Pastor keeps end-of-life conversations alive, touts the ease of UCC’s FreeWill

O death, where is thy sting?

Pastors can answer this Pauline question with great theological prowess. They can also answer on a more practical level, having witnessed the sting among the living when a loved one dies without a will.

“It can be traumatic for the survivors when there’s no will,” said the Rev. Cheryl von Ehrenkrook.

As Minister of Congregational Care for Kingston Congregational Church in Rhode Island, von Ehrenkrook never hesitates in getting the final-plan conversation started. In the grief groups she facilitates, von Ehrenkrook often broaches the oft-hushed topic of preparing for one’s death. She does so because of her unique perspective. Ehrenkrook was a lawyer.

The second-career pastor practiced law for the Airforce during Desert Storm and, once deployments began, so did the deluge of will requests.

“Our office was overwhelmed,” said Ehrenkrook. “They knew the day would come when they would leave the country. Yet many still weren’t prepared.”

Studies confirm what von Ehrenkrook has seen in both of her vocational contexts. While Americans are aware of the importance of having a will, a pervasive inactiveness persists. A 2025 survey revealed that 24% of Americans had made a will, a decline from 33% in 2022.

A valuable pastoral resource

 Von Ehrenkrook frames the conversation for end-of-life planning as a loving gift one can give family members and is always looking for helpful resources to share.

So, when she heard of FreeWell, a free online estate planning program made possible through the Together for Tomorrow partnership between The Pension Boards United Church of Christ (PBUCC) and the National Ministries, she gave it a try.

Legally, she was impressed. Personally, she was pleased. And pastorally, she knew she had to share FreeWill in the church’s weekly newsletter.

“It was just so easy to use,” she said.

Ease of use is important for users as the daunting unknown of how to create a will is paralyzing. After the denial of one’s mortality, assumptions that will making is costly, and the belief they don’t have anything to bequeath family members, people delay in making a will because they just don’t know where to begin. FreeWill overcomes that hurdle.

Emma Ledbetter, a 40-year member of First Congregational UCC in La Crosse, Wisconsin, called FreeWill “a wonderful gift” that helped her make beneficiary and charitable contribution changes to her current will.

“The program impressed me with how easy and complete it was,” said Ledbetter who, having spent her career as an emergency room physician, has an acute awareness on how important planning for the unexpected is.

And that awareness is growing.

Leaving a legacy for future generations

At the 35th General Synod, the Rev. Paul Ramsey, Director of Church Relations and Philanthropy for PBUCC, said several young UCC ministers expressed wanting to leverage FreeWill in their churches.

“It quickly became a recognizable tool because of its simplicity,” he said.

A simple tool that can powerfully shape a ministry’s future as legacy gifts that provide hope for the future by sustaining mission-driven programs, expanding services, and responding to emerging needs, Ramsey added.

For Chris Hall, Faith Team Leader at FreeWill, designating legacy gifts in one’s will is a “natural expression of stewardship” for people of faith.

“Faith then becomes something we pass one, blessing future generations and sustaining God’s work for years to come,” he said.

To learn more about legacy planning, the Pension Boards will be hosting a “Together for Tomorrow: Inspiring Legacies, Inspiring Ministries” webinar on Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. (EST).  Click here to register.

As for von Ehrenkrook, she plans to keep the death conversations alive and well.

“I have this idea for an end-of-life event this spring perhaps, where vendors will set up tables at the church and share their valuable resources with the community,” she said.

A death fair, of sorts, all to take the dreaded sting out of making final plans.

---

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.