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?”

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.

By Richard Walters

The Pension Boards-United Church of Christ (PBUCC) recently participated in a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) as the United Church of Christ received the Founders’ Award as a founding member of ICCR.

By Rev. Krista Betz

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

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.