November 30, 2021 - The Pension Boards-United Church of Christ has been selected to receive a $500,000 grant in supplemental funding from the Lilly Endowment to expand participation in the Ministers’ Financial Vitality Initiative (MFVI), a financial wellness program for the United Church of Christ clergy. This is the third grant awarded to the Pension Boards by the Lilly Endowment in support of this initiative.
NGLI*11 (l) and NGLI*12 (r)
It is our pleasure to introduce you to the newest cohorts that are beginning their NGLI journey. NGLI is a leadership development initiative that equips, energizes, and empowers younger United Church of Christ local church pastors to build vibrant congregations that change lives and further God’s mission in the world.
For members who participate in the Basic and Participating Annuity options, read these Frequently Asked Questions on how the Pension Boards, on your behalf, determines lifetime retirement income changes year-to-year. Read more.
In celebration of National Customer Service Week (October 4-8), the Pension Boards honored its beloved member Edith Maclean, who recently celebrated her 102nd birthday, and who has been receiving monthly annuity benefits from the Pension Boards since July 1, 1985. Member Services Manager, Maria Soto, spoke with Edith through her power of attorney, who was gracious to answer a few questions on Edith’s behalf.
An opportunity to obtain a low interest loan is now available through Generations Financial Resources, Inc., (GFR), a specialty lending corporation and controlled affiliate of the Pension Boards.
The low-interest loans are available to participants in the Ministers’ Financial Vitality Initiative (MFVI), who have completed at least one full year of the program. These loans are intended to be used to pay down higher interest education and other unsecured debt.
Believe it or not, the right time to make the first orthodontist appointment is when your child still has baby teeth! The American Academy of Orthodontics recommends that kids get a checkup by age 7 – and earlier if your dentist suspects a problem.
By 7, your child has enough adult teeth to tell if the mouth and jaw are developing normally. If not, the orthodontist can advise which treatment will work best in your child’s case.
On September 22, 2021, the Pension Boards recognized the Rev. Dr. Martha M. Cruz, who retires after more than 21 years of service as Communications and Church Relations Officer.
Pension Boards’ Board of Trustees, friends, and colleagues took a moment to say farewell to Martha during a retirement celebration held in her honor at the Pension Boards’ New York City office.
A Reflection by Rev. Dr. Rodney Franklin
I serve as a staff chaplain at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama with other chaplains and resident chaplains. I am the on-call chaplain, working 3:00-11:00 p.m., covering the Heart Lung Transplant Intensive Care Unit, Bone Marrow Transplant, and Generalist floors, and responding to any code blue medical emergencies that happen during my shift and to pager requests from patients and staff who need to see a chaplain.
When the hospital started receiving COVID patients, chaplains were not visiting patient rooms but communicating with them by telephone and video calls. An iPad would be rolled into the patient’s room for a call. When we were able to secure more personal protective equipment (PPE), we were allowed to visit patients in their rooms.
During the 2021 proxy season, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), of which the Pension Boards is a founding member, filed 293 resolutions with nearly 200 publicly-traded companies on a range of issues.
Portions of this ICCR report, which highlights the recent majority vote of Delta Air Lines shareholders for a proposal to seek information on how Delta’s climate lobbying aligns with the goals of the Paris Agreement, were taken from ICCR’s press release and blog, and is used with permission. Please visit www.iccr.org to learn more.
A Reflection by Minoti Dhanaraj
In one week, I will hit my three-year anniversary at the Pension Boards. Half that time was spent coming into the office five days a week and the other half has been fully remote. The unprecedented hardships that the pandemic has caused in our country and around the world have made me realize how fortunate I am to have a strong support system from my family and the PBUCC team.