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A document was developed more than a decade ago to guide congregations
and synods in such instances. Here is the most recently revised text of
that document:
SUGGESTIONS FOR CHAPLAINS
AND CONGREGATIONS
IN TIME OF MILITARY INVOLUNTARY CALL-UP
Involuntary call-up for military chaplains is a
term applied: (a) to a reserve component chaplain who is assigned to a
reserve unit that is activated for federal duty, or (b) to an individual
reserve chaplain who is called to active duty when he or she has not requested
it. The suggestions provided here for chaplains serving under call to
congregations may be used as guidance for other employing entities, institutions,
or agencies where pastors are serving under call outside of the congregation
setting.
Procedures for Pastors
• If you have not already done so, make your congregation aware
of your status as a military reservist.
• Notify your Congregation Council and arrange for a meeting to
discuss your involuntary call-up to military service.
• Notify your synod bishop and invite the bishop or a member of
the bishop's staff to participant in the Congregation Council meeting
where the issues related to your call-up will be considered.
• Contact the ELCA Assistant to the Presiding Bishop for Federal
Chaplaincies, at telephone 202.408.8403 in Washington, D.C.
• Contact the ELCA Board of Pensions for essential pension and medical
insurance information.
• Note that no new ecclesiastical endorsement is necessary in order
for you to respond to the call-up.
Considerations for Congregations
• The federal Employment and Re-Employment Rights
of Members of Uniformed Services Law requires employers to provide returning
reservists with the same or comparable employment that they had at the
time of the call-up. While it is doubtful that this law is directly applicable
to pastors under call to congregations, efforts should be made to insure
that members of the clergy are not placed at a disadvantage by their involuntary
call-up.
• For a call-up of nine months or less, a leave of absence should
be granted to the pastor by the Congregation Council. The synod should
assist the congregation in arranging for interim or supply pastoral care
during the leave of absence.
• If the call extends for more than nine months, the situation should
be reviewed and possibly renegotiated. The leave of absence may be extended,
or the pastor could submit a letter of
resignation, allowing a new pastor to be called by the congregation, possibly
under a term call for the remainder of the call-up period.
• The salary of the pastor should continue until military pay is
received by the pastor or the pastor's family.
• The congregation should continue coverage for the pastor and the
pastor's family in the medical plan until health coverage is provided
by the military.
• The congregation should consider making payments into the pension
plan under the Board of Pensions for at least the nine month leave of
absence. It is important to confer with the Board of Pensions to determine
what is appropriate and possible under these circumstances.
Other Considerations
• There will be a delay of approximately thirty days for the chaplain's
family members to be incorporated into the military medical system. For
this reason, it is important that family members have copies of both:
(a) the military member's orders activating him or her to active duty,
and (b) a reserve identification card. These items could help a family
member to receive medical care during the thirty-day period.
• While on leave of absence, the pastor's housing allowance should
continue until the military housing allowance is activated. If a pastor's
family is living in a parsonage, arrangements should be made for their
continuing in that setting during the leave of absence, or until a new
pastor is called. When the military housing allowance is received, that
amount should be offered to the congregation in lieu of rent for the parsonage.
April 20, 1999
Prepared by:
Department for Federal Chaplaincies,
in consultation with the Secretary and the General Counsel
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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