Overture 04-29. On Urging the Board of Pensions to Correct an Inequity for Churches Calling a Married Couple as Co-Pastors Sharing Less than Two Full-Time Calls—From the Presbytery of Northern New England.

The Presbytery of Northern New England overtures the 216th General Assembly (2004) to urge the Board of Pensions to remove an unfair burden upon primarily small congregations, by eliminating the medical dues penalty when a congregation calls a married couple as co-pastors to share less than the equivalent of two, full-time calls.

Rationale

When a congregation calls a pastor and pays the medical benefits dues to the Board of Pensions, the benefits program covers the pastor’s entire family. Whether the pastor is single or married with several children, the dues paid by the congregation is the same. Whether the spouse is unemployed, or employed by a business, the dues paid by the congregation is the same. However, when the congregation calls the spouse as a partner in their ministry, the congregation’s dues are doubled, even though the benefits to the co-pastors remains unchanged.

In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), there are approximately 8,706 clergy serving as pastors, co-pastors, and associate pastors. Of those, only some 96 clergy couples are serving as co-pastors. That means, for all of the medical benefits system, the Board of Pensions would need to waive dues for a maximum of 48 congregations. Almost all of these are some of our smallest congregations, paying some of the lowest salaries, so the reduction of real income to the Board of Pensions would be too small to be statistically significant.

This is an opportunity for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to make a significant difference in both moral and financial support to congregations in need, while costing very little for the denomination or its Board of Pensions.