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AC 2009 Mission Offering

2009 Mission Offering: Central Conference Pension Initiative

There are seven Central Conferences in The United Methodist Church: Africa Central Conference, West Africa Central Conference, Congo Central Conference, Philippines Central Conference, Northern Europe Central Conference, Germany Central Conference, and Central and Southern Europe Central Conference. Around 2,000 retired clergy and surviving spouses reside in these conferences. Pension funds for these people who have dedicated their lives to the church are limited or nonexistent in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. The Central Conference Pension Initiative (CCPI) is a long-term effort to provide financial security in retirement for retirees and their spouses in conferences outside the U.S.

Through the CCPI, retired pastors and surviving spouses in Liberia receive $60 every three months. In January 2009, CCPI began providing pension benefits to about 400 clergy, deacons, and evangelists in Mozambique. The Reverend Moses Abenige of Liberia tells how the pension program has helped him: “I put my grandchildren in school, and all of us were able to eat good food. I have great hope for tomorrow.”

The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits oversees the CCPI. The web site is www.ccpi-umc.org.

Each local church is asked to collect an offering to bring to Annual Conference to share during our Mission & Ministry Celebration on Friday night. Our offering is part of a denomination-wide effort to raise $20 million for the CCPI.

View CCPI video

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Click here to view an interactive map of the countries that The United Methodist Church is helping to provide pensions to.