Pension Fund Attends 2013 NACC and General Assembly Events

Pension Fund recently attended the 2013 North American Christian Convention (NACC) and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) General Assembly summer conventions:

North American Christian Convention (NACC), Louisville, Ky.:

Several members of the Pension Fund staff attended the 2013 NACC event in Louisville, Ky. In addition to meeting with ministry partners, booth staff visited with clergy and lay church workers about opportunities to participate in the Pension Plan and save for retirement through the Tax-Deferred Retirement Account (TDRA) and the Roth IRA. Pension Fund was a ministry sponsor of this year's NACC convention, and hosted two retirement planning workshops on-site.

General Assembly (GA), Orlando, Fla.:

Eleven members of Pension Fund staff traveled to Orlando, Fla. for the 2013 General Assembly following a Pension Fund board meeting, also held in Orlando.

During the 2013 General Assembly, Pension Fund of the Christian Church challenged its members and Assembly participants of all ages to answer the statement "In Retirement I Want to...", displaying the results via an interactive answer board in the Pension Fund event booth. Top answers included volunteer work, travel and spending time with family. Booth visitors learned about Pension Fund's retirement options and ministry.

Assembly attendees were also able to participate in various Pension Fund retirement planning workshops and events held throughout Assembly week. In the "Sustaining Clergy in Local Church Ministry" workshop, attendees learned the results of a Disciples of Christ clergy survey and the implications for local congregations. In the "Best Employment Practices for Churches" seminar, clergy and lay leaders learned employment best practices for compensation and benefits.

During Assembly, Pension Fund hosted the "President's Breakfast for Retired Ministers" as well as "Minister and Mates Breakfast" with speaker Rev. Dr. Katie Hays. Hays' speech on the topic "Go and Learn What This Means: Jesus' Syllabus for the Religiously Learned" was a highlight of the Assembly, attracting over 500 breakfast attendees. Hays has been in congregational ministry for 19 years, is on the founding Standing Committee for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Center for Faith and Giving, and is leading the formation of a new congregation in Mansfield, Texas.

Pension Fund led the "13th Check" special offering at Saturday night's worship gathering, raising funds to support Pension Fund's 13th Check fund for retired ministers. Pension Fund President James P. Hamlett led the service presentation, debuting Pension Fund's moving 13th Check video. The video, featuring Disciples of Christ ministers of all ages and their families, as well as ways to give can be found online at http://www.pensionfund.org/13th-check.

"My colleagues and I were delighted to share so many points of contact with pastors and church leaders during the General Assembly," said Hamlett. "We were blessed by the measure of support for our ministry we received in Orlando."