Friends in Christ:

We present to you the first Conference Compensation Guidelines for the Southern New England Conference. They represent years of hard and faithful work. We are incredibly grateful to all the hands - and hearts – lay and ordained - that have helped create this document.

As you will see in the materials, these guidelines represent a departure from past methods of calculating just clergy compensation. Whereas previous guidelines faithfully attempted to average compensation across a wide geographic area, adjusting for reported size of the congregation and pastoral experience, the new guidelines focus in on the local economy of a particular congregation. They ask each congregation to look honestly at what it costs for their pastor to live in their community, and how they would need to compensate them to make that possible. Further, the new guidelines invite increased flexibility in compensation by providing a singular number for total compensation to account for a variety of circumstances and financial needs. From this number, covenanting partners can discern how much is spent on specific benefits. We feel that this will make budgeting and negotiation much simpler and clearer for local churches and candidates. To help you in this work, the guidelines come with two helpful excel spreadsheets, one to calculate total compensation and another to allocate that number between cash salary and other benefits.

In some cases, the new guidelines will suggest very different compensation than previous guidelines.  This may feel especially challenging as the pandemic raises financial concerns in our congregations. However, it is our hope that we might engage with these new guidelines as a holy experiment in just compensation for the 21st century. Your ACMs long to be partners with you as we lean into these new guidelines and live the love and justice of Jesus together. We covet your wonderings, feedback, and partnership as we further refine this document in the coming years.

We trust that by faithfully leaning into curiosity and wonder, these guidelines might be tools for grace-filled, open, and honest conversation.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your ACM with any questions or concerns. 

Note: The SNEUCC does not provide compensation guidelines for other staff, but suggest these resources:

• UCC Musicians Association published Guidelines for the Ministry of Music
• American Guild of Organists Career Development & Support section
• Hiring Faith Formation and Youth Ministry Leaders - SNEUCC
• Church Finance Handbook (2018)

Info Session Video Recorded February 16, 2022:

Download a PDF version of the slides used in this presentation