The McKnight Trust was established in 1997 by long-time member of the New Paltz United Methodist Church, Eloise McKnight, as a way for her to ensure her continued support for the church’s mission and educational projects long after her death.
Eloise’s interest in developing this fund was to encourage the church’s mission and ministry, helping to grow faith, service and outreach in Christ’s name. She envisioned the fund as a resource that would promote growth and personal discipleship and which would draw members of the congregation into participating and witnessing Christ’s work on earth.
Eloise’s ideas about service and mission are aligned with the Vision Statement of the United Methodist Church and connected to the Church’s Mission Statement published in the United Methodist Discipline. That statement begins, “Mission is witness to the God of Grace” and is connected to five essential dimensions-Proclamation, Evangelism, Incorporation, Nurture and Servanthood. Important among these elements is the value of congregational participation in spreading God’s word, witnessing its impact on others and practicing the discipline of faith.
The McKnight fund asks applicants to describe how their proposal fulfills the purposes Eloise expected the fund to support. Additionally, applications are reviewed by members of the congregation through the McKnight Fund Committee and Administrative Board as extensions of the greater church body. In this way we all have a part in supporting the activities these projects bring to the communities that need them.