Diocese of New Jersey | Constitution and Canons

SECTION 1. There shall be a Diocesan Review Committee for the Diocese consisting of four lay persons and five clergy persons each to be elected for staggered three-year terms by the Convention of the Diocese, to have such responsibilities as may be provided for by canon, including the responsibilities set forth in National Canon IV.3. Clergy members of the Diocesan Review Committee must be presbyters or deacons who are canonically resident in the Diocese. Lay members must be adult confirmed communicants in good standing of a congregation in the Diocese. Members completing their terms are eligible for reelection. No Chancellor or Vice Chancellor, member of the Standing Committee, or member or alternate member the Trial Court, or any attorney affiliated in the practice of law with any of these persons, shall be eligible to serve as a member of the Diocesan Review Committee. Any vacancy caused by reason of death, incapacity, resignation, or any disqualification under National Canon IV.14.13 must be promptly filled by the Standing Committee of the Diocese from a qualified person of the same order, to serve until the next meeting of the Convention, at which time an election will take place to fill the balance of any unexpired term together with the election of full-term members.

SECTION 2. Following each annual meeting of the Convention, the senior member of the Diocesan Review Committee by reason of service on the Committee (or in the case of two members with equal service, the one elected with the most votes), shall act as a convener to call a meeting of the Committee to be held within two months after the close of Convention. At this meeting, the Diocesan Review Committee shall elect a President and a Secretary from among its members, each to serve until a successor is elected. Whenever a vacancy thereafter occurs in the office of President or Secretary, the remaining members of the Diocesan Review Committee shall promptly convene at the call of the then senior member of the Committee and elect from among their number a successor to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.

CANONS 68, 69 and 70 RESERVED

CANON 71

Accounts

SECTION 1. The Fiscal Year shall begin January 1

SECTION 2. All accounts having to do with the receipt and expenditure, or investment or reinvestment of money of all diocesan or congregational organizations, including all discretionary accounts and funds, shall be audited at the close of each year by a certified public accountant, a public accountant, or such audit committee as shall be authorized by the Audit Committee of the Diocese. The person or persons conducting the audit shall in no way be connected with the subject matter of the account.

SECTION 3. Treasurers and custodians, other than banking institutions, shall be adequately bonded; except treasurers of funds that do not exceed $500.00 at any one time during the fiscal year.

SECTION 4. The discretionary funds of all bishops, priests and deacons of the Diocese shall be managed in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the Manual of Business Methods in Church Affairs issued by the Office of the Treasurer of the Episcopal Church.

CANON 72

Church Property

SECTION 1. All real and personal property held by or for the benefit of any parish, mission, congregation, or corporation of this Diocese is held in trust for this Diocese and the Episcopal Church. The existence of this trust, however, shall in no way limit the power and authority of the parish, mission, congregation, or corporation of this Diocese otherwise existing over such property so long as the particular parish, mission, congregation, or corporation of this Diocese remains a part of and subject to the Constitution and Canons of this Diocese and the Episcopal Church.

SECTION 2. No sale, conveyance or mortgage of any real estate other than burial lots in churchyards or cemeteries, and no lease for a longer term than one year shall be made by any parish, mission, congregation, or corporation of this Diocese without the previous written consent of the Bishop and a majority of the Standing Committee of the Diocese, or in case of a vacancy in the office of Bishop, or of the Bishop’s absence from the Diocese, then of a majority of the Standing Committee.

See Revised Statutes of New Jersey, Title 16:12-4

CANON 73

Parochial Registers and Reports

SECTION 1.

(a) In every Congregation the Warden or Wardens shall provide a parish Register.

(b) It shall be the duty of every Minister in charge of a Congregation, or if the Congregation be vacant, the Wardens and Members of the Vestry, to record in the Parish Register all Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages and Burials, and the names of all Communicants within the Minister’s Cure.

(c) The registry of every Baptism shall be signed by the officiating Minister, and the said registry shall include the complete name of each child or adult baptized, together with the place and date of Baptism, the place and date of birth, and the names of the parents and sponsors or witnesses.

(d) The registry of every Confirmation shall include the complete name and the age of the confirmed, and when and where the confirmed was baptized; and each page of the register of Confirmation shall indicate the date and place of administration, and shall be signed at least once by the officiating Bishop and the presenting Minister.

(e) The registry of every Marriage shall be signed by the officiating Minister, by the contracting parties, and by at least two witnesses; and the said registry shall include the place and date of marriage, the status of the contracting parties immediately before the marriage, their age and place of residence, and the names of their parents.

(f) The registry of every Burial shall be signed by the officiating Minister, and the said registry shall include the complete name, the age, the status in the Church, last residence, the date and cause of death, and the date and place of burial of the person buried.

