There is no doubt that the Rev. Chip Stokes of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is doing what he loves. But he needs a break.
The past few years have been filled with anxious periods: The parish had to cut its budget by $200,000 last year. Many people he knows are jobless, including members of his own family.
Congregants left, and donations declined during the national Episcopal Church debate over whether to ordain gay men and women, a loss that hurt the priest deeply. Stokes was considered twice but rejected as a candidate for bishop of other dioceses. He has begun to develop health problems, possibly related to the challenges of his work.
Let me get this straight, Mr. Stokes is an Episcopalian clergy person and his salary must be what?, somewhere around $70K? He must have all the other benefits and perks which Episcopalians get and now he and his Mrs. Are going on a $35K jaunt around the globe because he is stressed-out? As a clergyman who lost his position as a Rector because I would not kowtow to certain parishioners, nor would I permit the appointment of a practicing homosexual as a Warden, I have been working to support my family as a Nurse’s Aide for the past seven years with no severance package and no final paycheck, I find it rather difficult to feel sorry for this guy. I am not anti-clerical, but the impunity with which some clergy assert an air of entitlement simply baffles me.
[blockquote]The parish had to cut its budget by $200,000 last year.[/blockquote]
I’d love to swap problems. The mission parish whose Parish Council I sit on has a total budget that is less than half what they CUT from theirs. And our budget is in the red with no where left to cut.
Once there is no more money to be had or other perks such as benefits, pension plans and housing allowances, most “full time” clergy will bail out. The clergy in the Episcopal Church became, for the most part, quite accustomed to a certain standard of living. Those who left TEC to become Continuing Episcopalians will have a very difficult time doing without such salaries, benefits and safety nets to which they had become accustomed. The burden is put on the local congregations to make up the deficit, which is onerous. The litmus test is whether such clergy can become tent makers and support themselves and their families while performing ministries with no remuneration. I believe that most are not up to the challenge and that is why you will see more discussion in your congregations about clergy salaries and benefits, bishops will become more vocal because they know that they will be vulnerable as well. I’d like to see an end to the gravy train just to separate the wheat from the chaff.