This page pertains primarily to clergy’s employment and benefits, as well as their sacramental duties. Most policies and resources regarding congregational leadership can be found on the For Church and Parish Leaders page.
If you change your address, email address or phone number, please provide the bishop’s office with your new information.
Benefits & Insurance
Each fall the Diocesan Council approves the Clergy Salary and Benefits Minimum Requirements for the coming year. Congregations are required to meet these minimums at the beginning of a priest’s tenure but may, of course, offer more than the minimum. It is recommended to Congregations to provide a minimum 2.5% raise annually.
The Diocesan Council has set the mandated clergy compensation and benefits for 2027. For this year, we will use the same criteria for defining church types as we did for the past year until further information is available from the National Church. Diocesan Council has asked the Compensation and Benefits Committee to continue to hold conversations about what criteria to use to classify our churches in the future.
Download Clergy Compensation & Benefits:
2027 Clergy Compensation Guide
2027 Clergy Compensation and Benefit Rates by church
Diocesan Health Dental Rates 2027
The employee contribution is 17% for both clergy and lay persons. We will continue to look for ways to maintain quality health coverage options which do not overburden parishes or clergy with undue costs. If a parish has a clergy spouse who is Medicare eligible, please contact Joan DeCelles at Diocesan House for possible alternatives.
Clergy are required to file a variety of forms with the CPG whenever a change occurs that impacts your pension. Use the links below to go to the documents found on CPG’s website:
New position? Clergy New/Assign Change Form
New salary or other change in your compensation? Clergy New/Assign Change Form
Getting married or divorced? Update marital status and Update life insurance beneficiary
New child? Update your information with CPG and Add life insurance beneficiary
Retiring or thinking of retiring? Request pension estimate and Notify CPG at least three months before your retirement date.
Losing a loved one? Notify CPG
The Church Pension Fund provides ample resources to help you plan for your retirement. Begin by visiting their website: www.cpg.org. Read and/or download appropriate resources. Watch webinars. Sign up for and attend their conferences. If you have questions, call them at (866) 802-6333 Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM ET
IMPORTANT: Clergy need to notify Church Pension Fund three months before they plan to retire so all of the paperwork can be completed in time. This includes getting the Bishop’s permission. You can request an estimate of your pension after retirement at any time.
Whether retirement is a distant dream or a next step, it is never too early or too late to start planning! Here’s how to start:
- Set realistic financial goals for retirement.
- Make a budget and stick to it.
- Estimate the cost of college education for children and other family members you are financially responsible for.
- Review your Group Life Insurance benefits and calculate the amount of life insurance you need.
- Review your pension benefits. Call Client Services to arrange a time to review the status of your benefits.
- Assess your savings, including retirement savings and other pension plans in which you or your spouse may be vested, as well as other potential sources of retirement income.
- Review your Church Pension Fund life insurance beneficiary information, as well as beneficiaries on other policies you may have. Download the Group Life Insurance Beneficiary Form.
- Review the beneficiaries you have named for Clergy Pension Plan benefits: pre-retirement survivor beneficiary and lump sum death benefit beneficiary. (Refer to your Personal Information Summary or call.
- Review your annuities and retirement savings accounts.
- Think about where you would like to live in retirement and research costs.
- Review your Social Security information.
- Remember to continue using the Internal Revenue Service’s housing exclusion for clergy.
- Review your medical insurance needs and options.
If You’re Retiring Soon
If you plan to retire within the next six months, you should:
- Request your Medicare card from Social Security three months before your 65th birthday.
- Decide when to take Social Security benefits.
- Consider opportunities to earn income after retirement, but remember that Social Security and The Church Pension Fund limit retirement earnings.
- Continue using the Internal Revenue Service’s housing exclusion for clergy.
- File the retirement forms with The Church Pension Fund three months prior to your retirement date.