(g) Every Minister in charge of a Congregation shall make out and continue, as accurately as possible, a list of all families within the Minister’s Cure, including the names of each member thereof, and of all individuals not included as members of a family; which list shall indicate whether each person is a baptized, a confirmed, or a communicant member of this Church; and the said list shall remain in the Congregation for the use of the Minister’s successor.

SECTION 2.

(a) Every Minister in charge of a Congregation, or, if there be no such Minister, a Warden thereof, shall prepare annually for the year ending December 31st preceding, a report of the Congregation, upon the form as provided by National Canon I.6.1, and shall send the said report, not later than March 1st, to the Bishop.

(b) Every Minister not in charge of any Parish or Congregation shall also report the Minister’s occasional services for the year ending December 31st preceding, and shall send the said report, not later than March 1st, to the Bishop; and if there have been none, the Minister shall state the cause or reasons which have prevented the same.

(c) The above reports, or such part of them as the Bishop may deem proper, shall be entered in the Journal of the Convention.

(d) The officers of each Parish or Mission shall prepare annually a report of the compensation of each member of the clergy employed by the Parish or Mission upon the blank form provided by The Standing Commission on Clerical Compensation, and shall send the said report, not later than March 1st, to the Bishop. The report shall be signed by a Warden, the Treasurer and the member of the clergy.

(e) If the proper report be not made by any Congregation through its Minister or Warden by March 1st of each calendar year, it shall be the duty of the Bishop to cause inquiry to be made into the condition; and if the said report is not in the Bishop’s hands within a period of forty-five days from the date when it is due, such Congregation shall not be entitled to representation in the Convention.

See also: Article II, Section 6; Canon 2, Section 5 Penalty for failure to report

CANON 74

Minimum Compensation for Clergy

SECTION 1. All parishes and missions in the Diocese employing a priest full time shall be classified, for salary purposes only, into Position Levels by the Standing Commission on Clerical Compensation in a manner approved by the Convention of the Diocese. The classification shall be reported to each Convention of the Diocese and shall be published in the Journal of the Diocese. The Commission on Clerical Compensation, in accordance with the formula approved by Convention, may make annual adjustments in the classification as seem appropriate. A complete review of the classifications shall be made in each calendar year which is divisible by five. A vestry, a mission committee or a member of the clergy may request the Commission on Clerical Compensation to reconsider the Position Level assigned to their church. If either is not satisfied with the decision of the Commission on Clerical Compensation, the matter may be appealed to the Standing Committee of the Diocese, whose decision shall be final.

SECTION 2. In accordance with the provisions of National Canon I.7.1(j), all churches in the Diocese shall set the compensation for all clergy employees according to a fiscal year that begins on January 1.

SECTION 3. Every independent parish shall provide compensation for its rector in accordance with the provisions of this section. Compensation shall include cash salary, housing, professional expense reimbursement, Social Security offset, and continuing education allowance, in accordance with the following provisions:

(a) Cash salary shall not be less than the mandatory minimum level established in the Salary Schedule adopted annually by Diocesan Convention. The rector's term of office, for salary schedule purposes, will be considered to begin on the 1st of January closest to the date the rector's employment begins; provided, however, that all dates in July shall be considered closest to January 1st of the following year.

(b) Housing shall be provided in accordance with one of the following three alternatives:

(1) The parish shall pay the rector a housing allowance, not less than the minimum amount established annually by Diocesan Convention. This provision is intended to apply to situations in which the rector owns a home. In special circumstances the rector may make a written agreement with the vestry to accept a lesser amount for a given period of time, but all such agreements must be reviewed and approved in writing by the Standing Commission on Clerical Compensation.

(2) (i) The parish shall provide a rectory, pay the cost of utilities and maintenance, and provide a housing equity plan for the rector. As its share of the housing equity plan the parish shall pay a sum not less than the amount set forth in the Salary Schedule per year into a tax deferred savings plan for the rector.

(ii) In addition, the rector may require the vestry to reduce the rector’s cash salary by an amount specified by the rector and to pay this amount into the tax deferred savings plan as the rector’s share of the housing equity plan; but the rector’s share shall be applied to the requirement for cash salary provided for in paragraph (a) of this section.

(3) The parish shall rent suitable living quarters for the rector and pay the cost of utilities. It may also provide a housing equity plan. When rented housing is provided in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph, the vestry or church officers shall, at the time when the member of the clergy is employed, make an agreement in writing with the member of the clergy stipulating the amount of the rent or rental allowance. A copy of the agreement shall be filed with the Commission on Clerical Compensation. This amount shall not be decreased by the vestry or church officers during the time that the member of the clergy remains employed by the church.

