The “No” That Says “Yes”

no means yes

 Rev. Bruce G. Epperly, PhD

As mystic and social activist Howard Thurman guides, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

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Customer Call Center Availability During the Week of July 18

The Pension Boards will be hosting several company-wide events during the week of July 18, 2022, and as a result, our Customer Care Representatives (1.800.642.6543) may not be available to answer your calls during certain times. Your call is very important to us, so please leave your message. We will return your call as soon as possible.

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Q&A on Bear Markets

Bear market pic

Learn the bear markets basics in this Q&A article which highlights the causes of bear markets in a slowing economy. Read more.

Discerning the Necessary and the Optional

Epperly pic July Gateway

Rev. Bruce G. Epperly, PhD

Often my fellow retirees tell me some version of the following: “I’ve got so much to do now. I don’t know how I held a job before I retired.” They often share how busy they are, and how they don’t have time for taking a walk, exercising, recreational activities, or getting together with friends, not to mention volunteer projects. I’m usually tempted to ask, “Have you looked at your schedule? What activities are optional, a matter of choice, and what are absolutely necessary, given your commitments and values?”

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On Being a Good Ancestor

Good Ancestor

By Bruce Epperly

These days, many retired pastors are exploring what it means to be a good ancestor. After a lifetime of service, we still feel an obligation to make a positive difference in the world. We still have the energy for mission and want to focus on ways to support the generations to come. We realize that we have responsibilities to our loved ones, and for some of us, this means making a moral and spiritual difference to our children and grandchildren. But, more than that, many of us are pondering how we can intentionally live and act to promote the wellbeing of other peoples’ children and children we will never meet. We want to be good ancestors whose impact lives on for generations to come.

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Creativity & Design

By Rev. Krista Betz

CD 2022.2

The Next Generation Leadership Initiative (NGLI) energizes and empowers younger UCC local church pastors to co-create vibrant congregations that change lives, engage their communities, and further God’s mission in the world. For twelve years the Pension Boards/United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance has been leading this initiative that has impacted 150 clergy and the congregations they serve. Our most recent learning experience took us to Detroit, Michigan to study Human Centered Design (HCD) with Rev. Phil Hart, Michigan Interim Conference Minister

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In Retirement: Gratitude and the Great Yes!

GettyImages 1304262745

By Bruce Epperly*
On New Year’s Day, for the past several years, I have read Dag Hammarskjold’s spiritual diary, Markings. Most of my generation remember Hammarskjold as the Secretary General of the United Nations (1953-1961), who died in a plane crash, while trying to mediate a military conflict in central Africa.

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