Introducing Lynette Pope, our new Benefits Manager, and Ravon Henderson aka “Ray”, Benefits Specialist. They’re joined by Frances Werkiser, who’s currently serving in the Benefits office as a Benefits Consultant. She is also helping to answer your emails as the team works to field your questions and learn the “insider baseball” language of the UMC. We love our acronyms—DS, DCOM, BOOM—it’s a lot to learn. Let’s keep them in our prayers.

I sat down with Lynette, Rayvon, and Frances to learn more about them and the passion and insight each brings to their work. Here’s a condensed and edited version of our conversation.

I’d love to hear from both of you about how you got connected to this kind of work. What do you love about it?

Lynette: I’ve been in HR/employee benefits for 25+ years. A manager years ago recommended me for the role, and I’ve been in it ever since. I love working in HR and helping employees make informed decisions about their benefits. This role is a little bit different because we’re also getting involved in billing. Every day is a little bit different. When I log on in the morning, I think, “What’s the adventure today?” This is what I love.

Ray: Over the past 7 or 8 years, I’ve been working in this capacity in a more secular role. Now, I’m moving more into ministry. The language and the people are different, but the work is the same. I love what I do. I love to have the opportunity to explain in detail and provide the knowledge to clergy, laity, and their dependents. In this way they can feel confident. It’s about more than just having the correct benefits. I want them to have a level of ease when they go to the doctor, and they go to the dentist, or when they are at the end of their service to the ministry, where they can retire comfortably.

Thank you for the hard work you’re doing. Ray, you mentioned church—where do you worship?

Ray: I worship at Kingsway Church in Cherry Hill, NJ.

Lynette: I’m a member of Bethel Deliverance International Church in Wyncote, PA.

If you could wave a magic wand and ensure that people understand one thing about benefits, what would it be?

Lynette: I wish we could help people get familiar with the benefits terminology and know what to do before using their benefits. You want to make sure you choose a doctor in the network, but when you’re sick, you don’t think about that. You think, “I just need to get well.” I think we need to communicate benefits information better to the conference staff.

I’m your conference communicator! I’m happy to help with that. Ray, how about you?

Ray: I think the biggest thing for me is helping people understand the relationship between the broker and the carrier and how that affects the rates. There are negotiations that happen on your behalf behind the scenes. We, as the benefits department, are the middleman. We can’t negotiate the rates; our job is to explain what the rates and benefits are.

That’s helpful to understand. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes when it comes to negotiating healthcare costs. God bless the people who do it on our behalf!

Switching gears slightly, what do you do for fun?

Lynette: I like to spend time with my family. I love to exercise—I used to be a certified group fitness instructor. I walk a lot. I exercise a lot. I love going to the movies, fine dining restaurants, and traveling.

Ray: I love spending time with my wife and our two kids. We have a dog named Faith, half Bernese and half Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We like to take her for walks. We haven’t been to the movies, but we watch a lot of series. Our show of interest is Severance on Apple TV. We enjoy thrillers. If you have Apple TV, it’s a good show. I also enjoy traveling and trying different foods.

Frances: I like to spend time with my husband and my poodle, Jayda. We walk and exercise together, and she follows me everywhere. I enjoy cooking, and my favorite dish to make is lasagna because my husband loves it.

Thanks so much for sharing! If someone in EPA has a question about benefits, how should we best get in contact with you?

If anyone has questions regarding their benefits or retirement, please email us at benefits@epagnj.org.