Bulletin Board&
BACKPACKING ADVENTURE! 
To the proud outdoorsmen, who thrive on backcountry, wilderness camping . . . and hiking through scenic, rugged mountain passes, I extend this invitation.  I will be leading an eight day backpacking excursion to the Canadian Rockies next summer.  Any male from the ages of roughly 14 years and on up is welcome.  The dates for the trip are: leaving 9:30 a.m. Sunday August 5th, and  returning 8:00 p.m. Tuesday August 14th.  Party is  probably limited to about 20 men.  If you are interested please contact me (Fr. Michael) at the parish office.  An information meeting is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. , Sunday, January 28th, in the parish office.  The cost will be cheap, but the experience rich! 

Stewardship&

CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUSTS

     A more sophisticated way of making gifts to your   parish is through a vehicle called a charitable remainder trust.  In its simplest form, this involves transferring income-producing property, such as stocks, to a trust of which you are the primary beneficiary and St. John's is the secondary (or "remainder") beneficiary.  The trust provides that, upon your death, the property passes to the parish.  The tax law allows you to claim a charitable deduction in the year you create the trust even though you will continue to receive the income from the property and the church won't actually receive the property for several years.  The amount of the deduction is based on present value tables and your life expectancy.
     To illustrate, assume you establish a charitable remainder trust with stock valued at $30,000.  Assume further that your life expectancy is 20 years.  The present value tables would ascribe a value of $8,703 to the charitable remainder.  Therefore, although you would continue to receive all of the income from the property during your lifetime, you would be able to claim an      immediate tax deduction of $8,703.  Then, when you die St. John's would receive the stock.  The stock would be effectively excluded from your estate for estate tax      purposes too because your estate would quality for an estate tax charitable deduction equal to the full value of the property on the date of your death.
There are several varieties of charitable remainder trusts, involving various degrees of complexity.  You'll need an attorney to draft the appropriate documents.  And, as   always, you should consult your tax advisor to determine whether this idea fits your own circumstances.