TITLE III
Clergy
CANON I: Commission on Ministry
SECTION 1. MEMBERSHIP.
(a) The Bishop shall be ex officio the President of the Commission on Ministry. The Bishop Coadjutor and Bishop Suffragan, if there be such, and the Canon to the Ordinary, shall be ex officio members of this Commission.
(b) The Bishop shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the Annual Convention, twelve persons, six clerical and six lay, to serve on this Commission. Thereafter, one person in each Order shall be appointed annually by the Bishop in the same manner, each to serve for a term of six years. No one so appointed shall be eligible for re-appointment until after the expiration of one year.
SECTION 2. DUTIES. The duties of the Commission on Ministry shall be those prescribed in the Canons of the Church; and such other duties related to the ministry in this Diocese as shall be assigned by the Bishop.
SECTION 3. ORGANIZATION. The Commission on Ministry shall have the power to devise and enact bylaws for its own governance, not inconsistent with the Constitution and Canons of the Church and this Diocese.
SECTION 4. HOLY ORDERS. Nothing in this canon shall be construed in such a way as to eliminate the practice of examination of candidates for Holy Orders on their professional qualifications by Examining Chaplains, as appointed by the Bishop.
SECTION 5. ANNUAL REPORT. The Commission on Ministry shall report to the Annual Convention the substance of its action during the preceding year.
CANON II: Clergy Stipends
SECTION 1. Each member of the clergy employed in a pastoral ministry, or in such other ministry as approved by the Bishop, in this Diocese, shall receive an annual stipend, which shall not be less than the minimum annual stipend as shall be fixed from time to time by Annual Convention.
SECTION 2. Each Parish shall provide for its employed clergy, without charge, the following benefits and professional expenses:
(a) Should a clergy person serve more than one Parish, the cost of benefits and professional expenses shall be divided proportionately among the Parishes to be served.
(b) A suitable house in which to live, kept in the best repair, with all utilities, taxes, and other property fees paid (with the exception of personal toll telephone calls); or
(c) A housing allowance sufficient to obtain such suitable living quarters, pay all necessary costs of maintaining them, including the cost of utilities, as above. The amount of such allowance shall be predicated upon the cost of housing in the area of said Parish.
SECTION 3.
(a) The Bishop shall appoint a Chair of the Committee on Clergy Compensation. The Committee will be responsible for and concerned with the compiling of data, conduct of surveys, and collection of reference material related to the financial support of the clergy of the Diocese. The membership shall consist of three (3) members elected by the Standing Committee and three (3) members of the Finance Committee elected therefrom.
(b) This Committee shall, at each Annual Convention, submit a report and/or resolution suggesting minimum levels of clergy stipends and any other such matters related to the financial support of the clergy as it deems important.
(c) This Committee shall distribute and publicize among appropriate personnel information relevant to achieving (1) fair and proper financial support of the clergy of this Diocese, such that financial problems do not interfere with an ordained person's best work.
(d) The Bishop shall communicate annually with the Senior Warden of each parish to ascertain that a formal review of clergy stipends has been completed by the appropriate parish officers.
SECTION 4. In the case of clergy serving in a capacity other than full time, compensation for such clergy person shall be in accordance with the policies and procedures as developed by the Diocesan Clergy Compensation Committee.
CANON III: Ecclesiastical Discipline: Ecclesiastical Trial Court
SECTION 1.
(a) Charges for which a Member of the Clergy may be made to stand trial are contained in the National Canons of the Episcopal Church.
(b) The mode and manner of making charges, securing Presentments, and conducting trials shall be as established in the National Canons of the Episcopal Church.
SECTION 2. There is hereby established an Ecclesiastical Trial Court in and for the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania.
SECTION 3. The powers, duties, and procedures of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court established under Section 2 and the definition of terms used herein shall be governed by Title IV of the National Canons of the Episcopal Church as revised in September, 1997, as if the revision had taken effect immediately.
SECTION 4.
(a) The Ecclesiastical Trial Court shall consist of five (5) members of the Clergy and four (4) lay persons. All members of the Court must be persons canonically resident within the Diocese.
(b) At each Annual Diocesan Convention, three persons shall be elected to serve on the Ecclesiastical Trial Court for a term of three years. Persons elected shall be from each Order as required to maintain the required complement of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court.
(c) No member of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court shall be eligible to serve concurrently on the Standing Committee or Finance Committee.
(d) Vacancies occurring within the membership of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court shall be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members of the Court. A person elected to fill a vacancy must be from the same Order as the person being replaced. Vacancies must be thus filled within four months of notification of the vacancy unless sooner required by other provisions of the National or Diocesan Canons.
(e) Within four months following each Annual Diocesan Convention, the members of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court shall elect, from among themselves, by majority vote, one person to serve as Presiding Judge for a one-year term.
(f) Within four months following each Annual Diocesan Convention, the members of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court shall appoint a duly licensed attorney to serve as Church Attorney for a three-year term.
(g) All persons elected or appointed under this section are eligible to be reelected or re-appointed upon the expiration of their terms.
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