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 if they

• have graduated from seminary in 2019 or 2020;
• expect to be ordained within five years of receiving the grant;
• intend to serve in the United Church of Christ;
• are Members in Discernment recognized by a UCC Association/Conference;
• expect that their financial security in retirement will depend on the retirement benefits from the regular pension contributions of a UCC employer and by additional personal earnings and savings from working in the United Church of Christ

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

Application Process

Complete the Herring Stark Memorial Funds Application and the Pension Boards’ Annuity Plan Membership Application and return both documents 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.

Continued Eligibility Requirements

Within the first five years of the receipt of the grant you must

• be ordained to the Christian Ministry and authorized for ministry by an Association or Conference of the United Church of Christ
• be employed by a UCC church or related organization that makes contributions to your annuity account at the level recommended by General Synod (currently 14% of salary plus housing allowance) for at least two years

If you do not meet the continued eligibility requirements listed above, then your annuity seed grant will revert to the Herring and Stark Memorial Funds.

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.