Documents

This page provides a central point for links to nearly all the administrative resources clergy, vestries, bishop’s committees, church administrators, and church leaders should need. Check here for the latest Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church and The Diocese of West Missouri. You will find the business manual and diocesan policies and procedures for a variety of topics along with required forms and instructions. The resources on this page also support the work of pastoral leaders with updated directives concerning worship and pastoral care.

Note: You can press Ctrl f to search within this page.

Church business

• Expense Reimbursement Request Form
• Church Safety and Insurance Handbook
• Disciplinary Board – Intake Officer Poster
• Emergency Response Plan – Version 2.
• Minimum Insurance Requirements 2015

Samples for Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation

• Bylaws
• Articles of Incorporation

Clergy – continuing education

• “3 for $350” Continuing Education Program Application Form
• Continuing Education Completion Report Form

Other documents

• Stewardship resources
• 2022 Stewardship Commission Survey Form
• Living Into Our Ministries – The Mutual Ministry Cycle. Use this resource guide to learn how to review the ministries in your congregation. You might also open it because something has happened that prompts a desire to review church leaders’ effectiveness or because you want to grow as a community. Perhaps the best reason for opening this guide is that you are ready to embrace the mission of the church in your location and fully to articulate and coordinate the many ministries that help fulfill that mission.
• Manual of Business Methods in Church Affairs. A comprehensive, user-friendly manual which supports the increasingly complex work of all treasurers and parish administrators. Includes forms, such as the Parochial Report Form, with instructions.
• Church Check-list for completing the Episcopal Asset map
• Bulletin inserts

Pastoral Directions

• Pastoral Direction for West Missouri During the Current Pandemic — 4-13-2020
• Phase Two Pastoral Direction for Clergy and Parishes of The Episcopal Church in West Missouri — 5-04-2020
• Clarification Statement — For the Phase Two Pastoral Direction
• Addendum to the Phase Two Pastoral Direction for Clergy and Parishes of The Episcopal Church in West Missouri — 5-13-2020

Policies

Business & General

• Accountable Business Expense Policy
• Alcoholic Beverage Policy
• Carrying Firearms On Church Properties Policy
• Clergy and Lay Professionals Continuing Education Policy
• Clergy Leave-taking Policy
• Discretionary Funds
• Expenditure Authorization Policy
• Media Guidelines and Policy
• Parochial Financial Audits Policy
• Sabbatical Policy of The Diocese of West Missouri

Liturgical Directives

• Confirmation Reception and Reaffirmation Policy
• Distribution of Holy Communion Within and Outside the Liturgies for Holy Eucharist
• Deacons and Weddings
• Eucharistic Minister and Eucharistic Visitor Training
• Historical Liturgies and Other Anglican Prayer Book Services
• Laying on of Hands and/or Anointing of the Sick
• Licensed Preachers Policy
• Ordinations
• Postulants and Candidates for Holy Orders and Public Worship
• Use of Enriching Our Worship – Supplemental Liturgical Materials

Marriage

• Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage (2)
• Declaration of Intent
• Solemnization Of Marriages Policy & Procedure
• Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage

Remarriage

• Policy Regarding Remarriage Following Divorce
• Application for a Judgment of Marital Status and Permission to Solemnize a Marriage
• Remarriage after divorce report form

Photo & video release and licenses

• Photographs, video, and other content webpage
• Church Poster, letter-sized (CMYK)
• Church Poster, letter-sized (RGB)
• Church Poster, .png image
• Church Poster, .png image (No QR code)
• Church Poster, black and white .png image
• Church Poster, black and white, .png image (No QR code)
• ‘We Love Pictures’, png image
• Release and Licence text

Prayer Cycle

• Diocesan Prayer Cycle
• Diocesan Prayer Cycle post images

501(c) and tax exemption documents

To ensure that copies of these documents are only made available to people with a genuine need to access them, copies will only be provided upon request.

Please contact the Finance Administrator to obtain copies. In the Finance Administrator’s absence, please contact the Bishop’s Executive Assistant.

