Planned Giving

“Remember St. Martin’s”

Financial stewardship is an important component of a balanced spiritual life. Returning to God that which God has given us is a tangible way to express and grow our faith. Making Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (hereafter, “St. Martin’s” or “the church”) part of your estate planning is one way to continue your generosity to the church after your death.

The following is St. Martin’s Planned Giving-Gift Acceptance Policy and is designed to provide information you need in making a decision. If you are considering including St. Martin’s in your estate planning, we urge you to seek the advice of a professional financial advisor, estate planner, or legal counsel. A donor who chooses not to seek such advice must acknowledge that decision in a written statement addressed to the Vestry before their acceptance of a proffered planned gift.

General Considerations:

• Acceptance of all gifts is at the discretion of the Vestry. The Rector may accept gifts on behalf of the Vestry, but only the Vestry has the power to formally accept gifts.
• St. Martin’s will only accept gifts that further the work of St. Martin’s ministry. The Vestry reserves the right to decline proffered gifts.
• Gifts must be funded with cash, publicly traded securities, or other financial instruments with ready market value.
• In general, it is not the policy of St. Martin’s to accept gifts of real estate and personal property. However, special circumstances may be presented to the Vestry for review and determination of acceptance.
• In general, it is not the policy of St. Martin’s to accept irrevocable agreements, including charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, charitable remainder unitrusts, charitable remainder annuity trusts, or wealth replacement trusts. However, special circumstances may be presented to the Vestry for review and determination of acceptance.

Acceptable Gifts:

Wills: A written statement in the donor’s will directing that specific assets or a percentage of the estate be transferred to the church upon the donor’s death.

Retirement Plan/IRA: St. Martin’s is named as the beneficiary of a retirement plan/IRA, or a percentage of a plan.

Life Insurance: St. Martin’s is named the beneficiary of an insurance policy.

Minimum Named Endowment Gifts:

• Because of the administrative fees required to maintain a restricted long-term investment account, the requirement to reinvest interest income to offset inflation, and the shared desire of both St. Martin’s and the donor to generate meaningful interest income, a minimum gift of $100,000 is required to establish a restricted and/or named endowment fund.
• Donors wishing to make gifts of less than $100,000 for endowment purposes are encouraged to combine their gifts with the gifts of others in either St. Martin’s general endowment fund or special purpose endowment funds that help underwrite specific needs, programs, or services that are part of St. Martin’s ministry.

Restricted Gifts:

• Donors may choose to restrict the use of their gift to a particular purpose. So long as the restriction is general in nature, consistent with the goals and vision of St. Martin’s, and not contingent on specified future acts by St. Martin’s, the Vestry will consider accepting the gift.
• However, donors will be asked to agree that if the restrictions they choose not be appropriate at the time of the maturity of their gift, the Vestry of St. Martin’s may use the gift in a manner that meets the then current greatest need.

Protection of Donor Interests:

• Protecting the donor’s interest is a top priority of the Vestry.
• Information learned by the Vestry or any official representative of the Vestry about a donor or the donor’s assets or philanthropic intentions will be held in strict confidence.
• Donors are encouraged to notify St. Martin’s of their planned gifts, including bequests, and all such information will be kept confidential unless written permission to release it is obtained from the donor or the donor’s official representative.
• Neither members of the Vestry nor the Rector, as a representative of the Vestry, will give legal, accounting, tax, or other advice regarding bequests or other planned giving.

St. Martin’s Legacy Society

The Legacy Society exists to honor and thank those who include St. Martin’s in their estate plans. These future gifts contribute to the growth and success of the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and they will greatly benefit future generations of St. Martin’s parishioners. Your membership in the St. Martin’s Legacy Society can be anonymous, however your intent to provide St. Martin’s with a planned gift serves as an inspiration and encourages others to consider a planned gift to benefit the work that other parishioners care about in the St. Martin’s community.

To learn more about making a planned gift, please contact Maya Weber in the church office.

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel

Former Rector
(215) 247-7466 ext. 101 |

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel (he/him) was educated at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He was ordained Priest in 1995 in Danville, Pennsylvania where he worked as a Hospital Chaplain and a Head Start teacher. Pastoral positions followed at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Flossmoor, Illinois, St. Paul and the Redeemer in Chicago, and then Rector at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Park Ridge, Illinois. After following his wife, the Rev. Dr. Alison Boden, to her new position in Princeton, New Jersey, he was called to be the Executive Director of the Crisis Ministry of Mercer County. The largest food pantry and the gateway agency for Homelessness Prevention services in Mercer County, the Crisis Ministry also runs a Welfare to Work program and an innovative free farmers market. Jarrett became Rector of St. Martin’s in February 2011. He formerly served as the co-chair of Philadelphians Organized to Witness Empower and Rebuild (POWER). Jarrett serves as Dean of the Wissahickon Deanery and is an Associate of the Order of the Holy Cross. He is an Adjunct Professor at Princeton Theological Seminary where he co-teaches a regular class on Faith Based Community Organizing, Theology and Practice. Jarrett has been published in Sojourners, the Huffington Post, Yours the Power, and the Journal of Public Theology. He is the father of two children, Timothy and Martha.

Natalee Hill

Associate for Communications and Administration
(215) 247-7466 ext. 106 |

Prior to St. Martin’s Natalee Hill (she/her) worked for the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia for nearly eight years, starting as the Administrative Intern and moving up most recently to Communications Manager. Natalee is a graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA from which she graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with concentrations in Stage Management and Performance. There, she worked as a Stage Manager for both college productions and the professional Summer Music Theater, and also held a work-study position assisting the Director of Marketing & Development in the Department of Theatre & Dance.

Natalee grew up in Connecticut a member of the UCC, where she was an active member in her church, participating in the choirs, Youth Fellowship, and teaching at Vacation Bible School and for Sunday School. In 2003, upon moving to the Philadelphia area for work, Natalee joined a United Methodist Church. There she sang with the church choirs and volunteered with the youth program. In 2006, Natalee and her husband took over the Youth Director position part-time. They led the program until 2011, including a yearly summer mission trip on Appalachia Service Project and events and fundraisers throughout the year. She travelled to Haiti in 2012 with UMC Volunteers in Mission to witness and assist with continued rebuilding after the 2010 earthquake.

Natalee joined St. Martin’s staff in June, 2011. Since then, she has earned her certificate in Church Management from Villanova School of Business. She and her family joined the Episcopal Church in 2017. Natalee is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Swarthmore where she sings and leads the children’s ministry. Natalee serves on the Board of Episcopal Communicators. She lives in Delaware County with her husband Nathan and two boys, Liam and Ezra.