The Pension Boards interviews the Rev. Dr. Don Wagner on his experiences navigating ministry, finances and retirement. Rev. Wagner currently serves as an Annuitant Visitor in the Illinois South Conference.
Social Security is relied on by millions of Americans and is the bedrock of the United States retirement system. In 2024, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA), almost 68 million Americans per month will receive a Social Security benefit, totaling about $1.5 trillion in benefits paid during the year. This retired workers, dependents, disabled individuals, and survivors of deceased workers. This large number indicates that Americans recognize the importance of Social Security for their financial well-being.
Help yourself understand Social Security and its benefits by reading these frequently asked questions.
As UCC clergy, lay workers, or caregivers, taking the time to track or manage multiple retirement accounts from previous places of employment can be confusing and time-consuming, especially when your primary focus is either on ministry or those under your care.
By consolidating your retirement accounts, it’s easier for you to track your retirement assets, contributions, and withdrawals, allowing for a more simplified way to manage your accounts in one place.
Using your credit card at a gas station pump or drive-up ATM is quick and convenient. However, despite retailers following Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards to protect your information, cybercriminals are finding ways to steal your information. Cybercriminals are using technology called “card skimmers” to read and record your card information in a matter of seconds. Although retailers regularly check for card skimmers, learning how to protect yourself at gas station pumps and ATMs should be a priority now more than ever.
When exposed to certain conversations, events or situations, many people experience “emotional triggers” that may remind them of something upsetting in their past. These triggers can spark strong emotional and physical feelings that may prompt people to respond or react in unhealthy ways, feeling tense, anxious, panicky, sad or angry, or having the urge to withdraw or lash out. Getting to know your triggers can help you learn better, healthier ways to respond. Try these suggestions:
If you were to ask any preacher that is expected to preach at least 48 out the 52 Sundays per year to the same congregation from the same pulpit, most of them will openly confess that preaching is hard work.
After 15 years of preaching (10 years, full-time), I have discovered that as endearing as the congregation is, they will never understand the hard work that a preacher puts in week after week to deliver a 20-minute sermon every Sunday.
Rev. Davi Weasley, Pastor, First Congregation Church of Bellingham, WA, shares wise tips to help ministers advocate for themselves during the call agreement negotiation process.
Expressing our emotions can be powerful motivators, especially during a Sunday sermon delivery. As UCC ministers, your sermons can drive us to pursue our passions, connect deeply with others, and motivate our faith toward doing the greater good.
However, when our emotions are running high in response to life circumstances, they can trigger a response that can impair our ability to think rationally. Stress and anxiety can contribute to hasty decisions especially where it concerns our finances.
By Rev. Bruce G. Epperly, Ph.D.
Despite the fact that many of us haven’t been in seminary for forty years and our children are grown up, September still signals “back to school.” If we were congregational pastors, university chaplains, or campus ministers, we can recall the mad rush of late August and early September, getting ready for “Rally Day,” planning the faith formation program, and readying ourselves for the beginning of the “church year,” not in Advent but practically speaking in September. It’s not as if we were off duty all summer, but with the coming of September, we need to gather our wits and inspiration, plan our fall sermons, ensure a consistent group of teachers for church school, or children’s faith formation, and get the new year underway.
For clergy members, who often prioritize the needs of their congregations over their own, and who may neglect the often-dreaded dental visit, ministers can soon learn that ignoring dental care can affect one’s overall health and one’s ability to serve effectively.