Совет по пенсиям расширит программу поддержки пасторов CREDO, приглашая участников вернуться на конференции

Board of Pensions launches CREDO expansion Ministers who have attended previous CREDO conferences are invited to return PHILADELPHIA — This fall, as registration opens for 2027 CREDO conferences, The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church will begin welcoming back ministers who have attended CREDO in the past. Until now, eligible ministers attended only one conference in their career, reflecting an agency commitment for every eligible minister to experience CREDO before expanding the program. Over the years, participants have consistently indicated they would find immense value in returning to CREDO. For most, it is a transformative experience, bringing renewal through its support for spiritual, vocational, health (emotional and physical), and financial wholeness. “CREDO has been an important source of support for individual ministers and, by extension, the congregations and communities they serve for over 20 years,” said the Rev. Lori Neff LaRue, Vice President, Education. “Ministry has become increasingly complex and clergy isolation is a very real concern. To provide a space for ministers to reflect on God’s ongoing call in their lives in the midst of a community of their peers is but one way we demonstrate our commitment to ministerial well-being.” With the demands of ministry increasing, the Board of Pensions is expanding its commitment to the program across the arc of ministry, Neff LaRue said. As the expansion unfolds, eligible ministers will be invited to three CREDO conferences, seven to 10 years apart, from ordination to retirement. The Board of Pensions is also developing programs to support ministers between CREDO conferences, particularly in the early years of ministry. The additional programs will help ministers build their capacities for resilience and creativity in life and leadership, said the Rev. Dr. Michael Wilson, Director, Education for the Arc of Ministry. As part of its commitment, the Board of Pensions will pilot a six-week Beginning Well online course this fall for recently ordained pastors. “The Board of Pensions wants ministers to thrive,” Wilson said. “The Beginning Well program will invite recently ordained ministers to form community, develop capacities for boundaries and spiritual wholeness, and make a plan to flourish as they enter into ministry.” Eligibility CREDO is open to ministers of the Word and Sacrament who are enrolled in the Medical Plan and/or the Defined Benefit Pension Plan and serving a validated ministry, including outside of a congregation. The conference format includes: - recently ordained — ordained in the PC(USA) more than one and fewer than five years; ages 25-63 - mid-career — ordained in the PC(USA) five or more years ago; ages 30-63 - late career — ordained in the PC(USA) 10 or more years ago; ages 55-63 The expansion will affect mid-career ministers first. The four mid-career conferences scheduled for 2027 will welcome both ministers who have never attended CREDO and those who attended a recently ordained conference more than 10 years ago. As expansion continues, participants who have attended mid-career CREDO will be invited to attend late-career CREDO. The agency will host 11 CREDO conferences in 2027. Each conference is capped at 30 participants to foster the flourishing of small cohort communities. Ministers are encouraged to register as soon as possible, as seats are first come, first served and often fill quickly. “CREDO has sustained ministers now into its third decade,” Neff LaRue said. “It provides ministers with a sacred space to focus on wholeness — their spiritual, vocational, health, and financial well-being — and the Board is firmly committed to making this support available over the entire arc of ministry. Providing multiple opportunities for such discernment is an essential step for us to take as we accompany ministers on their vocational journey.” The Board of Pensions supports wholeness in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) community and care for Benefits Plan members. For information, contact [email protected]. You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.