The Clergy Wellness Commission

Letter of Agreement
Associate Priest

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LETTER OF AGREEMENT

between the Rector, Wardens and Vestry of the

Episcopal Church of ________________________________ in

____________________________________________________ and The Reverend

______________________________________  

PREAMBLE

  The Associate Priest shall assist at the Episcopal Church of (Name of Church) _____________________ ________________________________ as pastor, priest and teacher, sharing in the councils of the congregation of _________________________________________and of the whole Episcopal Church, in communication with the Bishop. By word and action, informed at all times by the Holy Scriptures, the Book Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of : ____________________________________, the Associate Priest shall proclaim the Gospel, love and serve Christ's people, nourish them, and strengthen them to glorify God in this life and in the Life to come. The Associate’s work includes not only activities directed to this congregation and its well-being, but also activities on behalf of the Diocese and the community. This ministry will be further described in a Position Description and a Wellness Agreement, developed and approved by the Rector, Wardens and Vestry and approved by the Bishop, which will be completed by the seventh month of their ministry together and shall be reviewed annually. The Position Description and Wellness Agreement shall be considered a part of this Letter of Agreement when completed. A Goals Statement developed and approved by the Rector, Wardens and Vestry on _______________________ for the first six months of the Associate’s ministry, is attached to and made part of this Letter of Agreement.  

SECTION A

Times of Work and Leave

1. The Associate Priest scheduled work week is 10 units of four hours (40 hours) including Sundays, of mornings, afternoons or evenings in various combinations, not to exceed 12 units, (50 hours), reflecting the demands of this ministry. In general, no more than three evening’s work per week is expected. The Associate is expected to preserve at least one continuous twenty-four hour period each week solely for personal and family use
2. The Associate will have the following periods of leave at full compensation:
1. National Holidays, which may be transferred to a date which will not interfere with worship for major feast days/occasions;
2. One month Annual Vacation, which shall include five Sundays. Vacations will be, taken annually, and no portion of accumulated vacation time may be carried forward to succeeding years;
3. Professional development leave or Continuing Education of at the rate of two weeks per year, which shall not be cumulative, with a stipend of $____________________ per year.
4. One month accrued per year of service in this congregation for sabbatical leave, not to exceed maximum accrued leave of six months, to be available after the fourth year, and cumulative through the sixth year. Sabbatical time may be taken in one or more installments, e.g. three months one year, three months the next. Sabbatical arrangements shall be made in consultation with the Vestry, to insure benefits for the congregation as well as for the Associate. Except by mutual, written agreement, the Associate will remain with Church for at least one year following any sabbatical leave. The Vestry will place money in the budget of Church each year to create a Sabbatical Reserve.
5. Sick leave and/or personal time off shall be 12 working days per year up to a total of 30 working days in cases of serious illness or injury. No payment shall be made for accrued sick leave upon termination of the Associate’s position at Church.
6. Six weeks Family Medical Leave with full pay for the period immediately surrounding the birth/adoption of a child, or the care of an immediate family member (parent, spouse,/partner, sibling, child) with a serious health condition, will be allowed to the Associate, beginning at a time decided by the him/her. An additional unpaid leave of absence of six weeks, if necessary, may be taken beyond the initial period of family leave. All benefits and job rights remain in effect during this time.
7. Quality Time Sundays Off: as described in Clergy Wellness and Mutual Ministry, the Rector may take 2-4 Sundays off a year, in addition to his/her regular vacation. Suggested weekends might be Memorial Day weekend or Labor Day weekend or other weekends which do not conflict with the Rector’s absence.

SECTION B

Compensation

1. Based upon Associate Priest’s experience in parish ministry his/her annual cash stipend will be based upon the Diocese of California graded salary standards or $______________________ paid in equal monthly installments on or before the first day of the month. The Associate’s stipend will be reviewed annually in the light of those standards and cost of living increases. The Rector and Vestry may additionally approve merit increases deemed appropriate by the Vestry. Concurrent with this Agreement and at the Associate’s request, the Vestry has designated a portion of total cash stipend as a housing allowance under section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code, as set forth on Schedule I attached to and made part of this Agreement.
2. The Associate shall receive reimbursement for one-half of all self-employment tax contributions actually paid by the him/her, to the amount of $______________________, on par with salary ratio, which results from the Associate’s total cash stipend, quarterly before the 15th of April, June, September, and December.
3. The Vestry shall provide for the following benefits:
1. Church Pension Fund Assessment on the sum of the Associate’s total annual cash stipend (including housing allowance), plus the Associate’s self-employment contributions reimbursement as provided above.
2. Medical and dental insurance as delineated in the group plan of the Diocese of: $__________ __________________. If equivalent or better medical and dental insurance is provided independently through the employment of Associate’s spouse, the Associate may sign a release to waive coverage under the Diocesan Plan. The Vestry will not then provide duplicate coverage, but will use the amount of the Diocesan medical and dental insurance premium to provide a nonincome benefit of equal cost. If at any time the Associate revokes the waiver, the Vestry will provide coverage through the Diocesan Group Plan;
3. Group life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance as provided in the Diocesan Group Plan;
4. Weekly and long-term disability insurance as provided in the Diocesan Group Plan; and
5. Workers' Compensation insurance, as provided by state law.

