{"id":2073,"date":"2023-12-19T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T06:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/weekly-offerings\/?p=2073"},"modified":"2023-09-14T14:37:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T14:37:33","slug":"navigating-the-road-to-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/weekly-offerings\/2023\/12\/19\/navigating-the-road-to-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating the Road to Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"\n

When the Apostle Paul wrote about the varieties of God-given abilities conferred by the Spirit, the Rev. Peggy Krong would be the first to admit that she likely missed out on the gift of financial expertise.<\/p>\n

\"\"Peggy, an active Presbyterian for more than 50 years, had always sensed a call to ministry. She was advised by nearly everyone that attending seminary and making a career change to ministry was not a good idea \u2014 for financial reasons.<\/p>\n

But God\u2019s call proved irresistible, and she entered seminary in 1992. After earning her degree and being ordained in 1996, she served Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church<\/a> in San Antonio and Westwood Presbyterian Church<\/a> in Los Angeles. She retired in 2012 after ministering for a combined total of nearly 16 years. However, her decision to change her career and follow her call left her with minimal resources for retirement.<\/p>\n

Facing this financial challenge, she was blessed to find the support she needed through the Assistance Program<\/a> of the Board of Pensions<\/a>. The Assistance Program helped immediately with the required entrance fee for the retirement home where she now lives and set her up with an ongoing Housing Supplement to help manage monthly fees.<\/p>\n

The support Peggy receives is made possible, in part, by the PC(USA)\u2019s Christmas Joy Offering<\/a>, which distributes gifts equally to the Assistance Program<\/a> and to Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Assistance Program provides need-based grants to help active and retired ministers and church workers and their families in times of critical financial need.<\/p>\n

\u201cA life committed to the work of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is one of selflessness and generosity,\u201d said Lucas McCool, director, Member Services, for the Board of Pensions. \u201cBecause Peggy has brought her gifts of valuing community above all \u2014 and at times even herself \u2014 I am grateful that she reached out to us for assistance in her time of need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all children of God, and we all struggle,\u201d said Peggy. \u201cThanks to the Board of Pensions and the Christmas Joy Offering, I can now be of more service to the church than I would otherwise have been. I just can\u2019t express enough how grateful I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through our gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering, we honor and celebrate leaders \u2014 past, present and future. Our gifts restore hope and stability. Please give whatever you can; for when we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.<\/p>\n

\u00a0board<\/em><\/p>\n

Let us pray<\/em><\/strong>~<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Gracious and loving God, we thank you for those who serve your church, in all times and places. Be present with them, especially when they face real need. As we give to the Christmas Joy Offering, may they know of our support and care, and sense the important ways their ministry makes a difference. We pray in the name of Christ our Lord<\/em>. Amen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the Apostle Paul wrote about the varieties of God-given abilities conferred by the Spirit, the Rev. Peggy Krong would be the first to admit that she likely missed out on the gift of financial expertise. Peggy, an active Presbyterian for more than 50 years, had always sensed a call to ministry. She was advised… Read more »<\/a>","protected":false},"author":333,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[17,1755,48,1186,1743,3751,145,146,65,6],"class_list":["post-2073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas-joy-offering","category-special-offerings","tag-board-of-pensions","tag-board-of-pensions-assistance-program","tag-children","tag-education","tag-matthew-25","tag-racial-equity","tag-racial-ethnic-and-womens-ministries","tag-racial-ethnic-leadership-development","tag-racial-ethnic-schools-and-colleges","tag-special-offerings"],"yoast_head":"\nNavigating the Road to Retirement - Where Your Heart Is...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/weekly-offerings\/2023\/12\/19\/navigating-the-road-to-retirement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Navigating the Road to Retirement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the Apostle Paul wrote about the varieties of God-given abilities conferred by the Spirit, the Rev. 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