The Rev. Canon Joanna Satorius [email protected] ...
COMPENSATION FOR A FULL-TIME PRIEST The Rev. Canon Joanna Satorius [email protected] 213.482.2040, ext. 263 The diocesan minimum compensation for a priest who is in charge of a congregation went to $60,000.00 per year, effective January 1, 2009. (Recommended minimum compensation for clergy, not “in charge” of a congregation, is $55,000.00 per year). (See accompanying information.) A “compensation package” is intended to provide a cash salary to the clergy and sufficient compensation for housing and utilities. Congregations without a rectory or vicarage would pay the $60,000.00 in cash, and the clergy person would find his/her own housing. A caveat: the $60,000.00 is the minimum for a priest without any experience or tenure. The more experience a candidate has, the more compensation they deserve. A guideline adopted at Diocesan Convention 2006 and to be fully implemented as of 2009 provides for an additional $3,000.00 annually for each five years of service in ordained ministry, irrespective of location served, to a maximum liability of 30 years. Remember, these are minimums, not maximums, and individual candidates may negotiate for more. Additionally: On top of the “compensation package,” a congregation is responsible to pay the 18% pension premium. In the case of a $60,000.00 package, that annual amount is $10,800.00. Preliminary subtotal: $60,000.00 plus $10,800.00 = $70,800.00. Also: Congregations are required to pay employee health at the HMO rate and dental at the PPO rate, per our Bishop. This amount for 2009 is roughly $6,400.00. New subtotal: $70,800.00 plus $6,400.00 = $77,200.00 Further: Very soon, congregations will be required to pay 50 percent of the priest’s SECA (self-employment tax.) The tax rate is 15 percent, so the congregation’s responsibility will be 7.5 percent. Based on the $60,000.00 amount, this would add $4,500.00 to the parish cost. Next subtotal: $77,200.00 plus $4,500.00 = $81,700.00
OTHER COSTS OF HAVING A CLERGY There are other budgetary impacts of a clergy for which a congregation is responsible: Full cost of one telephone (land or cellular--priest’s choice) since the priest is on call 24/7. Cost about $1,200.00 per year. Reasonable professional expenses, with a minimum around $1,200.00 per year.
Reasonable professional development expenses (continuing education, clergy conferences and the like), with a fair minimum expected at around $1,500.00 annually. These categories are required of a parish; the amounts are negotiable, but usually are negotiated upward. Even so, at these “minimums,” the parish would need to set aside another $3,900.00 per year in clergy support. Subtotal of compensation plus expected expenses: $85,600.00 Beyond these costs, there are two other considerations: First, while it is difficult to determine a specific amount, the congregation is liable for life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, worker compensation, disability and unemployment insurance. A fair estimate of the total annual value of these is $1,400.00. Second, there is the obvious cost of replacing the priest when s/he is on vacation or is otherwise absent. Typically a clergy contract allows four or five Sundays a year to be taken off. At the current suggested supply rate provided by the Diocese, a supply priest to cover two services and preach is entitled to $200.00, plus compensation for business mileage at the IRS-allowable reimbursement rate, which for 2008 was 50.5 cents/mile. A congregation therefore would need to provide for approximately $1,000.00 plus mileage for supply clergy. GRAND TOTAL (COMPENSATION, EXPENSES, COVERAGE FOR ABSENCE): $88,000.00.
AND ONE THING MORE: Between the 5th and 7th year of tenure, a priest is entitled to a sabbatical of several weeks’ duration. The purpose of the sabbatical is rest and restoration--and also for the priest to spend that time in such a way that the experience--be it education or travel--directly benefits/enhances the congregation upon his/her return. While the parish does not pay the full cost of the sabbatical, it is a major partner in this investment. Therefore, we recommend that the parish “accrue” an amount each year toward the cost of that sabbatical.
