recently decided to accelerate a charitable gift she originally intended to make through a bequest in her will. Inspired by a sermon from Rev. Emily Chapman, Sr. Pastor at St. Mark’s UMC in the Heights area of Houston, Pinky wondered if now was the time to give back to Angleton, her home for more than 60 years. Learning about the impact of the missions and outreach in the Heights, Pinky felt the Lord speak to her in that moment, encouraging her to lead by example and do her part to help FUMC Angleton to be just as effective in serving its neighbors.
After marrying Joseph “Joe” Snow in 1951, the couple moved to Angleton and joined FUMC where Joe and most of his family were life-long members. Pinky has been an active member of the church and surrounding community ever since. She has seen first-hand the positive effects of the good work done by the Methodist church to support her local community and wanted to ensure that work could continue.
After 63 wonderful years of marriage, Joe passed away in 2014, and Pinky moved from Angleton to Houston to be closer to her three children, two of whom are lawyers, and one a retired chemical engineer. When she moved, she sold some property near Angleton that she and her late-husband inherited from his family. In fact, the land she sold was originally a land-grant made to Joe’s family for service in the Battle of San Jacinto. Since generations of their family grew up in and supported the community in and around Angleton, she felt it appropriate to use the proceeds from the sale of their land to continue supporting missions in their local community.
Pinky believes mission work is closely tied to growth in discipleship and is a firm believer in the concept of stewardship, noting her long-held belief that Christians should tithe both time and money to continue God’s work. For those who contribute primarily with tithes and offerings, she hopes this missions-focused endowment will nurture more participation in the outreach ministries of the church as an avenue for growth in their own faith journey. “The closer you are to God, the more you want to do,” she observed.
There are countless needs in the Angleton community, and Pinky is confident the Methodist church will be able to use the funds from her endowment to answer God’s call to love their neighbors in need for years to come.
“The best way to influence people is to see God’s work in action,” she says.
If you have questions about your philanthropic plan, please contact Justin Gould at jgould@tmf-fdn.org or by phone at 800-933-5502 or explore TMF’s gift planning website at giftplanning.tmf-fdn.org