The question of adequate compensation comes up often for Episcopal Churches and their members. Forma believes that ministers in the Church should be paid a living wage and receive benefits for the work they do.
One of Forma’s achievements was advocating for and helping shape Resolution A138, adopted at General Convention 2009 requiring churches to provide pension benefits for any lay employee of the Episcopal Church working 1,000 hours or more per year (20 hours per week) and to utilize the Church Pension Group standards as a baseline. General Convention 2012 allowed an extension for schools until January 1, 2018, using a phase-in model.
Unfortunately, there is no simple way to recommend a salary or hourly wage broadly for all churches and dioceses. There are some helpful tools below to help you discern how best to approach fair compensation in your context.
Forma encourages its members to negotiate for salary and benefits. Church budgets are often strained in order to meet the demands of their mission, however, the work our ministers engage in are vital to accomplishing that mission. Your gifts, talents, and time should be adequately compensated. Engaging in negotiation helps insure this will be the case.
A good starting point when considering salary ranges for a full-time formation position is the guidance provided by your diocese regarding minimum associate rector salary or to find the local teacher salary in the school district where your context is located.
By resolution, The Episcopal Church requires pension and health benefits for lay employees who meet a certain threshold of eligibility.
Pension
Episcopal employers subject to the authority of the Church are required to provide a pension to all lay employees scheduled to work a minimum of 1,000 hours annually. Visit the Lay Employee Pension System web page.
Health
Employers are required to provide all eligible clergy and lay employees with equal access to and parity of funding for healthcare benefits, to be provided through the Episcopal Church Medical Trust. Under the terms of this resolution, an eligible employee is someone who is scheduled for at least 1,500 hours of compensated work annually for any domestic diocese, parish, mission, or other ecclesiastical organization or body subject to the authority of the Church. Visit the Denominational Health Plan web page.
Below are helpful resources for determining the difference in cost of living between United States metropolitan areas. These tools help a supervisor contextualize the salary range for real housing, food, transportation, etc., costs in a given city or town. Especially helpful is the “728 – Cost of Living Index—Selected Urban Areas” document on the www.census.gov website.
General Convention Resolutions Affecting the Employment of Laity in the Church
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