For nearly 500 years the Church of England has encouraged people to make a will. Each year approximately 5,000 people leave a gift in their wills to a Church of England parish. These gifts finance mission projects, maintain beautiful church buildings and grow faithful communities. For many people, leaving a gift in their will is a final opportunity to make a lasting gift to God and to their church family. It is also a way to make a lasting difference to the future of their church and community. The short film below from the Parish of Tweedmouth is a fantastic example of the impact a legacy can have on our church communities.
It is recommended that each PCC has a legacy policy and ensures that resources are available to individuals, outlining why legacies are so significant and how a legacy gift can be set up. Below is a list of some of the tools and guides available to help get you started.
- How to Run a Legacy Campaign
- How to Organise a Legacy Event
- Template Legacy Policy
- Christian Publishing and Outreach (CPO) to order a range of free resources including; a PCC legacy toolkit, explanatory booklets, customisable leaflets and bookmarks
- Church of England - Legacy (Resources) to find out how to find out how to share your own legacy stories
- Church of England - Church Legacy (Our Faith) to access information to make available on your own church website.
- Legacy Checklist for ideas to continue encouraging legacy giving in your church.
- Ecclesiastical Legacy Giving Support for further consideration and ideas including a legacy strategy template.
- Downloadable Parish Legacy Leaflet
- Downloadable Parish Legacy Poster
- Faithwill - resources from Christian Aid to inspire Christians of all denominations to share the power of leaving a gift in their will
Farewill Offer
Making a will and keeping it updated is the only way to make sure your wishes are carried out after your death, giving you peace of mind that you can continue to support the family, friends and charities you love. However will writing can often seem like a time consuming and difficult thing to do – and that’s a big reason why many people put it off.
To make life easier, the Church of England have partnered with Farewill, to offer a free online will writing service which you can do from the comfort of your home in less than 30 minutes. Free wills are available by clicking on the image below. No personal data will be shared between Farewill and the Church of England and wills are written by Farewill in the strictest confidence.
About Farewill
Since launching their online will writing service in 2016, Farewill have helped over 70,000 people write their wills in a simple, convenient and empathetic way. They have launched telephone wills, lasting powers of attorney, a full probate offering and funeral service using the same core principles – to help make everything to do with death easier, faster and fairer for people all over the UK.
Farewill are now the largest and most trusted will writer in the UK, voted National Will Writing Firm of the Year at the British Wills and Probate Awards in 2019, 2020 and 2021. They are proud to have over 8,000 reviews on Trustpilot and an average score of 4.9/5 stars - the highest Trustpilot score for any legal or financial services business globally. Farewill's specialist team are available to help you over the phone or live chat 6 days a week, 9am-7pm. Every will is proof read and checked by their specialist wills team.