Our History

The Church Pension Fund

In 1910, moved by the “suffering and poverty of the aged servants of the Church,” Bishop William Lawrence set out to create a means for clergy to retire with dignity. He brought a resolution before the General Convention of The Episcopal Church to create a Joint Commission on the Support of Clergy. This led to the General Convention voting in 1913 to authorize the creation of The Church Pension Fund (CPF) to provide retirement and disability benefits to eligible clergy. CPF was incorporated in 1914.

Initial funding for CPF was raised by a committee working with Bishop Lawrence that was led by J.P. Morgan, Adolph Ochs (owner and publisher of the New York Times), and Newcomb Carlton (president of Western Union Telegraph). More than $8.5 million was collected from over 47,000 donors across the Church by the time CPF paid its first benefit in March 1917*.

The Church Pension Group

Since then, CPF has continued to provide eligible clergy with pension and disability benefits and has extended similar support to lay employees. While pensions continue to be at the core of what we do, to meet the evolving needs of the Church we have expanded our charter to include employee benefits, property and casualty insurance, and publishing.

Key Milestones in Our History

Land Acknowledgment

CPG acknowledges the Lenape people who lived, worked, produced knowledge on, and nurtured the land where its home office is now located.

*Read our report about the origins and sources of CPF assets.