Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Who Does What? – For Clergy

“The rector or senior clergyperson of the congregation is another key member of the finance team. The rector presides at vestry meetings and works with the vestry, treasurer, and finance committee on budget planning, evaluation, required reporting such as the annual parochial report to the diocese, and hiring of additional staff, among other responsibilities. The rector also helps to facilitate conversation and communication among the various people and groups involved in the congregation’s finances. The rector is responsible for setting and modeling appropriate standards of transparency and confidentiality in communications about finances. Most importantly, the rector works with the vestry and other church members to discern the mission of the congregation, which should directly affect and be reflected in the congregation’s budget. Despite these responsibilities, in many congregations the rector does not have check-signing privileges, which is an example of a simple but effective financial check-and-balance.”
­ Finance Resource Guide, p. 16

• Clergy Compensation: Speaking the same language an ECF webinar presented by Nancy Fritschner and the Rev. John Fritschner, December 12, 2017
• Understanding Clergy Taxes an ECF webinar presented by Nancy Fritschner, September 18, 2019
• Firing an Employee the Right Way by Donald Romanik, Vestry Papers, May 2018
• Why “Canoeing the Mountains” by Linda Buskirk, an ECF Vital Practices blog, June 16, 2019
• Millennials in Leadership by Nicole Foster, Colin Chapman, Hershey Mallette Stephens, Vestry Papers, May 2019
• Setting Goals—Moving Your Mission Forward by Melissa Rau, Vestry Papers, January 2019
• Vestry Orientation an ECF webinar presented by Miguel Escobar and Brendon Hunter, February 9, 2017
• How We Gather ’Round the Table by Brian Prior, Vestry Papers, January 2019

Learn more about the FRG here.