5183 Engl Project 3 Edit Carter2

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Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 2:31 AM

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Beth Greene

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Dr. Morgan

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ENGL 5204
13 March 2014
The Parishs Parsonage

There are many different types of places that a family can call home such as an
Will Carter, Jr 3/25/14 11:39 PM

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apartment, a townhome, or a semi-detached. A less common place is a parsonage or
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manse, which can be defined as the residence
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of a member of the clergy, as provided by the

parish or church. A parsonage is a temporary
residence on or near church property and is
the home of the pastor and their family for as
long as they stay with the church that owns the
parsonage.
Restored former West End Baptist Church

Parsonage in Asheville, North Carolina

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Swansboro Baptist Parsonage in Swansboro, North

Carolina

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The Parsonage/Manse

Before a parsonage family can live in a manse, the church has to either build or
purchase one. The South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, like
many other Protestant conferences, assembled a handbook of parsonage guidelines to aid

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their churches in creating and sustaining these homes. It details what a manse should
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have, the responsibilities of both the parish and of the parsonage family, and how the
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parsonage should be taken care of as well as what needs to be done to the home when one
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A parsonage should be a three or four bedroom home with decently-sized closets

and at least two full baths; it should also include
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A family room or den or

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both
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pastor leaves and another moves in.

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A larger kitchen and dining
room
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A large amount of dry
Christ Church Parsonage in Summit, New Jersey
storage space
A double garage or carport
The home should also comply entirely with current local building codes and requirements
and outside doors should have dead bolt locks.
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Also provided by the parish are most of

the furnishings for the manse, which can
include basic furniture for each room, a
home telephone, appliances, and more.
The pastor must either purchase or
The Free Methodist Church Parsonage in Ashland,
Oregon
already have items such as:

Comment [1]: Avoid opening sentences with
the word also; it is a weak transitional word that
suggests an afterthought rather than planned
writing.

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Deleted: This ncludes
... [1]

Deleted: Sheets, blankets, towels, and utensils
must be either purchased by t
... [2]
Sheets
Comment [2]: Consider combining these two

paragraphs. You can easily move from one
complete thought within a paragraph to another
with a semi-colon.
Blankets
Towels
Utensils
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Living in a Parsonage/Manse: Pros and Cons

There are many advantages to living in a parsonage; the main advantage is that
the pastor does not have to go through the trouble of buying a home and then selling it
later when theyve been called to new appointment. In addition, it is the job of the
committee of parishioners, who volunteer to take care of the parsonage, to pay most of

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at: 1"Jr 3/26/14 12:28 AM
Will Carter,
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the bills with church money that has been set aside to keep up the maintenance costs of
the home. Another advantage is that there are no property taxes to pay because church
property is generally considered tax-exempt. A manse, whether it is on the same lot as
the church or in the next town over, is considered church property. All of these things
combined lead to parsonages being a more cost-effective way of living for pastors and
their families.
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As with all things, there are also disadvantages to living in a manse. The home
itself is quite expensive for a church to own and operate, especially with older homes.
Parsonages can also lead to conflicts between the inhabiting family and the congregation
of the church. These conflicts can stem from issues like:
Dcor
Privacy

Maintenance
Pets
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Haddam Neck Congregational Church Parsonage in

Haddam Neck, Connecticut
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Parishioners take great pride in their church, and, as an extension, the parsonage if the
church owns one. Some parishioners also tend to feel that a parsonage is a not just a
home, but also a place where members of the congregation can visit at any time to build a
more personal relationship with the pastor and family, which can sometimes be seen as
intrusive by the parsonage family.
Replacing the Parsonage/Manse

Though it was more common in the past for churches to keep manses, it has now
become more likely that the church provides a housing allowance to their pastor with
which a private home can be purchased or rented in place of a parsonage. The amount
differs from church-to-church and pastor-to-pastor based on the rate of living in the area.
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After looking at housing options in whichever town or city that the pastor has
been called to, the pastor will then submit a proposal to the church finance committee for

the amount thats deemed appropriate to provide a suitable home for the pastor and the
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parsonage family, if theyre not single.
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Once the amount for the housing allowance in approved, it is added to the income that the
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church pays the pastor. Pastors receiving a housing allowance instead of living in a
parsonage can also receive a housing allowance exclusion, a tax benefit that enables a

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pastor to exclude some or all of their ministerial income designated by their church or
church-related employer as a housing allowance from income for federal income tax
purposes. This benefit can provide the pastor and their family with more money to find
and obtain a home that properly suits their lifestyle.

