The Herring and Stark Memorial Funds provide grants for those completing their seminary education to create an account in the Annuity Plan for the United Church of Christ and begin saving for a more secure retirement.

Eligibility

Persons are eligible to apply for a 2021 Herring and Stark grant if they:

• were ordained between 2018 and 2021;
• are authorized ministers with current UCC standing;
• serve in the United Church and are recognized by a UCC Association/Conference;
• have not received this grant in the past; and
• expect that their financial security in retirement will depend on the retirement benefits from the regular pension contributions from working in the United Church of Christ.

Current Herring and Stark grants usually range from $2,000 to $2,500 but vary depending on current funds available and the number of applicants.

Application Process

Complete the Pension Boards’ Herring and Stark Memorial Funds Annuity Plan Application and return the application with a copy of your birth certificate, passport, or driver’s license by July 1 to: The Pension Boards-United Church of Christ, Attention: Ministerial Assistance, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1020, New York, NY 10115.

Grants are awarded annually by November 1 to qualified applicants.

Funding

These grants come from gifts given to the Pension Boards in memory of Dr. Hubert C. Herring and Rev. Lewis and Eveline Stark.  Dr. Herring served as Secretary of the National Council of Congregational Churches and was on the Congregational Board of Ministerial Relief for seven years.  He died suddenly in 1920; the “Herring Memorial Fund” was created so that congregations and individuals could give gifts in his memory.

Living out their faith and beliefs in life and death, Rev. Lewis and Eveline Stark used the assets they had accumulated over a lifetime to create a legacy fund that would make a difference in the lives of ministers.  The “Lewis Arthur Stansbury Stark and Eveline Margaret Post Stark Memorial Fund” was created in 1970.  

The Pension Boards uses the combined income from these two memorial funds to provide grants for those completing their seminary education to create an account in the Annuity Plan for the United Church of Christ.