Board of Pensions plans its second CREDO for African American ministers
Conference will be held Nov. 4-10 at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, Arkansas
This year, The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will offer its second African American CREDO. Conference planners have moved deliberately to meet the needs of Black ministers of the Church, and this year’s conference is expected to enrich the experience for participants.
The weeklong, in-person CREDO conferences have been called “a resting place in which we find the spiritual, physical and relational resources to carry us forward.” Providing an intimate space for participants to examine, in small groups, matters that affect their lives and ministries is a crucial element of the program.
“We recognize that the lived realities of CREDO participants vary greatly,” said the Rev. Lori Neff LaRue, the Board’s Vice President of Education, which oversees CREDO. “For some constituencies, sharing the CREDO experience with colleagues in ministry who truly understand their particular needs and challenges enhances the transformational nature of the conference.”
Generally, CREDO conferences are tied to a particular phase of ministry — recently ordained, mid-career, and late career. Designated CREDOs respond to such things as participant demographics and vocational characteristics, Neff LaRue said. These CREDOs, such as for Black ministers, presbytery executives, and Korean–speaking pastors, “acknowledge the rich diversity of persons and ministries that exist within our denomination,” she said.
The Rev. Dr. Floretta Barbee-Watkins, a CREDO participant with three decades in ministry, agreed, noting that there’s a difference between Black and white Presbyterians “in how we talk to God.” She said the conferences are “a place where ministers can come and be together and talk about their ministry. … CREDO for African Americans, when done with integrity, will be an absolute blessing.”
Designated CREDOs reflect growth in the popular program. This year, eligibility for CREDO conferences was extended to include any PC(USA)-ordained minister enrolled in the medical and/or pension plan of the Church’s Benefits Plan. “CREDO has the potential to be a restorative and transformative experience,” Neff LaRue said. “We are delighted to be able to provide more ministers with the opportunity to take part.”
For each CREDO conference, a team of experienced faculty guides participants in a visioning and discernment process through key areas of well-being: spiritual, vocational, physical and emotional health, and financial. For the African American CREDO, all the faculty will be Black, and the programming is being developed for Black ministers. The conference is set for Nov. 4-10 at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The Rev. Dr. Byron A. Wade, who led the first African American CREDO and is helping plan this one, said the first conference closely resembled other CREDOs. “This one is going to be more attuned to African American culture and African American church culture,” said Wade, the General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina.
The goal for this CREDO “is to provide an experience that is intentional with programming, intentional with presenters, and intentional with the participants,” said the Rev. Dr. Jerry L. Cannon, Vice President of Ministry Innovation for the Board of Pensions and a planning committee member. For example, the faculty member for physical health has worked in a clinic in a Black neighborhood and is expected to be able to better engage participants on conditions of particular concern in Black communities, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Financial well-being is another area where the participant experience matters, Cannon said. “African American pastors typically come from a context of no raises, unless their presbytery raises the minimum,” he said.
The planning team has also focused on cultural differences, including in music.
“This is an opportunity for us to be us, to be authentically us, together,” said the Rev. Paul Timothy Roberts Sr., President of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, who was involved in planning the first African American CREDO and is among the planners of this one.
Unique to this CREDO will be a visit to Little Rock Central High School, where integration by the Little Rock Nine was a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the high school is a National Historic Site as well as a school, and a tour is planned for CREDO participants.
Anyone who is interested in participating in African American CREDO and has not received a save the date should email credo@pensions.org as soon as possible for information. Space is limited.
The Board of Pensions supports wholeness in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) community and care for Benefits Plan members. For information, contact info@pensions.org.
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