“He
is risen!” “Alleluia! He is risen indeed!”
*****
As I have written these last, few
weeks, I have focused on good news, which seems appropriate during Eastertide; specifically,
I have focused on the good news coming from our covenantal connections as the
Body of Christ. My premise has been: We are stronger together when we support
and encourage one another as well as challenge and hold each other accountable
in the love and mercy of Jesus. Once again this week, I have seen our
covenantal connections bearing good news for individuals and churches;
specifically, Bob and I attended the Board of Pensions Regional Conference.
Our Board of Pensions has existed
for fifty years longer than there has been a General Assembly in “the
Colonies.” As such, the Board has a long history and deep foundation of
faithful service, which continues to be expressed by today’s servants of the
church. At the Regional Conference, the Board articulated their goals:
o
Fulfill Church’s covenant with teaching
elders – retired, active and yet to be ordained
o
Serve more employees who serve the
Church
o
Provide employing organizations with
flexibility and a competitive benefits package
o
Help employing organizations be the best
employers they can be
o
Maintain financial strength
And
yet, there are always challenges to overcome. For today’s Board, the new
challenge is to seek to find ways to serve the lay employees of the Church as
well as those pastors who are not mandated to be covered for major medical,
disability and pension (the benefits given to the traditional “called and
installed” pastors). For instance, can the church custodian or secretary,
possibly a single parent or perhaps with a spouse without insurance, receive a
living wage that includes major medical at a reasonable rate? The Board wants to answer this question with
a resounding, “Yes!”
How
can this be? Well, the long answer is more complicated than this space allows,
but the Board articulated certain principles that will guide their attempts to
be more inclusive of lay employees:
o
Grow the number of members served in
order to create economies of scale
o
Model good stewardship by reducing per
capita administrative costs
o
Balance faithfulness – keeping current
promises – with flexibility – create alternatives for smaller churches by
considering alternatives to the traditional, one-plan-for-all, perhaps even
including menu options for lay employees and non-mandated clergy
It
will be interesting to see how the Board moves forward with these initiatives
that seek to bring a measure of justice to an unbalanced, clergy-weighted
system. It remains unclear, precisely, what action the Board will take. What is clear is that the Board will act with
integrity, compassion and in the best interests of the whole Church.
“He is risen!”
“Alleluia! He is risen indeed!”
Bounding in hope,
Brad Munroe
