Pastor Cori Clevenger of Ypsilanti: First UMC is passionate about young leaders prioritizing their health and well-being and is excited to join Wespath’s Young Leaders Advisory Board.

JAMES DEATON
Content Editor

Pastor Cori Clevenger of First United Methodist Church (UMC) of Ypsilanti was recently named to Wespath’s Young Leaders Advisory Board (Y-LAB). This volunteer board of 10 to 15 young adults from across the United Methodist connection assists Wespath in empowering young clergy and lay employees to secure their financial and personal well-being.

Clevenger is just one of two representatives selected from the North Central Jurisdiction (NCJ), which includes the ten annual conferences in the Upper Midwest: Northern Illinois, Illinois Great Rivers, Indiana, Iowa, East Ohio, West Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Michigan Conference staff knew of Clevenger’s gifts and asked her in September 2023 if she’d be interested in having her name submitted for membership. She agreed, and Wespath notified her in January 2024 that she had been selected to join Y-LAB. One of her first responsibilities as a Y-LAB board member will be attending one of Wespath’s 2024 Quadrennial Benefits Conferences this October.

Wespath Benefits and Investments is the general agency of The United Methodist Church responsible for administering benefits and investing retirement plan assets. In 2017, Wespath created Y-LAB to engage and better serve young adults dedicated to the church.

Clevenger is in the process of becoming a fully ordained elder in the Michigan Conference. She graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from Perkins School of Theology in 2020 and has been the pastor of nine churches across two countries in five short years. She had a seminary internship with The Methodist Church of Great Britain, where she served as the lead pastor of two churches and the associate of a third. Here in Michigan, since 2020, she has been the pastor of Colon UMC, Battle Creek: Newton UMC, and Pine River Parish: LeRoy, Ashton, Luther UMCs, and she currently serves at Ypsilanti: First UMC.

“We are proud of Pastor Cori for being chosen and are confident that she will provide valuable insight to this board,” says Marty Heator, vice chair of Ypsilanti: First’s Leadership Board.

Clevenger was appointed to a three-year term. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve The United Methodist Church through Wespath’s Young Leaders Advisory Board,” she says. “I look forward to connecting with other individuals across our denomination who are dedicated to improving our services to young church leaders.”

Health and well-being are aspects of self-care that Clevenger is passionate about. Before being called by God to ordained ministry, Clevenger was a pre-medical student. Also, as a young adult with chronic health conditions, she knows how to navigate the complicated medical insurance landscape for benefit coverage advocacy. She also advocates broadening access to financial resources such as retirement planning and investment options for young adults.

As part of her seminary training, Clevenger took courses at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business toward a church/nonprofit management degree concentration. “Pursuing this concentration,” she says, “piqued my interest in finance, such as marketing management and nonprofit marketing strategy.”

Through this new ministry opportunity with Y-LAB, Clevenger hopes to become a more vocal advocate for young adults as they start their careers working in The United Methodist Church. She encourages them to pay close attention to the services provided through their benefit plan.

She names a few examples:

• • Wespath partners with EY Financial Planning Services to help qualified young leaders reach their retirement goals, manage debt, and answer questions about savings strategies at no additional cost. It’s good to begin these conversations early in life.
  • Wellness programs such as Virgin Pulse, which helps participants monitor their physical activity and reach personal goals, and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which offers free counseling services and other work-life balance services, are initiatives that are available to anyone who utilizes Wespath benefits.
  • Payroll and tax compliance solutions are available to United Methodist churches through Wespath’s partner Paychex at a 35% discounted rate. “This is an important service,” says Clevenger, “for all clergy and lay leaders to know about if their churches have ever struggled with payroll issues and proper IRS withholding and form compliance.”

In conclusion, Clevenger shares a few practical financial and personal well-being tips for young adult clergy and lay leaders in the Michigan Conference just starting out:

• • Make it a priority to set aside something from every paycheck for retirement and savings goals. It is never too early to save for retirement. When it comes to emergency savings, it is better to have funds set aside and not need them than to have an emergency occur and be empty-handed.
  • Do not spend more than you earn, as this can lead to debt. Create a budget and try your best to follow it.
  • If you have debts, pay the smaller debt first because doing so will give you a sense of accomplishment that can propel you forward to paying the larger ones.
  • If you have yet to list a beneficiary (for example, a loved one or a charity) on your financial accounts, it is wise to do so. Similarly, it is never too early to have end-of-life/estate plans in place so those closest to you know your wishes.

Do you have questions about any of the Wespath benefits mentioned in this article? Contact the Michigan Conference’s Benefits Office. The staff will gladly help you. Find their contact information and other resources on this web page.

Last Updated on August 6, 2024