The boards of the three major financial ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have unanimously endorsed a proposed General Assembly resolution that acknowledges and affirms the Disciples’ historic commitment to socially responsible investing.
The resolution, approved by the boards of Christian Church Foundation, Disciples Church Extension Fund and Pension Fund of the Christian Church, calls attention to the use of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) as a major influence in determining investing practices. ICCR, co-founded by Disciples, researches and directs investing practices for organizations concerned about a “double-bottom line,” which Pension Fund President Todd Adams describes as “investing with an eye of doing good in the community, while doing well by our members.”
Foundation President Gary Kidwell said, “When so much is changing in our world and challenging us as church, it is good for us to reclaim and recognize the vital role Disciples have played and will continue to play in seeking justice through our economic power while maintaining our fiduciary responsibilities to our members, donors and investors.”
Disciples Church Extension Fund President Rick Reisinger noted, “As part of the resolution, in 2019, the three ministries look forward to collaborating on a General Assembly workshop centered on investing practices and policies.”
Division of Overseas Ministries President Julia Brown Karimu appreciates the public position the financial ministries are taking. She has witnessed injustice, hunger, poverty, neglect of the earth and more, both nationally and around the globe. She recognizes that Disciples are called to bring wholeness to a fragmented world by acting upon these injustices.
“We celebrate this effort to work together for peace with justice alongside the financial ministries of the church,” Brown Karimu said, “and we rejoice in their response to God’s call in the book of I Corinthians 12:26: ‘If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.'”
Source: Disciples News Service