SECTION C

Expenses

The Vestry shall pay the following expenses incurred by the Associate in fulfilling the duties of the position:

1. Reimbursement of actual ministry-related travel expenses will be made at the rate established annually by the Internal Revenue Service, at 32.5 cents per mile, plus the costs of parking fees, tolls and related travel expenses.
2. A Continuing Education allowance of $ _______________per year, to be reviewed annually, set aside in a special account and paid to or on behalf of the Associate toward expenses incurred in relation to professional development activities. Unexpended portions of this allowance shall be allowed to accumulate for use in succeeding years up to three (3) years; and
3. The normal expenses of Church's office operation, such as telephone, postage, office equipment, supplies, and secretarial services; the maximum of which shall not exceed an amount designated in the annual operating budget of Church.

SECTION D

Discretionary Fund

An Almoner's Fund, commonly known as a discretionary fund, is established as provided under Title III, Canon 14, Section 2 (f) of the Episcopal Church from gifts given the Church for the purposes of the Fund. The Associate will manage his/her Fund in accordance with the guidelines adopted by the Finance Committee of the Diocese, a copy of which is attached and incorporated herein by reference.          

SECTION E

Supplementary Compensation

The Associate Priest shall not charge fees for performing any rites of the Church (for example, baptisms, marriages, funerals) for members of Church, but is entitled to receive gifts or honoraria for such services from parishioners. Such honoraria or gifts are under the sole control of the Associate, with the understanding that it is customary for gifts for funerals to be placed in the Almoner's (discretionary) Fund. In addition, the Associate may receive income from other sources, provided such activity does not interfere with the discharge of the Rector's primary duties, such as:

1. Sacramental services on behalf of persons not related to Church;
2. Fees, gifts and honoraria for professional services for groups unrelated to Church, or for sermons, books, articles, music, etc. published outside the Parish.

SECTION F

Use of Buildings

In addition to the use and control of the Church buildings for the discharge of duties of the Associate’s office as provided in Title III, Canon 14, Section 1 of the Canons of the Episcopal Church, the Associate may grant use of buildings to individuals or groups from outside the Parish, following guidelines approved by the Rector and the Vestry, after conferring with the Rector and staff. Existing Guidelines include seeking the advice of the Building Use Committee.  

SECTION G

Mutual Ministry Review

The Rector, Associate Priest, Wardens and Vestry agree to an annual discussion and Mutual Ministry Review of the total ministry of the parish. This shall include a review of the work, the strengths and growth areas of both the Rector and the Vestry. Recommended guidelines for a Mutual Ministry Review can be obtained from Episcopal Church Center, 815 2^nd Ave., NYC, NY 10017 or be seen in the book Clergy Wellness and Mutual Ministry. The Mutual Ministry Review will be undertaken in June and December of each year. The Rector, Associate, Wardens and the Vestry each may request that a third party be engaged to facilitate the review. The purpose of this Mutual Ministry Review is to:

1. Provide the Associate Priest, Rector and Vestry the opportunity to assess how well they are fulfilling their responsibilities to each other and to the ministry they share;
2. Evaluate goals set at the previous Mutual Ministry Review;
3. Review progress on the goals for the works of the parish and congregation for the coming year established at the Vestry retreat, or set goals for the coming year if no Vestry retreat has been held that year.
4. Isolate areas of conflict or disappointment which have not received adequate attention and may be adversely affecting mutual ministry;
5. Clarify expectations of all parties so that future conflicts may be diminished or avoided. An Outline of the Mutual Ministry Review process will be formulated in time for the first review, and will be attached to this Letter of Agreement and used thereafter.

SECTION H

Housing

The Associate Priest will be responsible for providing his/her own housing, which shall be within a reasonable distance of Church.

