Final Offering: Miner Leaves $1 Million To Church
Uniontown Church Leaders Stunned By Surprise Gift
POSTED: 2:19 pm EST December 30, 2009
UPDATED: 6:48 pm EST December 30, 2009
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UNIONTOWN, Pa. -- For decades, retired coal miner Joseph Raymond attended services at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Uniontown.
When Raymond passed away earlier this year at age 90, he left his church quite an offering -- more than $1 million in life savings. Video - 
Watch Jennifer Miele's Report "Maybe five years ago, he and his wife had asked what we owed on our building and said, 'Well, we just want to know,' so I took them the information, and that's the last I heard of it, never really thinking this would happen," the Rev. Bernard Carl said.Raymond and his wife Olga, who died in 2007, had no children."Olga was on our church council. She served as an altar care person. She was involved in our women's group," Carl said.Church leaders said they used some of Raymond's gift to pay off debt and will keep some more to maintain the building, but they also formed a committee to distribute part of his endowment to Uniontown."We gave a huge industrial stove to the Salvation Army so that they could continue to serve their folks in the community," church member Herb Dubler said.Also, some of the money went "to the library to help with books for children," Dubler said.Other money will be distributed to Fayette County charities.The church hopes that the endowment will continue to grow and provide funding for ministries for decades.
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Watch Jennifer Miele's Report "Maybe five years ago, he and his wife had asked what we owed on our building and said, 'Well, we just want to know,' so I took them the information, and that's the last I heard of it, never really thinking this would happen," the Rev. Bernard Carl said.Raymond and his wife Olga, who died in 2007, had no children."Olga was on our church council. She served as an altar care person. She was involved in our women's group," Carl said.Church leaders said they used some of Raymond's gift to pay off debt and will keep some more to maintain the building, but they also formed a committee to distribute part of his endowment to Uniontown."We gave a huge industrial stove to the Salvation Army so that they could continue to serve their folks in the community," church member Herb Dubler said.Also, some of the money went "to the library to help with books for children," Dubler said.Other money will be distributed to Fayette County charities.The church hopes that the endowment will continue to grow and provide funding for ministries for decades. - Your County: More County News Headlines
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