Comment [3]: Because both of these
paragraphs speak on the housing allowance,
consider combining them into one.
Home Ownership: Pros and Cons

The main advantage of a pastor

owning their own home is that they are able

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to build up equity, which happens after

owning a home for a certain period of time.
When living in a manse, this is not possible
for a pastor to do, which could make buying
a home later in life a bit more difficult.
Kavanaugh United Methodist Church

Parsonage in Greenville, Texas
Owning a home can also be seen as an investment and even as part of a retirement plan.
The other big advantages are privacy and autonomy. Since the home would be
the pastors private property and not church property, most parishioners would be less
likely to drop in whenever they felt it appropriate. Being private property also means that


Comment [4]: No need for an indention here.
Youre still speaking on advantages such as the
previous paragraph; you can combine them.

Comment [5]: The word since is rather weak as
a connective to express cause, consider the word
because.

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the owner(s) can do whatever they want with the property regarding renovation, dcor,
and outdoor areas without the permission of a board or committee. If the pastor were to

also experience an untimely death, the family would not be forced to move immediately,
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or at all.
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Disadvantages to a home owned by a pastor mostly come from having to pay for
everything, as opposed to a manse, which is very inexpensive for the parsonage family to

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live in. These costs could include
Down payments
Reduced usable income
Maintenance
Insurance payments

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All of these new costs can come at quite a shock, especially if the pastor has been living
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in a parsonage for several years.
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Where the Parsonage/Manse Stands Today
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A New York Times article from April of 2012 discusses parsonages in Long

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Island, as well as parsonages in the Jewish faith, specifically those owned by

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Conservative synagogues. Many parsonages all over the country are being sold,

especially homes that have four or five bedrooms. Most families just arent that large

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anymore, making these larger homes more of a burden than blessing. This, in turn, leads
to more pastors owning their own homes and receiving housing allowances instead of the
church providing a parsonage.
Another reason for the decreased need of manses is that a lot of pastors are taking
longer appointments, staying with one church for decades as opposed to just a few short

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years. When staying in one area for such a lengthy amount of time, it may make more

sense in the long run to own a home. Then, whenever the pastor retires from the church,
theres no need to quickly find a home; theyll already have one.
Last year, however, an article was
posted to SBC Voices, the unofficial
source for news and opinions about the

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Southern Baptist Convention. This

article expresses a concern with the
current housing market and how that
Ledgewood Baptist Church Parsonage in Ledgewood,
New Jersey
could negatively affect pastors and
their ability to move from one church to another. Because of this continuing struggle in

the housing market, perhaps it is, as the articles title states, time to bring back the
parsonage.
Ultimately, the decision is up to individual churches and their ruling conventions,
if they belong to one. Both the parsonage and a housing allowance provide a pastor and
their family with the same thing: a home to live and grow in; each has its own set of pros
and cons as well. As for which one is better, that would have to be decided upon in a
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case-by-case basis.
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desktop support 3/27/14 7:08 PM

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1

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 2:31 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 2:33 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 2:34 AM

The Parishs Parsonage

Will Carter, Jr 3/25/14 11:39 PM

apartment, a townhome, or a semi-detached. A less common place is a parsonage or

manse, which can be defined as the residence

Will Carter, Jr 3/25/14 11:48 PM

of a member of the clergy, as provided by the

Restored former West End Baptist Church

Will Carter, Jr 3/25/14 11:53 PM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 1:51 AM

Swansboro Baptist Parsonage in Swansboro, North

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 2:31 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 2:33 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/25/14 11:39 PM

Will Carter, Jr 3/25/14 11:56 PM

Will Carter, Jr 3/25/14 11:57 PM

A parsonage should be a three or four bedroom home with decently-sized closets

Deleted: , the responsibilities

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:04 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:09 AM

A family room or den or

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:04 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/25/14 11:57 PM

pastor leaves and another moves in.

Will Carter, Jr 3/25/14 11:57 PM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:12 AM

A larger kitchen and dining

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:11 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:11 AM

A large amount of dry

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:11 AM

Christ Church Parsonage in Summit, New Jersey

A double garage or carport

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:11 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:12 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:11 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:49 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:11 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:12 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:15 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 2:31 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 2:33 AM

Also provided by the parish are most of

already have items such as:

Will Carter, Jr 4/7/14 12:26 PM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:24 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:24 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:38 AM

Will Carter, Jr 4/7/14 12:26 PM

Comment [2]: Consider combining these two

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:28 AM

Living in a Parsonage/Manse: Pros and Cons

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 12:50 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/25/14 11:40 PM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 2:31 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 2:33 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 1:55 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 1:05 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 1:05 AM

Will Carter, Jr 3/26/14 1:05 AM