If alternative (1) of this subsection (b) is selected, the rector may require the vestry to designate a portion of the cash salary as additional housing allowance in an amount specified by the rector, but this additional housing allowance shall be applied to the requirement for cash salary provided for in subsection (a) of this section.

If alternative (2) or (3) of this subsection (b) is selected, the rector may require the vestry to designate a portion of the cash salary as cash housing allowance in an amount specified by the rector, but this cash housing allowance shall be applied to the requirement for cash salary provided for in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) The parish shall pay the rector a professional expense reimbursement in accordance with one of the following alternatives:

(1) The rector shall submit periodically to the parish treasurer an accounting of professional expenses incurred and shall be reimbursed for the amount billed; provided, however, that the total of the amount billed shall not exceed $4,500 per year unless the vestry shall agree to a larger sum.

(2) The parish shall provide the rector with an automobile for professional use and pay the cost of operating it. In addition, the rector shall submit periodically to the parish treasurer an accounting of other professional expenses incurred and shall be reimbursed for the amount billed.

(d) Social Security offset shall be one-half the rector's Social Security Self Employment Tax on cash salary and housing provided by the parish. If the rector has taken the proper legal steps to be exempt from Social Security, the vestry shall pay the rector an equivalent amount. The rector may direct the vestry to pay all or part of this amount into a tax-deferred saving plan of the rector’s choice. The balance, if any, shall be paid to the rector directly.

(e) The annual amount of continuing education allowance shall be not less than 3% of the minimum starting salary for Level I as established in the Salary Schedule adopted annually by Diocesan Convention. The rector is entitled to one week of leave time per year with full compensation for continuing education purposes. Both leave time and continuing education allowance may be accumulated for as much as seven years. Accumulated leave time and allowance are forfeited upon termination of the pastoral relationship. The leave time and allowance can be used by the rector only in a continuing education pursuit approved by the vestry. If the vestry withholds approval, the rector may appeal to the Standing Committee of the Diocese, and the decision of the Standing Committee shall be final and binding on all parties.

(f) Upon request and with the written consent of the member of the clergy concerned, the Commission on Clerical Compensation may approve adjustments in the cash salary, housing allowance (if any), and professional expense reimbursement if the total of these three items meets the appropriate minimum requirements in these three areas.

(g) The failure of any parish to comply with the provisions of this section is a violation of Section 6 of Article II of the Constitution of the Diocese.

SECTION 4. The standards for compensation of vicars of organized missions and incorporated missions who are employed full time as clergy with pastoral charge of one or more Congregations shall be those provided for rectors in section 3 of this canon. It shall be the joint responsibility of the local Congregation and the responsible diocesan Ministry to see that the provisions of this section are carried out.

SECTION 5. (a) Curacies of an apprenticeship nature shall be considered Level I positions. Pastoral assistantship positions not of an apprenticeship nature shall be assigned a Position Level by the rector and vestry of the parish in which the person is or is to be employed. Compensation shall be in accordance with section 3 of this canon, except that the provision of section 3(b)(1) in reference to the minimum amount of the housing allowance shall not be mandatory. When housing is provided for an assistant minister in accordance with the provisions of section 3(b)(1) of this canon, but the vestry elects in accordance with the provisions of this subsection 5(a) to pay a housing allowance less than the minimum amount, the vestry shall make an agreement in writing with the assistant minister stipulating the amount of the housing allowance. A copy of the agreement shall be filed with the Commission on Clerical Compensation. The vestry shall not decrease the amount during the time that the assistant minister remains employed by the church.

(b) The standards for compensation of priests who are employed full-time as interim rectors or interim vicars by a church in the Diocese shall be those provided for rectors in section 3 of this canon, except that the provisions of subsection 3(b) on housing shall not apply. The church and the interim priest shall negotiate a mutually-acceptable written agreement providing for housing and/or a housing allowance. A copy of the agreement, signed by both parties, shall be filed with the Commission on Clerical Compensation.

SECTION 6. The Standing Commission on Clerical Compensation shall annually review the provisions of section 3 of this canon and shall report to Convention its recommendations on or before November 1 of the previous year. All proposed changes to this canon shall be submitted to the Commission on Clerical Compensation for its study, report and recommendations, if any, at least sixty days prior to the Convention at which they are to be considered.

SECTION 7. All proposed changes in the level of insurance benefits provided for in Canon 36, Section 2, shall be submitted to the Commission on Clerical Compensation for its study, report and recommendations, if any, at least sixty days prior to the Convention at which they are to be considered.