August 1, 2024 - Community Connections - National Association of Congregational Christian Churches

August 1, 2024 Community Connections

NACCC

NEWS

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The
Congregationalist

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News and Needs Newsletter

One Great Hour of Sharing

Our Volunteers

Jodee Lord, Moderator

I pray that you are having a summer filled with many blessings. While many of us have been on vacation or taking day trips with family and friends, our Ministry Councils, Boards, and Committees have been busy at work.

We are blessed to have a dedicated group of volunteers who form our Leadership Council and Board of Directors. Everyone brings their unique gifts, experience, talents, and vision to the NA. They work to keep the financial and legal matters of the NA organized while creating programs that support and encourage the member churches of the NA.

I look forward to seeing the many exciting programs and opportunities that will be developed and presented by our Councils and Boards in the coming months.

Wishing you a blessed summer.

Seeking HR Help

Rev. Martin Hall, Vice-Moderator

Are you an HR professional? Do you know one in your church? If so, we’d love to hear from you!

As many of you are aware, there is a large cadre of people who give of their time, talents, and energies to support the ongoing work of our National Association. We see this in our dedicated and talented staff, as well as in the many elected leaders of the Association. In addition to these critical leaders, however, there are many others who serve on subcommittees and teams to support our staff and leadership in the ongoing work of our Association. Today, I want to highlight a need for one of these groups.

The Personnel and Administration Committee is a standing committee that partners with the Executive Director in overseeing the management, vitality, and policies of our wonderful staff. A key component of this group’s composition are individuals with knowledge and experience in Human Resources, who serve as at-large members on this important committee. This is where you come in!

The Board of Directors is seeking someone with such experience to be a part of this committee for the coming year. If this is something in which you might be interested, or if you know someone else in your church that would be a good fit for this role, please reach out to the NA office so that we can follow up. We are grateful for all possible leads that might help us fill this critical need.

Endowment Update

Richard Davis, Board of Governors

The CIT Committee met on July 25 and was updated by Mercer, our investment manager, on recent performance. As of June 30th, we have 33 member churches holding $8.9 million in investments with us. The foundation itself has another $19.5 million. In total, we have $28.3 million under management, up from $26.3 million on January 1st, up 8.3 percent. Since its inception in 2013, we have achieved annual returns of 7.32 percent. Our portfolio aims to have a balance of 65-35 percent between equities and fixed income.

Mercer estimates 1.5-2.0 percent GDP growth next year, no recession and inflation of 2.0 percent possible, allowing for a .50 percent drop in rates by the Fed before year-end.

Mercer, successor to Vanguard, our former advisor, will be presenting to us new investment options for consideration in the coming months. You can be sure that we will adhere to our sound fiduciary responsibility.

Join the NFCCC Team!

Rev. Dr. Marisa Egerstrom, NFCCC Executive Director Search Committee Chair

The Northeast Fellowship of Congregational Christian Churches, a member of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, has an opening for a full-time Executive Director. They seek an administrative leader (ordination not required) with executive experience and a background in Congregationalism.

Learn more about the position and how to apply here.