Dear Siblings in Christ,
The Compensation Team is made up of Word and Sacrament leaders, Word and Service leaders and Lay leaders. The team reviewed the current conditions regarding our rostered leaders, our congregations, and the economy.
The team recognizes our leaders are dealing with a number of additional post covid demands, a new “normal” in our congregations, and additional stressors on ministry and our ministers.
We also talked about the state of the current economy. This year inflation will be around 8.3% meaning it takes more dollars to buy the same stuff as we did last year. On the good side was Portico benefits only increased 3% while the average market increase for benefits was 8-10%.
Some of our congregations are doing fine financially. Some of our congregations are not doing fine. The team also recognizes prime givers currently see the value of their investments in an almost free fall.
These factors were debated in a healthy and constructive manner. This resulted in a recommendation to provide a pay increase of 3-6%. If a congregation cannot provide a 6% raise due to its financial health the team encourages the leadership of a congregation to explain the current financial situation and to recognize the value of the work the roster leader provides.
Second, our current guideline for Compassionate Leave states:
“For full and part time rostered ministers, it is recommended that five (5) days, with pay, be provided in the event of a death in the immediate family (to include spouse, children, parents, brother, sister, grandparents, grandchildren, mother-in-law, father-in-law, or legal guardian), to attend the funeral and to deal with family affairs.
The team felt strongly the church could be more compassionate. Indeed, we felt the church needs to model compassion in these situations by showing how we take care of our leaders. The new guidelines are:
In the event of a death of a child, grandchild, spouse, or life-partner –
- At the sole discretion of the rostered leader, they may take up to one month paid time off.
- The rostered leader may also take up to a second month of unpaid time off at their sole discretion.
In the event of a death of a parent, sibling, grandparent, mother/father-in-law, legal guardian –
- At the sole discretion of the rostered leader, they may take up to two weeks paid time off.
- The rostered leader may also take up to two additional weeks of unpaid time off at their sole discretion.
Thank you and may God continue to bless our leaders and our congregations throughout the synod.
Respectfully,
The Florida-Bahamas Compensation Team.
Compensation Guidelines:
- 2023 Compensation WORKSHEET (this document is the worksheet to use when evaluating/deciding compensation guidelines)
- 2023 Compensation Narrative (this document is the narrative explanation for evaluating/deciding the guidelines)
Mission Support Form (use this form to submit your intended Mission Support commitment)
Resources for Closing and Leaving a Legacy (from the Southwestern Texas Synod)
More FORMS often submitted to the synod office (Mission Support, Travel Equalization, etc)
