From Friendship to Legacy: The Future You Can Shape

At Concordia, our mission doesn’t stop at the end of the day. It is important that the quality Christian care we provide continues for those who will need compassion and a sense of community in the future. That is the heart of Concordia Lutheran Ministries’ Legacy Society. 

Legacy Society members are special individuals who make a meaningful commitment by including Concordia in their estate plans. This can be done through wills, trusts, charitable gift annuities or beneficiary designations, helping ensure Concordia can continue to serve with excellence and faith for generations.

Often, the decision to create a legacy gift is inspired by personal experience and the relationships we make. The friendship between Paul Rehkopf, a longtime CLM Board Member, and Janet Bottenhorn is one such story.

Paul has always been a fierce Concordia advocate, often sharing our story with those he encounters. Through a friendship formed at church, Paul and his wife Laura connected Janet and Russell Bottenhorn to Concordia. After Russell’s passing, Janet, who was naturally shy, moved to a retirement living apartment at Concordia and blossomed. She found herself embraced by a faith-filled community – forming friendships, attending concerts and activities and worshipping in the on-site chapel. A former clothing designer, she even rediscovered her creativity in her later years.

Grateful for the love and support she received, including additional services from Concordia Visiting Nurses when she needed them most, Janet chose to include Concordia in her will, becoming a member of the Legacy Society to help ensure others could experience the same compassion and care that meant so much to her.

With Paul’s guidance, her legacy became a gift to Concordia that will impact lives for years to come and will be honored through the naming of the Bottenhorn Activities Room.

Paul, a Legacy Society member as well, continues to connect people with Concordia: “As both a board member and former skilled nursing patient, I am very aware of the high level of care Concordia provides. As a nonprofit, its resources are not used for stockholders, rather they are used to fulfill and grow their faith-based mission of providing quality care even to those who cannot afford it. Concordia lives their motto, ‘We Put Our Faith in Caring’. I encourage others to include Concordia in their estate plans to support their future work.”

After prayerfully including your church and family in your will, consider adding to your legacy by leaving a gift to Concordia. Doing so ensures that your values continue beyond your lifetime, while supporting Concordia’s mission and potentially reducing estate taxes and inspiring family members to be philanthropic. Some choose to give a set amount; others find that leaving just 5% to 10% of their estate is a simple and meaningful way to make a lasting impact while still providing for loved ones.

As part of Concordia’s My Last Gift Campaign, you are invited to join the Concordia Legacy Society by including Concordia in your will.

Please consider making a lasting impact for generations to come.

To learn more, please contact the CLM Foundation at giving@concordialm.org or 724-352-8227.

This is a picture of Christian G. Oertel. He and his wife Margaretha were never blessed with children, so they decided that, after Christian’s passing, they would donate their land to the Lutheran Church to provide a place to serve orphans in western PA.
That 46-acre farm that was gifted for the service of others is the plot where Concordia at Cabot now sits.
This man and his family left the original legacy that would become Concordia Lutheran Ministries, and serve thousands upon thousands of people.

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Founded in 1881, Concordia Lutheran Ministries is a faith-based, CARF-accredited Aging Services Network and recipient of the inaugural Pennsylvania Department of Aging Excellence in Quality Care Award. As one of the largest nonprofit senior care providers in the country, the organization serves 50,000 people annually through in-home care and inpatient locations. Concordia offers a lifetime continuum of care that includes adult day services, home health care, hospice, physician and rehabilitation services, memory care, personal care, assisted living, respite care, retirement living, skilled nursing/short-term rehab, spiritual care and medical equipment.