EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

This section contains compensation guidelines for clergy and lay employees. It is updated annually. You can also find the diocesan sabbatical leave policy here.

We are grateful to be building Beloved Community with you.

Thurgood Marshall who won the landmark school desegregation case, Brown v Board of Education, became the first African-American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. A member of St. Augustine's in the District, he is included in the Episcopal Church's calendar of commemorations. His feast is May 17.

Bishop Jane Holmes Dixon became just the second female bishop in the Episcopal Church when she was elected suffragan bishop of Washington.

Bishop John Bryson Chane (in red) led the groundbreaking ceremony at St. Nicholas' Church in Darnestown, Maryland

Who is Eligible?

Medical And Dental benefits, employer paid, are eligible to those working 30 + hours per week as a W-2 employee, excluding seasonal and temporary staff. Employees working 20+ hours per week but less than 30 hours are eligible but the employer is not required to pay the premiums.
Group Life Insurance is available to those working 20 + hours per week as a W-2 employee, excluding seasonal and temporary staff.
Short and Long Term Disability is available to those working 20 + hours per week as a W-2 employee, excluding seasonal and temporary staff.
Lay Retirement plan or pension fund contributions are available to those lay employees working 20 + hours per week (1,000 hours or more annually) as a W-2 employee excluding seasonal and temporary staff.
Clergy Pension Plan is available to an ordained Episcopal cleric, you automatically participate in the Clergy Pension Plan if you are compensated, regularly employed, expected to work five or more consecutive months for the same Episcopal employer, and your employer pays Assessments to CPF.

When hiring a new benefits-eligible employee, please complete the Request for Benefits form and return to Kathleen Hall.

Eligible new employees have 30 days in which to enroll in health benefits, Group Life and Disability benefits. After this period, underwriting may be required.

You may access information about your benefits at MyCPG. New employees and those who haven’t created an account can begin the process by clicking Create an Account.

Diocese of Washington’s Health Benefits Policy

This policy, concerning the Denominational Health Plan, ensures that the diocese and all of its congregations provide health insurance for eligible employees. View the policy.

About Your Health and Disability Benefits

Benefits are offered through The Episcopal Church Medical Trust. Options from Anthem BlueCross BlueShield and Kaiser Permanente are available. Dental benefits are provided through Cigna. For more information on a particular benefit follow the links below:

Additional Benefits

Group Life insurance is an optional benefit from Church Pension Group that may be offered through by the employer. Enrollment is required within the first 30 days of employment. Active clergy receive $150,000 of coverage through the payment of the pension assessment.

Short and Long-term Disability insurance is another optional benefit from Church Pension Group that may be offered through by the employer. Enrollment is required within the first 30 days of employment. Active clergy receive coverage through the payment of the pension assessment.

Sabbatical Leave

Eligibility: The rector who has served in the parish will be eligible for a sabbatical of not more than 3 months following the fifth year of service. Eligibility does not assume approval. Parishes may extend this benefit to full-time mission staff (clergy & lay) who are routinely engaged in parish ministry beyond the standard work day as part of their responsibilities.

Purpose: The purpose of a sabbatical leave is to provide the staff member with enough distance from his/her/they day-to-day responsibilities in order to cultivate a renewed sense of mission, purpose, and direction for his/her/their ministry. Sabbatical Leave is a time for rest, spiritual renewal, mission realignment, and for the gaining of new and relevant education/skill so that the employee can return and contribute even more fully and energetically to the ministry and mission of the parish.

Sabbatical leave is for the welfare of both the employee and the parish ministry and is to be taken during the tenure of the employee, not at termination, and will not be paid as compensation when the employee leaves employment. Sabbatical leave is not an entitlement for time served, but rather an investment in future ministry. At the end of a sabbatical leave, the employee must return to their diocesan staff work for at least one calendar year.

Approval: Application for the sabbatical should be made at least 9 months before the projected date of departure so that planning and preparation can take place during the rector’s or staff member’s absence. The Vestry, in consultation with the Bishop’s staff needed, has final approval on all requests and proposals for sabbatical leave.

The entire sabbatical is to be taken at one time unless approved otherwise by the Vestry.

Sabbatical leaves are to be staggered so that no more than one mission staff member is away on sabbatical at any given time.

Based on the Diocesan Sabbatical Policy approved by Diocesan Council in 2017

Resources, Forms & Publications

Pharmacy	Clergy	Lay
Dental	Clergy	Lay
Behavioral Health	Clergy	Lay
Vision	Clergy	Lay
Employee Assistance Program	Clergy	Lay
Health Advocate	Clergy	Lay
Travel	Clergy	Lay
Group Life Insurance	Clergy	Lay
Short Term Disability	Clergy	Lay
Long Term Disability	Clergy	Lay