Faith and Finance Come Together in New Money Management Curriculum Designed for United Methodist Clergy and Congregations

For Immediate Release

Glenview, IL—Wespath Benefits and Investments (Wespath) and The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH), through its publishing arm Abingdon Press, announce the release of Saving Grace: A Guide to Financial Well-Being, a new personal money management curriculum guided by Wesleyan values that seeks to promote financial wellness with clergy and laity.

The program was created through the Clergy Financial Well-Being Initiative (Initiative), a United Methodist multi-organization effort to assist U.S. clergy with financial well-being from the first steps of discerning God's call to ministry through retirement. Saving Grace helps clergy and their congregations put John Wesley’s teachings into practice as they move toward reaching financial goals.

"Initiative leaders increasingly identified a need for a basic resource on personal financial management that would work well for United Methodists. We wanted a program that fits well with Wesleyan values and context," explained Dale Jones, Wespath’s Managing Director of Church Relations and project director of the Initiative. "We designed Saving Grace to offer separate workbooks for clergy and laity. The clergy workbook addresses many of the financial matters unique to U.S. clergy."

Saving Grace is a six-session curriculum that speaks to key money management topics—such as saving, earning, giving, spending and debt. While it can be done as individual study, it is ideal for small groups.

"John Wesley challenged the people called Methodists to gain all you can, save all you can, and give all you can when he preached on 'The Use of Money.' Saving Grace brings these guiding principles to life for the 21st century," explained Brian Milford, Publisher of The United Methodist Church.

The Wesleyan program is designed to encourage open discussions about money, and to help participants reach personal financial goals and achieve a sustainable financial life.

"Oftentimes we think about our financial discipline as compartmentalized as just our bank accounts or saving accounts, but it truly is a spiritual discipline for us," says Saving Grace co-host Rev. Anna Guillozet in the first session of the program.

Saving Grace includes videos, participant workbooks, a leader guide and devotional materials. Additional materials cover matters specific to clergy finances. Resources are available either in print or eBook with videos offered on DVD or streaming through UMPH's online platform, AmplifyMedia.com. They can be purchased on Cokesbury.com and Amazon.com.

About The United Methodist Publishing House
The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) is a publisher and distributor to Christian clergy and laity, with primary responsibilities for the publishing and distribution for The United Methodist Church (UMC). It publishes books through Abingdon Press and operates Cokesbury, its retail division, MinistryMatters.com, and AmplifyMedia.com, a streaming platform helping churches connect and share quality content virtually.

About Abingdon Press
Abingdon Press is the primary publishing imprint for UMPH and has a tradition of presenting thought-provoking and inspirational books. Abingdon Press titles include a wide array of quality Bibles, Bible studies, small group studies, Christian living, devotional, professional, academic, and reference titles published to enrich church communities across the globe. Visit AbingdonPress.com.

About Wespath Benefits and Investments
Wespath Benefits and Investments (Wespath) is a not-for-profit agency that has been serving The UMC for over a century. In accordance with its fiduciary duties, Wespath administers benefit plans and, together with its subsidiaries, including Wespath Institutional Investments, invests over $28 billion in assets on behalf of over 100,000 participants and over 100 United Methodist-affiliated institutions (as of December 31, 2020). Wespath invests in a sustainable manner that seeks to achieve positive financial, social and environmental impact while upholding the values of the UMC. Wespath maintains the largest reporting faith-based pension fund in the world. For additional information about Wespath Benefits and Investments, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.