Remitting church benevolence
When sending benevolence remittance payments to the presbytery office, it is important for the check(s) to be accompanied by a benevolence remittance form. We ask for a form to be sent so we can be sure how to deposit and direct the funds sent and to be sure your church’s benevolence is being recorded properly; however, we ask that you do not staple your form and check together. The 2020 PWV benevolence forms are available on the presbytery’s website in the Financial Documents section on the Documents page, or give us a call and we can mail forms to you.
Some churches/treasurers use a form of their own design, which is acceptable as long as the basic information on the presbytery’s form is included. Some churches/treasurers are using electronic bill pay to send remittance checks; since those checks are not usually accompanied by a form, I ask that you please send me an email (treasurer@wvpresbytery.org) with information detailing the benevolence included on the check. If you have any questions or need additional information about sending benevolence, please contact me.
Board of Pensions tax resources
We may be through the time of preparing, distributing, and filing employee tax information, but April 15, the personal income tax filing deadline, will be upon us before we know it. So don’t wait to get your copies of the tax guides available from the Board of Pensions – Tax Guide for Ministers for 2019 Returns and Federal Reporting Requirements for Churches.
Both of the tax guides are now available on the BoP’s Benefits Connect website. The may be printed or saved in electronic format. Both of these resources are full of useful information, and I highly recommend getting a copy.
Festival of Faith workshops
The Festival of Faith is Saturday, March 28 at First Presbyterian Church in Charleston. I will be leading two workshops for church treasurers. One is the Church Treasurers’ Workshop; as the name implies, this is an introduction to, and maybe a refresher on, the duties and responsibilities of a church treasurer. The other is titled Income Tax Reporting; the goal of this workshop is to provide important information for church treasurers and others involved with church personnel on reporting requirements to both tax agencies and employees, with an emphasis on minister income tax reporting. Please get touch we me if you have questions or would like more information about the treasurers’ workshops.
2020 Per Capita
The 2020 Per Capita is $30 per member. The 2020 Per Capita was approved at the August 2019 Presbytery meeting. It is a 50 cent increase from the 2019 rate. The increase in the total rate was in response to an increase in the General Assembly rate for 2019 and 2020 to $8.95 – up $1.22, and an increase in the Synod of the Trinity’s Per Capita, $2.40 for 2020 – up 10 cents. Therefore, with the total rate at $30, the Presbytery of West Virginia will keep $18.65, sending $8.95 and $2.40 to the General Assembly and Synod of the Trinity, respectively.
2020 Shared Mission Pledge Request
All treasurers, Clerks of Session and pastoral leaders should have the 2020 Shared Mission pledge request and Per Capita notice for their church. If you have not already done so, please return the pledge card to the Presbytery 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. If you have any questions about mission pledge, Per Capita, or other benevolences, please let me know (304-744-7634, treasurer@wvpresbytery.org).