“Truly eye-opening” is how the Rev. Dr. Yushin Lee describes the first CREDO conference for Korean pastors, sponsored by The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) last spring.
Too many ministers were missing out on the unique financial protection of the Benefits Plan of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). And not enough were eligible for Board of Pensions education and assistance programs. So, in 2020, the Board introduced a second benefits package for ministers: Minister’s Choice.
For more than a decade, pastors gathered for CREDO conferences. During the weeklong retreats, they focused on personal renewal and shared their experiences and compassion with each other. When they parted, it was with a renewed sense of call.
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.
The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has announced changes to the church Benefits Plan that extend support to more ministers and add benefits that promote financial protection for all church workers.
The changes, effective January 1, 2021, are the most substantial since the plan redesign of 2017.
Last summer, the Rev. Dr. José Irizarry took a mission trip to Puerto Rico with 10 teenagers from his church. They knew he’d been a university professor and administrator, and on a break from repairing houses, they circled him, wanting how-tos on college life. Irizarry describes the trip as “part work, part worship and part listening.”
“We’re all looking for bread for the journey,” said the Rev. Keatan King, associate pastor at St. Philip Presbyterian Church in Houston. “CREDO gives you that.”
King was among 16 women at the CREDO conference for recently ordained pastors held in September in Canton, North Carolina.
Each year, the Board of Pensions offers a unique Presbyterian CREDO conference. This year, the Board has partnered with Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary to offer a conference to African American ministers called to serve in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
