Recommended Reading: Wespath Trip to DRC

Back in June of last year, Dale Jones, Wespath’s managing director of Church Relations, and Thomas Kemper, a consultant for Wespath's Central Conference Pensions program, traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo on behalf of Wespath. Wespath recently published a detailed description of their trip.

The report is worth reading for several reasons. First, any story that helps familiarize Americans with the DRC, the country with the second most United Methodists, is worth reading. Second, the report gives a good sense of what the process of hosting United Methodist delegations in the DRC is often like. Notably, while Jones and Kemper were primarily there to talk about pensions, they also saw schools and hospitals, which are critical components of the UMC's work in the DRC. Third, although many think of Wespath as a fairly US-focused agency, it is good to be reminded that there are international dimensions to the work of most of the church structures, including Wespath.

Recommended Reading: Wespath on Food, Agriculture, and Biodiversity

Ryan McQueeney, Sustainable Investment Stewardship Analyst for Wespath, recently wrote a Wespath blog post entitled, "Why Investors Should Care About Food, Agriculture and Biodiversity." In the post, McQueeney explains the economic significance of the food and agriculture sector and therefore the sector's importance in Wespath's efforts to pursue a missional vision of "an economy that promotes environmental health, long-term prosperity for all and social cohesion." McQueeney then explains what investment strategies and approaches Wespath is taking in the areas of food and agriculture as part of their "impact investing program, which seeks the dual outcomes of market rates of return and measurable positive impact." This post may be of interest to readers who have been following the occasional series on this blog about food and mission.

Recommended Reading: Wespath CEO's introductory blog

As of January 1st, Wespath, the retirement investments and benefits agency of The United Methodist Church, has a new General Secretary and CEO, Andy Hendren. Hendren replaces Barbara Boigegrain, who retired after 27 years as General Secretary. While Wespath often receives less attention than other boards and agencies, the amount of resources it holds makes it a significant means for United Methodists to carry out connectional ministry, and the transition from Boigegrain to Hendren is a major transition for this important institution. Therefore, Hendren's introductory blog post as CEO is well worth reading.

Hendren's blog post contains two piece of particular interest. First, he explains his philosophy of investing:

"I think of our sustainable investments approach as a 'yes and.' We focus always on our core fiduciary obligation to our participants and investors to maximize returns—seeking alpha, or excess returns compared to our performance benchmarks, wherever we can. And we seek to 'raise the beta'—a strategy to reduce the systemic risks of financial markets and improve market-wide returns—in hopes of lifting all boats in a way that reaps the additional returns needed to care for those we serve."

Within the investment-speak of "alpha" and "beta" in these sentences, Hendren indicates that he sees good investment returns for investors and a positive impact on the broader society not as competing goals but as compatible goals. Given that the relationship between these two goals has periodically been a debate within the UMC, this is a significant statement.

Second, Hendren connects that belief in the compatibility between what's right for investors and what's right for the broader society with John Wesley's teachings. He writes, "To me, our commitment to sustainable investment embodies John Wesley’s general rules: first to 'do no harm' and second to 'do good of every sort, and, as far as possible to all.' In this sense, I think of sustainable investing as our brand of stewardship evangelism."

While it's not necessary for the CEO of Wespath to be a theologian, it is a very positive sign to see the CEO being able to speak the language of the church and to make connections between the church's theological articulation of values and Wespath's investment philosophy.

Creation Care Updates

Christians are once again in the midst of the Season of Creation, a month-long focus by Christians from many traditions around the world on the Church's role in caring for God's creation. In light of this month's focus, here is a rundown of some creation care news from The United Methodist Church in the past several months.

A UMNS story, bishops' statement, and UMW response on/to US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords at the beginning of June

Wespath's announcement of its recognition by Responsible Investor for its sustainable investment reporting in June

Global Ministries' announcement of its hiring of Jenny Phillips as its new creation care staff, starting in July

A UMW story on their advocacy related to methane emission regulations in July

A UMNS story from early July about UMC responses to global climate issues

A United Methodist commentary on desert encroachment in Nigeria from early July

An UMCOR report of United Methodist Earthkeepers training in August

Recommended readings: Wespath and Climate Change

This recent UMNS article outlines ways in which Wespath, The United Methodist Church's pension and benefits organization, in making efforts to encourage and invest in initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide is seen by scientists as an important contributor to the process of climate change.

These recent developments are likely to be of interest, not only because of their connection to creation care as a facet of mission, but because of their connection to larger denominational debates about the denomination's environmental responsibilities and its investment policies. As this, this, and this story relate, whether or not Wespath should divest from all fossil fuel companies was an item of debate at 2016 General Conference. This more recent debate follows earlier policy changes from 2015 to screen out some forms of fossil fuels from the fund's investment portfolios.