BOP interprets ‘community nature’ The Presbyterian Layman Sept/Oct, 1997 PHILADELPHIA (PNS) – The “community nature” of the benefits plans of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Board of Pensions “is the only thing that makes us unique in the world of benefits plans,” says Board president John Detterick. But only about half of all plan members are familiar with the “community nature” of the plan, so the Board has launched an educational effort to acquaint Presbyterians with this unique aspect of the church’s major medical and pension programs. The effort started July 10, when Board members gathered early for their summer meeting to hear a panel discussion on “community nature.” The Board’s Office of Communication is also preparing a printed resource describing it for distribution to all plan members. All participating church employers pay a combined 28 percent of their employees’ “effective salaries” into the Board’s benefits plans. The resulting benefits are not dollar for dollar based on contributions. Rather the total dues paid in are used to provide benefits to all plan members. Thus wealthier employers (large churches, for example) help provide resources to provide medical and retirement expenses for employees of less wealthy church agencies (such as small churches). Responding to concerns that have been raised by some church employers that they can acquire medical and pension coverage for their employees less expensively, the Rev. John McFayden, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Dale City in Woodbridge, Va., said, “Freedom of individuals is inevitably limited for the sake of the community as a whole.”

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