(posted May 17) Join Everence® for a free webinar, Medicare With You in Mind, on Tuesday, June 10 at 5:30 p.m. ET. Learn about the parts of Medicare, when and how to enroll, and how to choose the right coverage—led by Certified Senior Advisors Cassandra Zetts and Leah Ludwig. To register, use this link. For questions, contact Brenda Shelly at brenda.shelly@everence.com or (215) 703-0111. We look forward to having you join us!
Everence
The Ministry of Medicare Education
By Cassandra Zetts
While pursuing my degree in education, I never imagined I’d be using my expertise to teach my community about Medicare – but I’m grateful for the opportunity.
Congregational care takes many forms throughout life. It can include offering a meal train for new parents, contributing to the Mennonite Education Plan for families with school-aged children, or walking alongside elders as they face the financial and physical challenges that come with aging.
When Everence (then Mennonite Mutual Aid) was founded, the goal was simple: go where our community needs us. In the 1980s, as an inter-Mennonite organization, we began offering Medicare education and products to our members.
For most Americans, Medicare is two things: inevitable and bewildering. Church leaders and Everence consultants hear regularly that Medicare is a concern for our members and their families. Questions about Medicare are often shrouded in broader, deeper questions about aging: What will my health be like as I age? Will I be able to afford my medications? Will I burden my family? While Medicare itself may not always be top of mind when caring for the elderly in your congregation, it remains a significant—and often unspoken—factor in many conversations.
Transitioning from traditional pre-retirement insurance to Medicare can feel like moving to a foreign country, where the language and currency are unfamiliar. Add the overwhelming flood of advertisements and dozens of plan options, and it can leave one wondering how anyone can do it on their own.
Luckily, they don’t have to face it alone. When I first considered leaving my teaching job to come to Everence, I wasn’t sure I could give up my “noble” profession to simply provide a product. But I came to realize that perspective was limiting.
As a Senior Health Specialist, I build on the deep relationships between our organization and our congregations. I come alongside individuals and families as they move through a necessary part of aging, to provide education and help people make informed choices.
If you or a loved one is approaching Medicare age, our team of Medicare specialists is available to answer questions over the phone, meet one-on-one, or present to a group within a congregation.
We have an upcoming seminar for those approaching Medicare age/retirement at Zion (PA) Mennonite on March 25 at 6:30 pm. You can find more details and register to attend at everence.com/souderton or by calling our office at 215-703-0111.
Cassandra Zetts
Cassandra Zetts is a Certified Senior Advisor and a Financial Consultant specializing in Senior Health Insurance. She works out of the Souderton, PA Everence office.
Hatching Compassion
by Sharon Hernandez, Editorial Content Specialist, Everence
Editor’s Note: This year, Everence will honor Ivan and Evelyn Moyer, Leon and Karen Moyer, and Eileen and Jeryl Knechel with their National Journey Award. The Moyers were longtime members of the former Rocky Ridge (Quakertown, PA) congregation. An Everence Journey Award honors people who live out the faithful stewardship of their God-given gifts. The presentation will take place at Quakertown (PA) Christian School on March 24, 2024 at 4pm.
The original, longer version of this article first appeared on Everence’s Everyday Stewardship.
Ernest and Verna Moyer started their business, Moyer’s Chicks, in Quakertown, Pa., in 1946. Through their business and their lifestyle, they instilled in their children – Ivan, Leon and Eileen – lifelong values of generosity, humility and compassion.
Their story is one of generosity and love across family, community and the world at large, spanning decades and impacting generations.
While still in their late teens, Ernest and Verna began assisting with a small Mennonite mission station outside Quakertown, an hour north of Philadelphia, initiated in part by Verna’s older brother Linford Hackman.
They married in 1936 and Ivan was born two years later. As their commitment to this mission work intensified, they and other like-minded Mennonite families decided to move there to start a new community infused with a gospel-centric lifestyle.
Within a year of returning home from a Civilian Public Service assignment, Ernest bought some land, built a home for his family and started his hatchery business. He famously made his first delivery of chicks in his 1941 Oldsmobile sedan during a snowstorm in January 1947.
Unbeknownst even to Ernest at the time, the hatchery would become so much more than a lucrative business, it would be a means for helping his community and missionaries abroad.
In 1950 Ernest became the lay pastor of the Rocky Ridge Mennonite Mission and continued in this pastoral role into the late 1980s. In 1951 he also cofounded Quakertown Christian School, at which he served as board chair in its early years.
“It is not an overstatement to say that the Moyer family embodies the biblical idea of stewardship.” said Franco Salvatori, Everence Stewardship Consultant and pastor of Rocky Ridge from 2010-2020. The Moyers were no strangers to trying new programs to help communities, and the family regularly engaged in mission work across the country and abroad.
In 1953, Ernest connected with Mennonite missionaries in Puerto Rico and began a partnership in which Moyer’s Chicks shipped them about 500 chicks every other week to eventually 10,000 weekly.
Ernest also flew to Puerto Rico about four times a year to assist with agricultural and community development projects – and, eventually, opened a satellite hatchery on the island in 1960, which continued on into the 1980s.
It was no surprise, then, that giving would be second nature for their children. To them, sharing of their time and resources with the community and the world around them was all they knew, said Leon Moyer. In time, Ivan, Leon and Eileen also would pass these values to their children.
