Revelations

This is a monthly column helping us to get to know our friends and members in a deeper way. We thank Monte High for taking the time to do these in-depth interviews for us every month.
 
     Kathleen Hedlund currently finds herself cycling through another major life change. She navigated the labyrinth from birth through childhood and adolescence, and into adulthood. Then, when Kathleen had come to believe that it would be just her and Jeremy growing old together – conception. At the age of 42 Kathleen became a mother. Into the world came Julian, the thoughtful one. [Over the years, many of us were fortunate to see Julian grow up within the congregation. We witnessed the bridging ceremony, and heard him speak with wisdom beyond his years.] When Julian was born Kathleen found herself again experiencing birth, childhood, and adolescence. And then burgeoning adulthood – which brings her around to her current state – seeking to reinvent herself. Sifting through various colors of yarn to weave into her spacious nest.
     Kathleen came into being in Berkeley California. Her sister says that’s proof that she’s hippie all the way. She spent most of her formative years in a rural area North East of the Bay; although, she lived in Southern California for five of her growing-up years, where she learned to love the desert and the ocean. She loved the water, and one of her favorite childhood memories is of bobbing in the ocean, waiting for a wave.
     Kathleen went to college at UC Davis. She wanted to go to Berkeley, but her parents thought it was too dangerous. The joke amongst her peers was that Davis was the school to go study cows. What she remembers most about Davis is the joy of riding her bike everywhere. She graduated with a psychology degree in 1975.
     After graduation, Kathleen’s Grandma took her on a two week trip to her home country of Sweden, introducing Kathleen to her roots. Kathleen would later repeat this voyage with Julian.
     Time to get a job. Kathleen liked the idea of moving east to live near her relatives in Northern Virginia. She assumed that she would work for the government in some capacity, but ended up working in a shirt & tie shop owned by a New York family. It was a wonderful culture shock to be a part of that family culture and the culture of downtown DC. It seemed to Kathleen that the family argued about everything before they could agree on anything. And she met and befriended people from many different cultures.
     The shop was just up Connecticut Avenue from the White House. They made custom formal shirts for a clientele that ranged from Senators and business tycoons, to pimps. It was an exciting place to be.
     Yet, always, tugging at Kathleen’s sleeve – a strong desire to help people. She started working at an institution for the mentally handicapped. She began taking sign language classes at Gallaudet University.
     Kathleen plotted to become a sign language interpreter. She found a school for interpreter training on Colorado’s Eastern Slope. She stepped into the whirlwind and headed west.
     Kathleen eventually discovered that she simply liked to talk too much. She thought maybe it would suit her better to use her hands for touching, for healing. Kathleen enrolled in nursing school at Auraria College in Denver.
     While Kathleen was living in downtown Denver, attending nursing school and working as a house counselor for transitioning mentally handicapped women, she met Jeremy.  After graduation, she clasped his hand and the whirlwind set them down in Grand Junction.
     Kathleen’s core desire is compassion. She is digging a well of empathy. She has been practicing these qualities as a nurse at St. Mary’s hospital for 30 years. Every day she continues to learn from her patients, their families, and her coworkers.
     When Julian began to grow into his curiosity and ask significant questions about the world, Kathleen began searching for a religious community. She wanted a community that would foster spiritual growth. The Unitarian Universalists were a good fit. She liked the Religious Education and Our Whole Lives (OWL) programs. Julian benefited greatly. It seemed like a natural transition to start giving her time as a teacher. Kathleen has been teaching religious education and middle school Our Whole Lives (OWL) for many years. When she first dipped her toes into the waters of teaching, the Valley’s Unitarian home was still called the Uncompahgre Unitarian Universalist Society.
     Kathleen is grateful that she found the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand Valley. She is grateful for the Services and programs that she takes in, and she is grateful for all that she learns from the children while teaching RE and OWL. She says she thoroughly believes the UU tenet that “through continually learning and growing together we encourage and support one another, and our children, to know and express our moral agency”.* (uua.org/re)
 
Planned Giving
 
Planned Giving gifts are essential to a strong financial future for church organizations. There are many different methods of making planned gifts, many with income tax advantages or guaranteed income streams, or ease of disposing of tangible assets. Each month we will present a different method for doing planned giving to a charitable organization.
One simple way for an individual to leave a gift to a charitable organization is to direct the proceeds of a life insurance policy to the organization. The original intention of the insurance policy is often to help meet the financial needs of the family if the policyholder dies prematurely.  As often happens later in life, family members may become  more  financially secure and less dependent on “crisis” funds. Also, the family members may inherit other assets such as real estate, stocks, bonds, heirlooms etc. from the deceased’s total estate.
Making a charitable organization, like UUCGV, a beneficiary or co-beneficiary, of life insurance gives some, or all, of the  death proceeds to the organization when the donor dies. The donor can control precisely how the proceeds are to be split up among beneficiaries. Changing or adding a beneficiary requires obtaining a simple form from the insurance company, describing the details on how the proceeds are to be split, and then signing the form.
Besides the death benefit,  some “permanent” forms of life insurance policies have redeemable cash values that are built up over the years, say $12,000 on a $100,000 policy. The policyholder can assign the ownership of the old policy to UUCGV. The policyholder gets an income tax deduction for the immediate $12,000 cash donation given to UUCGV. If the policyholder continues to make premium payments to keep the policy building more cash value (and maintaining the death benefit) those premium payments are also income tax deductible each year. Assigning ownership just requires obtaining and signing proper forms from the insurance company/agent.
Disclaimer: the information above is not intended to be technical advice. Individuals should always discuss such matters with their insurance agent, financial advisor or attorney before taking action.

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