Human Resources

• 2022 Health Plan Coverage Comparison
• 2022 Health Plan Premiums
• 2022 Minimum Clergy Compensation
• Clergy and Lay Professionals Continuing Education
• Mutual Ministry Review Preparation
• Mutual Ministry Review

Hiring & Staff

• Diocesan Recommended Hiring Process—provides step by step process and templates for congregations to use in selecting employees and volunteers.
• Customary for deacons
• W-2 or 1099
• Church Employment Application
• Conducting a Reference Check for a Child/Youth Worker
• Written Offer Letter
• Background and Prevention Requirements
• 2022 Background Check Request Form
• CPG New Hire Checklist – Lay Employee
• Diocesan Staff Handbook — Designed for diocesan staff, this handbook can also be used as a template by churches. Contact hr-finasst@diowestmo.org for a word document template.

Safeguarding and Misconduct Prevention

“Updates Coming Soon” … in the interim, contact hr-finasst@diowestmo.org for online enrollment.

• Policy and Procedures Regarding Prevention of Sexual Misconduct
• Covenant for Sexual Responsibility
• National Sex Offender Registry
• Confidential Notice of Concern

Lay Licensed Ministries

Background

• Of Licensed Ministries
• Policy on Licensed Preachers
• Eucharistic Visitor, Your Ministry

Guidelines and requirements

• Eucharistic Minister Guidelines and Requirements
• Eucharistic Visitor Guidelines and Requirements
• Evangelist Guidelines and Requirements
• Mentoring Guidelines
• Pastoral Leader Guidelines and Requirements as of Feb 2017
• Worship Leader Guidelines and Requirements as of Feb 2017
• Preacher Guidelines and Requirements as of Sep 2020
• Catechist Guidelines and Requirements as of Sep 2020

Application forms

• Eucharistic Minister and Eucharistic Visitor License Application
• Evangelist License Application
• Worship Leader and Pastoral Leader License Application 2020
• Preacher License Application 2021-2023
• Catechist License Application 2021-2023

Lay Licensed Ministry certificates

These files require a password to open them. Need the password? Contact at BishopsAssistant@diowestmo.org

• Catechist 
• Evangelist 
• Eucharistic Minister 
• Eucharistic Visitor 
• Pastoral Leader 
• Worship Leader 

Background Request Forms can be found in the HR section

Ordination

See also the Liturgical Directives section in the Diocesan Tab, above. For information on the ordination process visit this page.

Discernment

• Discernment Handbook (Issue 2.02 February 2021)

Forms

• Nominee Information Form

Templates

• Nomination Template
• Nomination Acceptance Template
• Candidacy Application Template
• Candidacy Support Template
• Deacon (Vocational) Application for Ordination Template
• Deacon (Transitional) Application for Ordination Template
• Priest Application for Ordination Template
• Ordination Support Template

Misconduct prevention

• See Human Resources (HR) tab above

Provincial

• Province VII

General Church

• Church Pension Group
• Church Publishing
• Church Safety and Insurance Handbook
• Constitution and Canons (English & Spanish)
• Episcopal Church, USA
• Parish QuickFind (previously known as “The Red Book”)
• Episcopal Clerical Directory
• Episcopal Dictionary
• Episcopal Asset Map
• Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)
• Episcopal Cursillo Ministry
• Online “Book of Common Prayer”
• Parochial Report – Forms
• Parochial Reports – Online Filing
• The Episcopal Church – Diocesan link page

International

• Anglican Communion
• Anglican Cycle of Prayer
• Anglicans Online News

Broken links

If you spot any broken links, please let me know at communications@diowestmo.org so we can fix them — thank you.

Help

What the icons mean

• Link to PDF file. The link may go directly to the pdf file. However, we are updating all PDF links to go to a page showing an embedded version of the file’s contents.
• Link to a diocesan webpage.
• Link to an external website. External links may also look like this.
• Link to a form that can be completed online.
• Link to video content. The content may be a diocesan video, or an external video. The wording should provide the context.
• Link to a file that can be downloaded. Typically (but not always), these will be Microsoft Word documents. You may need the latest version of Microsoft Word to be able to use these files.
• Link to an image file to be downloaded.