Every year, nearly every church and non-profit organization discusses the theme of stewardship and estate planning. And many of us know we need to make sure our church is in our estate plan, but we do not always act . . . and then it is too late. Some people, however, make sure that they have a plan for their estate after they pass, and this is the story of how two very generous and forward-thinking men were able to impact St. Stephen’s in a way they probably never expected.
For many decades, Innes Phillips, a faithful pledging member, quietly and anonymously helped fund numerous special projects at St. Stephen’s. About a year after his passing in May 2021, the Innes Phillips’ Trust notified St. Stephen’s that Innes had remembered St. Stephen’s in his estate, and we would receive a substantial financial gift. His wife, Karen, expressed that she desired to see St. Stephen’s do something in Innes’s name, as he had done so much anonymously when he was alive. We discerned together the idea of building an open-air pavilion. Innes loved the great outdoors, and it seemed meet and right that a project in his name would connect not only our parishioners to each other but also connect us to our neighbors through an outdoor space.
As planning began, we realized the cost of construction would be greater than this single memorial gift. In January 2022, a founding member of St. Stephen’s, Bill Thompson, passed away. He was also a very active and generous parishioner, and like Innes, he also provided for St. Stephen’s in his estate plans. Our rector, Mother Laurie Lewis, visited with Bill’s wife, Barbara, about using the funds from Bill’s estate to supplement those of Innes’s, which she hoped would allow for constructing a beautiful pavilion. Bill was also a nature lover and honoring him in this connection with the outdoors made sense. The Thompson family quickly agreed, and the church had enough money to begin the project.
The final expected cost came to more than the estate gifts from these two saints of the congregation. Additional “Living Saints” stepped up to see the vision to completion, including Innes’ family and the Knorr’s, another committed and generous family of St. Stephen’s. Then, a week before Mother Laurie needed to sign the construction contract, a life-insurance policy signed over to St. Stephen’s decades ago was paid out. That long-ago act of stewardship was the final donation needed to fund the project fully, and the church signed the contract with confidence.
With the expertise of several parishioners, the Professional Engineering Consultants firm, 3Ten Architects, Young Electric, and Hutton Construction, a final plan came together, and groundbreaking took place on February 18th, 2024, with a blessing liturgy by Bishop Bascom. In-kind donations of time and talent were instrumental in coming in under budget on the project. For example, Tom, Mother Laurie’s husband and multi-talented electrician with Young Electric donated around $10k in time and labor by working evenings and weekends. Tom also arranged for a live feed on the web so parishioners could watch the construction progress. On July 14th, with Innes’ and Bill’s beloved spouses and descendants present to cut the ceremonial ribbon, we dedicated and officially opened our beautiful new pavilion with hope in our hearts that it would strengthen our connections with one another and with the neighborhood surrounding our grounds.
The fruits of the construction were immediate. On the day of the dedication, we enjoyed a parish picnic under the pavilion’s shade. Our Sunday school began holding class under the breeze of the pavilion for the rest of the summer. Our Vacation Bible School used the pavilion for some of their activities. On the first Sunday of August, we invited and introduced the Wichita Minster to our versatile pavilion with the annual Ice Cream Social, which benefits Breakthrough-Episcopal Social Services. Having a lovely, covered space during the heat of the summer made the event even more joyous! The youth group also used the space for their September kick-off event, which included slime and Nickelodeon-inspired messy games. On October 6th, pets and people filled the pavilion for our annual Blessing of the Animals’ Eucharistic celebration. Most recently, the annual chili cook-off and Trunk or Treat moved from the parking lot to the pavilion and large patio surrounding it, where parents and children could safely visit and play games away from traffic.
Additionally, Twelve-Step groups regularly meeting at St. Stephen’s have held special events in the pavilion for food and fellowship. Our neighbors consistently utilize our pavilion, parking lot, and five acres of green space to walk and gather. It is especially fun to watch one particular neighborhood boy regularly ride circles on his bike in the pavilion, down the patio-sized steps, and back up the slope. We pray that he and all who use the pavilion will have years of happy memories associated with his neighbors at St. Stephen’s.
Our next big project is also thanks to legacy planning and part of connecting with our neighbors. In the summer of 2009, St. Stephen’s built a timber play structure that neighbor children and our own families have thoroughly enjoyed. It has been repaired and reinforced multiple times and has lasted longer than anyone ever anticipated. In September, when our beloved long-time member, Susan Gaskill, neared the end of her journey with brain cancer, she and her husband, Rick, began planning how she wanted to be remembered. Susan desired that any money donated in her memory be used to build a new playground that would serve the neighborhood for decades to come. Almost thirty thousand dollars have been donated to Susan’s Memorial Fund in the brief time since Susan joined the great cloud of witnesses. Susan’s Playground will provide a safe, accessible play area for kids from our parish and the neighborhood to gather and explore, all while the Phillips-Thompson Pavilion provides shade for their parents to watch and engage in fellowship. Innes Phillips’ and Bill Thompson’s belief in using estate planning to generously provide for their church became the impetus for a beautiful new space. Susan Gaskill’s passion for making St. Stephen’s a joy-filled place for children is inspiring generosity from others from across the world. All three of these saints of St. Stephen’s are leaving a legacy that takes the love of God that we celebrate within our walls and extends it out into the neighborhood. May we all embrace such lives of stewardship as we “Walk in Love.”
by the Very Rev. Laurie Lewis, Karen Norton, and Julia Hart
835 SW Polk St.