COMPENSATION FOR A PART-TIME PRIEST I cannot provide figures for this as there are no standards for a part-time priest. The Bishop discourages a parish from considering this option. One of the definitions of a parish is that it can sustain itself in full ministry financially. Further, such a circumstance is about maintenance-only and not about mission and growth. It means the congregation becomes a chaplaincy, not a church. A part-time clergy cannot and does not--we have witnessed over time--lead the community to Gospel vitality in any sense of that phrase.
If your Vestry chooses to pursue the idea of a less-than-full-time priest, they will need to converse with the Bishop’s office--and that conversation usually begins with me.
CHURCH-PROVIDED HOUSING Yes, if your clergy person were to live in the St. _______’s rectory, the fair-market value of that home could “back out” of the cash paid to the clergy, reducing the cash line item. An obvious observation: You’d be losing any current rent on the rectory, which would pretty much neutralize any gain in the other area of your budget. Further, your next clergy person would need to want to live in the rectory--and not all of them do. The obvious downside of living in church-owned housing is that whenever the clergy person leaves that curacy, s/he leaves without benefit of any equity s/he may have earned in a house purchased with the salary provided.
OTHER COSTS OF HAVING A CLERGY There are other budgetary impacts of a clergy for which a congregation is responsible: Full cost of one telephone (land or cellular--priest’s choice) since the priest is on call 24/7. Cost about $1,200.00 per year. Reasonable professional expenses, with a minimum around $1,200.00 per year.
Reasonable professional development expenses (continuing education, clergy conferences and the like), with a fair minimum expected at around $1,500.00 annually. These categories are required of a parish; the amounts are negotiable, but usually are negotiated upward. Even so, at these “minimums,” the parish would need to set aside another $3,900.00 per year in clergy support. Subtotal of compensation plus expected expenses: $85,600.00 Beyond these costs, there are two other considerations: First, while it is difficult to determine a specific amount, the congregation is liable for life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, worker compensation, disability and unemployment insurance. A fair estimate of the total annual value of these is $1,400.00. Second, there is the obvious cost of replacing the priest when s/he is on vacation or is otherwise absent. Typically a clergy contract allows four or five Sundays a year to be taken off. At the current suggested supply rate provided by the Diocese, a supply priest to cover two services and preach is entitled to $200.00, plus compensation for business mileage at the IRS-allowable reimbursement rate, which for 2008 was 50.5 cents/mile. A congregation therefore would need to provide for approximately $1,000.00 plus mileage for supply clergy. GRAND TOTAL (COMPENSATION, EXPENSES, COVERAGE FOR ABSENCE): $88,000.00.
AND ONE THING MORE: Between the 5th and 7th year of tenure, a priest is entitled to a sabbatical of several weeks’ duration. The purpose of the sabbatical is rest and restoration--and also for the priest to spend that time in such a way that the experience--be it education or travel--directly benefits/enhances the congregation upon his/her return. While the parish does not pay the full cost of the sabbatical, it is a major partner in this investment. Therefore, we recommend that the parish “accrue” an amount each year toward the cost of that sabbatical.
COMPENSATION FOR A PART-TIME PRIEST I cannot provide figures for this as there are no standards for a part-time priest. The Bishop discourages a parish from considering this option. One of the definitions of a parish is that it can sustain itself in full ministry financially. Further, such a circumstance is about maintenance-only and not about mission and growth. It means the congregation becomes a chaplaincy, not a church. A part-time clergy cannot and does not--we have witnessed over time--lead the community to Gospel vitality in any sense of that phrase.
If your Vestry chooses to pursue the idea of a less-than-full-time priest, they will need to converse with the Bishop’s office--and that conversation usually begins with me.
CHURCH-PROVIDED HOUSING Yes, if your clergy person were to live in the St. _______’s rectory, the fair-market value of that home could “back out” of the cash paid to the clergy, reducing the cash line item. An obvious observation: You’d be losing any current rent on the rectory, which would pretty much neutralize any gain in the other area of your budget. Further, your next clergy person would need to want to live in the rectory--and not all of them do. The obvious downside of living in church-owned housing is that whenever the clergy person leaves that curacy, s/he leaves without benefit of any equity s/he may have earned in a house purchased with the salary provided.