Some of the other resources on the CPG website:
Determining Life Insurance Needs Step-by-step guidance E-Mail churchlife@cpg.org
Figuring Retirement Income Needs To help you calculate and plan
Financial Assessment Checklist to get you started
Life GoalsTo help you think about the financial implications of your goals
Monthly/Annual Spending Plan To help you create a budget
Net Worth Statement An overview of your assets and liabilities
Organizing Financial Documents Guidance on what information to gather & where to find it
Resources for Financial Assessment Resources for Financial Assessment
Setting Financial Goals To set short, medium and long-term goals
Summary of Insurance Statement Keep your critical insurance information in 1 place
What Will College Cost Estimate the cost of a four-year bachelor’s degree
Your Financial Planning To Do List To help you take action
A sabbatical is understood as a time when clergy are released from regular ministries for the purpose of study, theological reflection, spiritual renewal and strengthening of skills and
ministries according to a well-defined plan developed by the person taking leave in coordination with their vestry or bishop’s committee and approved by the bishop. Download guidelines and an application.
Policies
The bishop must give permission for remarriage when either or both parties have been married or in a civil union that has been legally dissolved. Remarriage request applications must be filed at least thirty (30) days prior to the intended date of marriage. “Cover letters” from clergy are necessary only in extraordinary circumstances.
Download Remarriage request form [PDF]
Canon III. 7. a: No Priest shall preach, minister the Sacraments, or hold any public service, within the limits of any Diocese other than the Diocese in which the Priest is canonically resident for more than two months without a license from the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese in which the Priest desires to so officiate.
To apply to the Bishop for initial licensing you must write a letter to the Bishop requesting him to license you, indicating what ministry you intend in the Diocese. You also need to present a letter of good standing from your current bishop, present certification of Safe Church training within the last three years, and, if requested, meet with the Bishop.
Licenses are issued annually during Advent. To annually renew your license, you must:
• Write an annual report letter to the Bishop
• Meet the same screening and background requirements as all canonical clergy, and
• Complete training as required of all Diocesan clergy.
Download License to Officiate [PDF]
Request for Performing a Marriage in RI from Out-of-State Clergy – Requirements
If you are a priest from a diocese other than Rhode Island, the following requirements will need to be met before the bishop will approve your request.
- Write a letter to the bishop requesting permission to perform the marriage and include the following information in that letter [may be email or hard copy]: the names of the parties to be married; the date and location [include city/town and place]; whether or not either party has been married before; and where the marriage will be recorded [we suggest that if not in an Episcopal church, you record this in your home parish].
- A Letter of Good Standing from your bishop to our bishop.
- If either party has been previously married, a Remarriage form must be completed and submitted to the bishop. (See Permission for Remarriage.)
Send forms to Kristin Knudson, Executive Assistant to the Bishop or contact her for further information.
Dear clergy colleagues,
Please be mindful of weather conditions that can affect our regular worship schedules. If the State or your municipality declares a weather emergency which urges people to stay off the roads, or your municipality bans parking because of the cleanup efforts, you may cancel your worship for that day and inform your congregation accordingly.
While I share with you the reluctance to cancel worship for any reason, no one wants our clergy or parishioners putting themselves in any danger by driving on icy or snow-filled streets – or by hampering their community’s ability to respond to an emergency.
If you are able to walk to church to minister to those who can do likewise, please invite those who can walk to attend. You may want to discuss with your lay leadership how you will alert them if the decision to cancel services has been made.
Faithfully;
+Nicholas
Bishop of Rhode Island
Leaving a Congregation
A good beginning depends on a good ending. Your church’s ability to call your successor
depends on how well you leave, and on your ability to let go. Your character and integrity are
demonstrated in how you leave a position. These are guidelines. They are collected wisdom and good practices about an important moment in the life of every ordained person, a moment of celebration, ending, beginning, death and resurrection.
The departure of clergy often generates sadness and a sense of loss for all involved. Both the departing clergy and the people to whom they ministered, however, are called to engage in new faith journeys that will generate opportunities for healthy relationships and spiritual growth. The diocese offers this covenant to encourage a healthy future for the congregation and the departing clergy and their family.
