Saturday 26 August 2017

What Are Priests Paid For?

Good article by Zac Koons, "Priests are not paid to do anything".

But I've just been doing some sums.

Most priests are not paid to do anything six days a week.

But some benefices aren't big enough to justify not paying a priest to do anything full time.

Apparently a half-time priest is 3 days plus Sundays.  So that's the priest not being paid to do anything four days a week. The logic of this is that a priest could not do two half-time jobs as it would equal eight days a week. Unless they are not paid to do anything twice at the same time. Or somebody renames Saturday to be another Sunday.

And a "House for Duty" priest is not paid at all, 18 hours a week (2 days plus Sundays).

The logical end point of all this is that if a priest only doesn't do anything 2 days a week they should pay the diocese for the privilege. Somewhere in a diocesan church office, someone is probably already drawing up the job specification.

3 comments :

  1. If a house doesn't pay a priest to do anything 2 days plus Sundays, then the stipend of a half-time priest is only not paying for the remaining 1 day. Since a priest only needs to have one house at a time, it would be possible to have 2 (or, indeed, up to 4) part-time jobs with each one merely adding 1 day to the lack-of-work-load.

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  2. I would be happy to not be paid for half-time work except that I have other commitments for the remaining half-time, and I'm no good at sums.

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  3. I work perhaps half-time on a voluntary basis as LLM - and don't claim expenses, unless I've had to purchase something for the parish, not for my ministry.

    I live in my own, bought and paid for house, from when I was in full time employment, and it gives a freedom that perhaps even a HFD doesn't enjoy.

    I have support from within the small ministry team and wider from among the congregation. I also work outside the parish on a Deanery project, which in the main, requires a listening ear, personal empathy and the ability not to judge.

    I know that some people are paid for this sort of thing, but I really think that being paid for what is a privilege and brings grace along with it would somehow devalue what I can offer with only myself.

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