Ministerial Relief & Assistance Testimonials

Hear why your gifts to Ministerial Relief & Assistance matter.

Hundreds of your ministry colleagues, from all walks of life, benefit from Ministerial Relief & Assistance Programs each year.

Thank you from:

• The pastor welcoming her first child, who is able to take maternity leave thanks to support from MR&A.
• The family whose beloved father passed away, and whose MR&A gift assisted with funeral expenses.
• The pastor whose church building and home were damaged by hurricane winds and water, and who received a grant to support both her and her congregation in the aftermath.
• The pastor whose unexpected medical expenses demolished the family budget, and whose gift from MR&A was able to help him get back on track.

These are their stories. These are our stories, Church, and we give thanks for the role you have played in making them possible.

MR&A Grant Recipient: Rev. Kathleen Thomas

Last July, following a series of unexpected difficulties with her vision, Rev. Kathleen Thomas learned that she will eventually lose her sight in her left eye. After a season of difficult events in her personal and professional life, this news was hard to process. But she and her husband, with the support of family and friends, quickly rallied to prepare Rev. Thomas for life without full sight, a life that would soon include the addition of a service dog – a suggestion made by her doctor.

Rev. Thomas began exploring options, only to be taken aback by the high costs of obtaining and training a new canine companion. “All my ministry I’ve served small, rural churches. I felt that was my calling. But I certainly didn’t have the funds to buy and train a dog,” Rev. Thomas said. With some encouragement, she did something that she describes as uncomfortable and difficult: she asked for help. “I was used to being the helper,” she says, “and learning to ask for help myself was a really, really hard thing for me to do.” Some of Rev. Thomas’ help came from Pension Fund, through a Ministerial Relief and Assistance grant.

This past January, an eight-week-old puppy arrived. Rev. Thomas said the sound of moving water has always been reminiscent of the voice of God to her, and so she named the puppy Brooklyn for the sound of water rushing over rocks, like in a brook. It will be about 15 months before Brooklyn is home for good; for now, Rev. Thomas enjoys updates on her training via email and text from the facility in Western Iowa where Brooklyn is learning how to serve Rev. Thomas best. “She’s doing really well,” Rev. Thomas says, “really well.” And Rev. Thomas is much more confident about her future, knowing she’ll have Brooklyn by her side.

Your support of MRA is directly responsible for Rev. Thomas and Brooklyn’s new journey together. They join countless others, who, having reached a place of crisis in life, discovered the very good news that they were not alone in their time of need, and that Pension Fund, fueled by the generous gifts of donors like you, is willing to stand in the gap and offer both spiritual presence and financial assistance as these servants of the church find solid footing again.