None of Ernest’s children felt obligated to return to the hatchery after going to school – Leon lived abroad for many years in Haiti and Bolivia, involved in mission work – but ultimately, they all returned to the family business.
Under the direction of a new generation of Moyers, the business continued finding ways to give back. Nowadays the family – having sold the hatchery and retiring in 2020 – is still active in the community, serving on boards and continuing their volunteer work in other ways. Ivan meets with a local group of community leaders from around the world. Leon and his wife help immigrants settle in the community. And Eileen and Jeryl donate hours of time and machinery work at Spruce Lake Retreat, a Christian retreat center and camp in northeast Pennsylvania.
Zion’s Bean Bag Program Receives Grant
Zion (Souderton, PA) Mennonite Church launched the Bean Bag Food Program in 2016 to offer a steady supply of food for students who rely on school lunches. The program has grown to serve students at ten schools. Recently, the program received a $3,500 Everence Financial® chapter grant to help provide local students food to take home on weekends.
The Everence chapter grant program supports organizations that help people with basic needs such as food, housing and health care. The grants are made possible when members purchase many Everence products.
“We’re happy to encourage a program that we know is so important to many local families,” said Randy Delp, Managing Director for Everence in Souderton.
Anyone interested in helping to provide meals for kids to take home may contact Zion Mennonite Church, 149 Cherry Lane, Souderton, PA 18964. Please make checks out to Zion Mennonite Church with memo: BBFP.
Yoder recognized with Journey Award
David D. Yoder, of Salford (Harleysville, PA) congregation, is this year’s recipient of the Regional Journey Award from the Everence Financial® office in Souderton, PA.
The award recognizes Yoder for his stewardship related to his years of service to organizations including Quakertown (PA) Christian School and Virginia Mennonite Missions.
Created in 2001, the Journey Award highlights what people of faith are doing as stewards of their God-given gifts.
“David’s life and career have represented stewardship not only of resources but also his time,” said Anita K. Souder, Director of Advancement for Quakertown Christian School (QCS). “With a heart to serve others and using his gifts of development and genuine care for people, he prepared QCS for the future by creating a family of endowments.”
Randy Delp, Everence Managing Director, said, “People who’ve worked with David point with great respect to his efforts to establish Anabaptist communities in Mexico, as well as his work to strengthen partnerships in other parts of the world, including Europe and the Caribbean.”
Sisters from Vincent Congregation Receive Scholarships
Megan and Alyssa Breidigan of Vincent Mennonite Church (Spring City, PA) have received Everence Financial® scholarships of $1,000 each to pursue degrees at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA. “I believe this is the first time we have had sisters that have been chosen as our Souderton office’s college scholarship recipients,” reported Leah Ludwig of Everence.
The sisters were among 45 recipients of Everence college scholarships for the 2020-2021 academic year. The scholarship program encourages young people to explore the integration of faith and finances while helping them on their educational journeys.
About 210 students from across the country applied for scholarships for 2020-2021. Recipients were chosen based on participation and leadership in school-related activities and community activities, along with responses to an essay question.
“Everence recognizes these students for their academic achievements, as well as their service to their communities,” said Kenda Mishler, Member Benefits Manager. “A college degree provides a wider range of career options but attending college also can help students learn valuable skills that benefit them throughout their lives.”One student received a $3,000 scholarship, two received $2,000 scholarships and 42 others received $1,000 scholarships for the upcoming school year. For a complete list of scholarship recipients and their photos, visit everence.com.
Did You Know: Taxable Income
by Conrad Martin, Director of Finance
As tax season is upon us, it is important to be aware of two things a church does that may affect the taxable income for congregational employees/pastors — one taxable and one a pre-tax deduction.
- Love Gifts/ Offerings
Some churches give their pastor(s) a “love gift” or “love offering” in special appreciation for the many things they do for their congregation. These gifts come from either the pastor’s employing church or from individual members of the church. Sometimes these 
gifts come from a special offering taken by the congregation for their pastor. Sometimes an individual member will feel the need to show their appreciation personally in a financial way, sometimes even unbeknownst to the congregation. In almost every case, the IRS will view “love gifts” as compensation for services rendered and therefore taxable. If coming from the church as the employer, the church needs to either include the love gift in the calculation of the W-2 or issue a 1099-MISC to the pastor. If coming from an individual, the pastor needs to include the gift in their taxable income. If you need further clarification, consult your tax accountant.
- Section 125 Flex Plan
If your congregation offers a medical insurance plan to their employees and also charges them a portion of the cost for the premium, those employee premium costs may be deductible from the employees’ taxable income. If your congregation offers as part of their medical insurance plan a Health Savings Account (HSA), the employees may contribute personally into their HSA through payroll deductions and those payroll deductions may be deductible from the employees’ taxable income. The key is, the church needs to have a Section 125 Flexible Benefits Plan documented. Sometimes this is called a Cafeteria Plan. Whatever it is called, it must be documented. There are many companies that can write such a plan for your church, one of which is Everence. Contact your local Everence Stewardship Consultant for more information.
Any time you have questions about your church finances, contact Conrad Martin at the conference office and he will help direct you to the answer.
Journey Award from Everence goes to Urbane and Janet Byler of Whitehall
Franconia Conference is excited to share the news that Urbane and Janet Byler of Whitehall Mennonite Church were honored this year by Everence with their Journey Award. An Everence Journey Award honors people who live out the faithful stewardship of their God-given gifts.
