Services for Churches - Gift Planning and Endowment Services

Bruno Schmidt Endowment Fund

In the summer of 2008, the Rev. Bruno Schmidt generously gave a piece of land to Texas Methodist Foundation to establish an endowment benefitting new church starts in the Southwest Texas Conference. Since then, friends and family members have continued to contribute to this fund as a way to honor Bruno. Each year funds are distributed from this endowment to the conference office of New Church Development and Transformation to help start new congregations that offer the hope and love of Christ to diverse groups within the Southwest Texas Conference.

How to Make a Gift

Those wishing to honor the life of Rev. Bruno Schmidt and his desire to see new United Methodist churches begin, grow and thrive in his home conference may make gifts for the further benefit of Fund #0362 to Texas Methodist Foundation, 11709 Boulder Lane, Austin, Texas 78726.

More on the Life of Rev. Bruno Schmidt

Bruno C. Schmidt, 100, of Austin passed away on April 14, 2011. He spent most of his childhood in Brenham. He graduated from Southwestern University in 1933 and from SMU School of Theology in 1935. That same year he married Frances Schuessler of Castell.

Bruno served as a United Methodist pastor at Jarrell, Copperas Cove, Fashing, Charlotte, Southwestern University (as chaplain and professor), Stone Ridge, NY (five-church circuit, while attending graduate school at Drew University), Melvin-West Sweden, Eagle Pass, Christ Church in Kingsville, Three Rivers, and First United Methodist Church in Austin (as associate pastor). Upon retiring from the Southwest Texas Conference in 1979, he continued in his at FUMC as Pastor Emeritus. His wife, Frances, taught in the Austin Independent School District until her health declined in 1974; she died in September, 1975.

Bruno also worked actively in civic affairs such as the Travis County Historical Commission, Texas Historical Commission, Texas Methodist Historical Association (as newsletter editor for 17 years), Optimist Club, Ben Hur Shriners and Ben Hur Chanters. He was a 60-year member of the Masonic Lodge. Bruno was artistic – a painter, carver, and master calligrapher; he played organ and classical guitar, and had a beautiful baritone solo voice. Every fall he loved to go deer hunting and was a good shot, landing his last two bucks when he was 97 years-old.

He will be dearly missed by his friends and family, but through gifts to ministries close to his heart his legacy of caring and service to his Church will live on for years to come.