… we are each other's harvest: we are each other's business: we are each other's magnitude and bond.
— Gwendolyn Brooks (Paul Robeson)
The Board of Pensions is committed to fostering the wholeness of our members in four key areas: spiritual, health, financial, and vocational. And commitment demands vigilance. So, with technological and cultural change affecting all four areas, and COVID-19 accelerating change, we're responding to change. As a result, 2022 will be transformative for our agency and everyone we serve.
We've been watching healthcare closely. It's an area of increasing complexity, making it tough to navigate. We want members and their loved ones to receive the right care, at the right place, at the right time. So, starting April 1, active members of the Medical Plan will have access to care navigation. Our partner, Quantum Health and its Care Coordinators, are going to help members receive the right care when they need it.
Meanwhile, we'll be working internally to better serve Benefits Plan members and employers. The Board of Pensions is knee-deep in a multiyear redesign of our technological systems. The project includes improving the online portal that employers and members use to do what they need to do — when they want to do it. Folks have been seeing improvements in this area for several years and they're going to see more.
Technological savvy is a pandemic demand. Our Board University team, which supports wholeness in all four key areas, has felt that acutely. E-learning was offered before the coronavirus, but in 2021 and most of 2020, we served many more members online than we ever could in person. So, this year, our online offerings will further expand. Recognizing the irreplaceable dynamic of human interaction, in-person programming will return for CREDO and Well-Being Retreat this year, along with other, smaller gatherings.
What won't be obvious is how technological sophistication affects our stewardship role. We have made incredible strides in reducing our carbon footprint and enhancing efficiency. Over 90 percent of our transactions are digital, including 100 percent of invoicing. Our pension payments are electronic transfers, ensuring speed and security. Our contracts are all maintained electronically. This year, the last of over 400 on-premises servers will be decommissioned. We can say once and for all, "You don't need a fax machine to do business with the Board of Pensions!"
The Assistance Program will also serve more in 2022. We've implemented the most extensive changes in a generation to the program, which supports well-being by providing support in financial distress, creating space for rest, and even helping families expand their love through adoption. More ministers and employees are eligible for assistance. And we're making sure that communities of color and groups that have been historically marginalized in the denomination are aware of and can access these grants.
Our expanded efforts among ministers and employees reflect the commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion we share with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This year, our DEI efforts will touch every corner of the agency as we focus on five areas: Workforce, Business Partners, Members, Employers and Diverse Constituencies, and the Board of Directors. All of us who serve the Board of Pensions regularly take part in DEI training and exercises as we work to dismantle structural racism.
The Board of Pensions will serve more, serve better, and serve the Church in 2022.
Grace and peace,
The Reverend Frank Clark Spencer
President
