A Message from the Chair

Fall 2024

Dear Friends:

The September gathering of The Church Pension Fund Board of Trustees (CPF Board) marked my ninth year on the board and my first meeting as Chair. We welcomed eight new trustees and spent an entire day onboarding them before our full board meetings.   

In addition to our regular committee work and ongoing conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion, the CPF Board had an opportunity to hear about the Church Pension Group’s (CPG) strategic planning for the next three years and received an update on the financial strength of the defined benefit pension plans it administers for The Episcopal Church. The asset liability modeling that CPG undertakes annually enables the CPF Board and management team to evaluate whether The Church Pension Fund (CPF) will have sufficient assets to pay pensions for decades ahead. Based on this year’s analysis, we believe The Church Pension Fund Clergy Pension Plan and The Episcopal Church Lay Employees’ Retirement Plan are in solid financial condition. This annual discussion also reminds us of the importance of managing CPF’s investment portfolio with a long-term perspective to create the investment returns needed to provide the pension and related benefits we have promised.  

CPG’s leadership team led a discussion with the board of the organization’s key enterprise risks and risk mitigation strategies with a special focus on cybersecurity risk. Risk comes with the territory and is inherent in CPG’s work. We were pleased to hear about the good work being done on all levels to manage risk and limit its impact on CPG’s ability to serve its clients. The leadership team at CPG understands not only the industries within which CPG operates but also the Church we serve. Every decision we make is responsive to the evolving needs of our Church, its clergy, and lay employees. 

Finally, we bid farewell to Ted Elias, CPG’s current Chief People Officer, and we welcomed Geeva Ebens, who will assume this role when Ted retires on October 1.  

Engagement was high throughout the week, and I am excited to serve as Chair of this distinguished body. We are committed to serving as fiduciaries and ensuring the continued good work of CPG. I look forward to sharing our work with you after each meeting. 

Faithfully,

Canon Anne Vickers 
Chair, The Church Pension Fund Board of Trustees

The next meeting of the CPF Board will be December 10-13, 2024.

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