Gifts given through the Christmas Joy Offering go in part to the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions, and two officials there were happy to appear on Between Two Pulpits Monday to talk about ways that assistance is being enhanced beginning Jan. 1, 2022, to benefit even more workers in ministries affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
At its fall meeting, the Board of Directors formalized the Board of Pensions’ commitment to removing the effects of structural racism from the agency’s workplace and policies. It also voted to expand access to the agency’s Assistance Program.
The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has announced the most extensive changes to the Assistance Program in a generation. The changes steer financial help to ministers where their need is greatest and loosen requirements to extend access across Benefits Plan membership. The changes take effect January 1, 2022.
When the Rev. Jane Anabe — associate pastor at Silver Spring Presbyterian Church in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania — first heard about Minister Educational Debt Assistance through The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), she didn’t think she would qualify. One of the many programs the Board has implemented to provide support to ministers, particularly newly ordained ministers, Minister Educational Debt Assistance, offered through the Assistance Program, helps ministers repay educational debt, making it easier for them to accept a wide range of positions and wholly commit their best gifts to ministry.
