I have heard this question quite a bit recently. Not really from people in the congregation, more from people at other congregations or neighborhood people. I most recently heard the question from one of the Assistants to the Alderman when I was there for a meeting today.
This is actually a pretty big question. It's my future employment, my call, how I support my family. However, I always feel like I need to answer the question with a "let's not worry about me" attitude.
This is a fairly big stress on me and my family right now. My husband is a stay-at-home parent. We have 3 young children, ages 1, 2 and 5. None of them have started Kindergarten yet (although the oldest will start in Sept. but we are not sure yet if it will be a full day or a half day program, it depends on which Chicago Public School she gets accepted to - don't get me started on Chicago Public Schools - that's an entirely different blog). When I found out I was pregnant with our youngest child my husband and I decided to have one of us stay home because the price of day care for three children was more than our salary. Since I just started my first call (I found out I was pregnant two weeks after starting) we thought my husband should be the one to stay home. Another decision we made was that since I had a three year contract with the congregation and my husband was home it would be a prefect time for him to begin a Teaching Certification Program and get his Masters in Teaching. Well, this program ends pretty much the same day as the congregations last worship service and he will not be able to start at a school, if he can find a job, until at least August. So, this means, that if I do not find another call right away or if my husband does not find a teaching job right away we will be without income. And, that there will be at least 2 months where neither of us will be working, which raises concern for health insurance.
Then, there is the current job market as people like to say. Jobs are hard to find. This is also true for pastors. There are fewer and fewer calls available. Pastors are not retiring and pastors are tied to calls because they own homes that they are underwater on. Usually taking a new call for a pastor means moving to a completely different location and selling your house. You go where the church is. For pastors that are underwater on their homes, they are not looking for new calls. I have been told by my synod office that it can take up to a year to find me a new call.
So, we pray that my husband finds a teaching job right after he finishes the program. We feel confident that he will. He is getting certified in high school biology, chemistry and English, and he worked as flavor scientist for many years with real life chemistry experience. According to many people in the Chicago Public School system he will find a job but it might be in a struggling school. We'll take it!
However, even with his salary we will need me working just a little bit to bring in enough to pay all the bills. I figure I can connect with local funeral homes and get extra money by doing funerals. We think that would be enough to fill the gap in our budget. Then, I will stay home with the kids until I find another call.
But, now I have to go through the call process again, and let me tell you, this is not a fun process. I am dreading it.
But, more pressing on my to-do list in regards to my future finances is convincing the congregation to give me a severance package and to include health insurance until my husband is employed. My first request is that the congregation pays out the contract, six months after the close, with three months of health benefits. But, there are already whisperings that people do not want to give me anything. So I think I will end up with 3 months salary/housing allowance and the health insurance is still a big question.
When I called my insurance company to ask what my health insurance payments would be after the church closed and I was without a call, the answer was $1,631 a MONTH! When I heard this number I was in tears. I could not believe it. That is more than my mortgage payment. I called my bishop assistant in tears and she calmed me down and worked out a plan with me. She was very helpful. And, I will probably have to put my kids on state insurance from the close until my husband finds a job.
This really makes me want to scratch my commitment to the congregation of being with them through the close at times. I want to start applying to non-for-profits or other secular jobs. I want to look for places that don't require heavy doses of CPE units to be a chaplain. I am still on the fence about applying for secular jobs - mainly because I don't have the energy to do it right now.
The question, "what happens to you after the congregation closes?" usually comes with the response, "I have my paperwork in to look for another call". But, the real answer is much, much more complicated.
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