SECTION I

Other Agreements

1. The parish Church of _______________________________________ will reimburse the Diocese of _______________________________________ $_________________________ for air fare incurred by the Diocese of _________________________ in a search process with the Associate Priest. The Associate will use the airplane tickets purchased with the money to travel to ______________________ during the week of _____________________ to look for housing and arrange for moving the Associate’s family and household to the _______________________________________________________area.
2. The parish Church of __________________________________________________will reimburse the moving and travel expenses incurred in relocating the Associate’s household from _________________ to ____________________________. Moving expenses shall include family travel, transporting household goods, and reasonable temporary accommodations during the move, in an amount not to exceed $____Thousand Dollars ($__,000). The parish shall also reimburse the Associate for one-half of additional federal and state income taxes actually paid by the Associate, which may result from such expense reimbursement. The rector plans to move from _______________________________________ to _____________________________ during the week of ___________________________;
3. The Associate Priest shall begin duties with the congregation on unless delayed by adverse circumstances approved by the Rector and the Vestry. All pay and benefits shall become effective on this date ________________________;
4. This Letter of Agreement, and its related supplementary Goals Statement, Position Description, Wellness Agreement and Mutual Ministry Review Outline, when completed, and any changes thereto, each shall be signed by the Rector, Associate Priest, Wardens and Vestry and made part of the minutes of the next Vestry meeting following the signing of each, and copies shall be given to each new member of the Vestry in succeeding years;
5. In the event of the Associate’s death, the Vestry agrees to continue payment of the Associate’s cash stipend, and premiums for appropriate medical insurance for the Associate’s surviving direct dependents (limited to spouse/partner and children) for a period of three months;
6. This Letter of Agreement may be revised by mutual agreement, generally at the time of the annual Mutual Ministry Reviews, except that the provisions for compensation and expenses may be reviewed and revised as a part of the annual budget development process of the Vestry; and
7. If the Associate Priest and Rector and Vestry are in disagreement concerning interpretation of this Letter of Agreement, either party may appeal for mediation by a mutually agreed upon third party. If such mediation does not resolve the disagreement, either party may appeal to the Bishop for mediation, and in such event the decision of the Bishop will be final and binding on the parties.
8. This Letter of Agreement may be signed in counterparts, which together shall constitute one integrated agreement, and each of which when fully executed shall be deemed an original document.  

The Rev. _____________________________________ Date _________
Associate Priest  The Rev. ______________________  Date _________
Rector Senior Warden___________________________ Date _________
Junior Warden ________________________________  Date _________
Clerk of the Vestry______________________________ Date _________  

THE LETTER OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATE PRIEST, RECTOR, WARDENS AND VESTRY OF (Church) ___________________________________________________________
AND   THE REV. _____________________________________________________________
RECTOR, IS APPROVED AND ACCEPTED: Date:_______________________________________

THE RT. REV._____________________________________________
Bishop of the Diocese of _____________________________________

SAMPLE GOALS AND STATEMENTS FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS

Goals for the Associate Priest:

1. Develop with the Rector a Position Description, a Wellness Agreement, and an Outline of the Mutual Ministry Review process for the Associate Priest;
2. Assist the Rector liturgically on Sundays, weekdays and Major Feast Days by celebrating and preaching; assisting with other liturgies (baptisms/weddings/funerals);
3. Work with the Rector to develop a Pastoral Care Team, including Lay Eucharistic Ministers 1&2s, and continue to educate, coordinate, and support their ministries to serve the pastoral needs of the Parish.
4. To try to visit each active parish family listed in the Parish directory at least once in the coming year;
5. Work with the Rector to develop a plan to reach out to inactive and former members of Church.
6. Develop and teach a year round Adult Education Program, a Fall adult Inquirer’s Class and Lenten Series. Also, plan with the rector an on-going Adult Catechumenate Program.
7. Explore Church Growth Options and other avenues for Evangelism and Outreach.
8. Work collaboratively with the Vestry.
9. Participate in community, Deanery, and Diocesan activities so that the mission of the congregation beyond itself is furthered.

10. Maintain a pattern of life that sets a wholesome Christian example.  

Goals for the Vestry:

1. Work prayerfully with the Associate Priest to discern God's will for Church and for the Associate’s ministry at the parish church.
2. Develop with the Rector and Associate Priest an Associate’s Position Description, a Wellness Agreement, and an Outline of the Mutual Ministry Review process.
3. Work with the Rector and Associate Priest to implement a representative Pastoral Care Commission that will serve the needs of the Parish.
4. Get to know and make an effort to understand the Associate Priest, and get to know his/her immediate family.
5. Help the Church family extend their love to the Associate Priest and his/her family.
6. Work collaboratively with the Associate Priest and each one exercise their own ministry and life of prayer.
7. Sustain and support the Associate Priest in his/her parish ministry.
8. Sustain and support the Associate’s family as needed.
9. Provide an environment for effective ministry by the Associate Priest at the Church.

  SCHEDULE I The Rector and the Vestry hereby designate the following portion of the Associate Priest’s total cash stipend as a housing allowance under section 107 of the federal Internal Revenue Code:  

$__________________________      

The Rev. _______________________________________ Date _________
Rector

Senior Warden __________________________________  Date _________
Junior Warden___________________________________ Date _________
Clerk of the Vestry _______________________________ Date _________

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