Letter of Agreement Templates

Below you will find Letter of Agreement templates for various clergy positions. Please submit a draft of the Letter of Agreement the transition ministry office, which will provide feedback before the letter is sent to the Bishop to be signed:

• Letter of Agreement drafts should be sent to The Rev. Shirley Smith Graham.

We expect all Letters of Agreement to be signed by the Bishop because, with each position below, the Canons require varying levels of oversight by the Bishop. The transition ministry staff reviews each letter to insure that the terms therein reflect the best practices in our diocese and across the Church. Please allow ten business days for review between the submission of the letter and its return. Please note: the compensation section must be completed as presented in the template before it is reviewed.

A note of help: Letters of Agreements become valid when they are signed by the Bishop.  Both formal and informal announcements can be planned a minimum of ten days after the letters are submitted to the Bishop’s office. Announcements should be timed so that news of the cleric’s leave-taking and arrival are shared with the affected parishes, simultaneously.

Templates

• Rector
• Interim Rector
• Priest-in-Charge
• Priest-in-Charge (with Intent to Convert to Rector)
• Vicar
• Vocational Deacon
• Assistant Rector
  • For hiring rectors: as soon as you begin to discern the need for searching for a new assistant or associate, please email The Rev. Shirley Smith Graham for updated procedures.
  • The assistant rector template should also be used by associate rectors and assistant rectors called “vicar” by their parish.

Related Links

• Compensation Guidelines
  • Important: If the position was posted to the OTM Portfolio database, the compensation figure the parish posted on that database is the starting position for Letter of Agreement negotiation, not the diocesan minimums.
• Clergy Licensure
• Guide for Resigning Priests