2024 Open Enrollment for Board of Pensions

This year’s Annual Enrollment — the time when employees can make changes or elect new benefits coverage for the next year — ends tomorrow, Friday, November 10.

Feds roll out new Form I-9, sunset key Covid-19 deferment

All employers, including churches, are to begin using a new Form I-9, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced in late July.

Form I-9 is required of employers to verify the identity and the employment authorization of their employees to work in the country.

The new form became available August 1, 2023, and allows certain qualifying employers an alternative way of examining identifying documents for new employees using E-Verify.

  • According to the Homeland Security Department rule, to use E-Verify, an employer must be an E-Verify participant in good standing, which is defined as:
  • An employer that has enrolled in E-Verify with respect to all hiring sites in the U.S. that use the alternative procedure;
  • is compliant with all requirements of the E-Verify program including but not limited to verifying the employment eligibility of newly hired employees in the U.S.;
  • continues to be a participant in good standing in E-Verify at any time during which the employer uses the alternative procedure.

The agency also announced other key changes likely affecting most, if not all, employers, including many churches. Read more here.

The new I-9 form can be found here.

More info on E-Verify can be found here.

2024 Pastor Minimum Compensation

The 2024 rates for pastor compensation are now available on the Presbytery’s website under the Documents section. At the August Presbytery Meeting, a 2% increase in minimum compensation for Ministers of the Word and Sacrament and Certified Christian Educators for 2024 to the following amounts was approved.

Cash salary: $36,435
Housing: $11,011
Utilities: $3,672
Total: $51,118

The Committee on Ministry strongly encourages all churches to consider a 2% salary increase for all pastoral leaders currently working above the minimum compensation level.

2024 Per Capita

The 2024 Per Capita rate will be $30.30 per member, according to the church’s membership in the most recently filed statistical report. The 2024 Per Capita was approved at the August Presbytery Meeting. With the total rate at $30.30 per member, the Presbytery of West Virginia will keep $18.05 and send $9.85 and $2.40 to the General Assembly and Synod of the Trinity, respectively. The letters detailing your church’s Per Capita amount for 2024 are being prepared and will be in the mail soon.

Helping us understand the importance of Per Capita to our connectional church is this excellent article from Presbyterians Today, titled (coincidentally enough) “Understanding Per Capita.”

2024 Shared Mission Pledge Request

Please watch your mailboxes for the 2024 Shared Mission pledge request and Per Capita notice letter. These letters will be mailed to the treasurer, Clerk of Session, and pastoral leader of each church. Please return the pledge card to this office at your earliest convenience. We encourage each Session to thoughtfully consider our request. The information provided when a church returns their pledge card, no matter the response, is essential to our effective management of the presbytery’s financial resources. So, we urge treasurers, Clerks of Session, and pastoral leaders to make sure that their church has returned their pledge card to this office. If you have any questions about mission pledge, Per Capita, or other benevolences, please let us know (304-744-7634, treasurer@wvpresbytery.org).

2024 PWV Budget

At the stated meeting of the Presbytery on August 17, the 2024 budget was approved.  The 2024 final, approved budget can be found here.

Board of Pensions: New Medicare Advantage plan replaces Medicare Supplement

The Board of Pensions will offer enhanced medical coverage to retired members through the Humana Group Medicare Advantage PPO plan, starting Jan. 1, 2024. Retired members pay no monthly subscription rate to participate in the new plan, which replaces the Medicare Supplement Plan. Find out more here.

2023 Special Offerings Calendar

Here is this year’s calendar for the four churchwide Special Offerings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), of which one remains.

CHRISTMAS JOY: Dec. 3 to Dec. 24

God has blessed the Church with incredible leadership in every time and place, but those leaders often need to be supported by their communities as well. This Offering addresses the support needed by some of our leaders, including supporting leadership development for communities of color, and providing support for Presbyterian church workers in their time of need.

NOTE: Donations to the four Special Offerings are accepted at any time. The dates above are for times of special emphasis on the offerings. Click here for more information or to order resources, or call the PC(USA) Store at 800-533-4371.