The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has released its 2012 Annual Review, titled “Benefits Through the Stages of Your Life: We’ll Walk Beside You.”

The full Review package includes the 2012 Financial Report, With Appreciation donor booklet, and Highlights brochure.

In addition to providing an overview of the Board’s work in 2012, the Annual Review serves as a reminder of who the Board is, the charge assigned it by the General Assembly, and the principles that guide it.

“Presbyterians are experiencing changes from many directions — economic, cultural, and demographic. So the Board of Pensions must both anticipate and accommodate those changes that affect our work,” said Robert W. Maggs Jr., president and CEO of the Board. “In the midst of all this change, it is important that the Board of Pensions not forget our roots, which are bound with those of the Church and its servants.”   

The work of 2012 was based on the board’s “Stewardship of Awareness,” which dictates a mindfulness of significant outside influences in both short- and long-term planning. Those influences include healthcare, both its rising costs and its reform; demographic shifts in the Church; and continuing economic global weakness. The sustainability of the Medical Plan demanded much deliberation in 2012 and continues to do so in 2013.

The “With Appreciation” booklet, which covers the board’s Assistance Program, lists the names of the donors who enabled the Board in 2012 to continue to walk beside its members during times of need and to help lighten burdens borne by church servants. Last year, the Assistance Program made a total of 1,355 grants, valued at more than $5.6 million.