Brethren Benefit Trust honors Chambersburg man
as its Pension Plan reaches milestone

November 2, 1999 Elgin, Ill.

Longtime Church of the Brethren pastor Don Fogelsanger was honored Oct. 24 at Chambersburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren by Brethren Benefit Trust’s Pension Plan for his role in helping the Plan reach a significant milestone.

When Fogelsanger notified the Pension Plan in October that he was ready to begin receiving his retirement benefits, the group of Brethren Pension Plan members who actively draw on their retirement — Retirement Benefits Fund members — became 1,000 strong.

In honor of Fogelsanger being identified as the Pension Plan’s 1,000th active recipient, Don Fecher, Brethren Pension Plan director, presented Fogelsanger with a certificate at the Chambersburg church during morning worship.

The certificate recognized Fogelsanger’s more than 30 years of financial stewardship as a Pension Plan member during his nearly 36 years as a pastor. It also acknowledged the four churches he served during his full-time career for believing in the importance of making contributions to Fogelsanger’s Brethren Pension Plan account — Chambersburg, Lebanon (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, Harrisonburg (Va.) Church of the Brethren, and 28th Street Church of the Brethren, Altoona, Pa.

The certificate, which includes Scripture from Matthew 25:20-21, also bears the likeness of a check that reads: “One Annuity for Life — Priceless.”

During their careers, Brethren Pension Plan members are responsible for managing their individual and church contributions by choosing one of four investment funds available — common stock fund, balanced fund, short-term fund, and bond fund. Once members retire, however, their funds are transferred to the Retirement Benefits Fund and become the responsibility of BBT.

“We promise and guarantee retirees that they will have a check for the rest of their lives, and, if they choose, for their spouses’ lives as well,” Fecher said. He added, “Having reached the point of being responsible for 1,000 lives is a milestone for the Brethren Pension Plan and for BBT.”

The steady membership growth of the Retirement Benefits Fund is also drawing near another milestone — $100 million in assets.

It was appropriate that Fogelsanger was honored in the Chambersburg church: it was there that he was baptized when he was 10. He returned 48 years later to serve as pastor for the congregation that is now four times as large as it was in his youth. He officially retired in January 1995 on disability.

Top: Don Fogelsanger addresses Chambersbug Church of the Brethren members upon receiving his 1000th pensioner certificate from Don Fecher, director of the Brethren Pension Plan. Bottom: Fogelsanger is congratulated after worship by Chambersburg member James Diller. (Photos by Jeff Leard)

Since then, Fogelsanger has spent his time doing the things for which he has passion. Reading to his grandchildren is one of his favorite pastimes.

He has also —
• served as interim pastor of Greencastle (Pa.) Church of the Brethren.
• worked on several disaster response projects for Southern Pennsylvania District and for the General Board’s Emergency Response/Service Ministries.
• served as one of three remodelers of the Francis Leiter Center, a Chambersburg counseling center for abused children that earlier this year moved into a new building purchased by the Chambersburg church.
• rebuilt old toys for the Chambersburg Toy Rescue Mission, which distributes the refurbished goods to children in need. “It is quite a big operation in the community,” Don said. “I would guess that 2,000 families are touched by it.”

Fogelsanger is a throwback to a different era, having fulfilled his desire to work in one vocation during his full-time career. His pastoral call stems from his strong faith and the joy he finds in sharing in life’s important moments with the members of his congregations. These are challenges that energize him, which is why he believes that pastoral ministry “is where the action is.”

Fogelsanger has noticed some profound changes in society and the ministry since he began his career. For example, two-career households mean that families have less time to volunteer for church work. And, while people’s lives used to center around their church and faith family, people today have support groups that extend far beyond the church.

As for the church, Fogelsanger’s biggest concern remains the fact that many congregations continue to have full-time and interim pastoral openings.

That number was reduced by one in October, however, as Fogelsanger began serving as interim pastor of Shippensburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren. This new challenge is also fitting, as Shippensburg is where he was licensed (1951) and ordained into pastoral ministry (1956). Thus, Fogelsanger’s pastoral pastoral ministry career has now come full circle.