We have to remind anti gun rights people that the NRA is made up of law abiding, tax paying CITIZENS who have the right to an opinion. Church membership in America is made up of law abiding, taxpaying CITIZENS who have a right to an opinion. The PITA organization is made up of law abiding, tax paying CITIZENS who have a right to an opinion. See a pattern? It doesn't matter who agrees or disagrees, a Citizen has a right to an opinion.
To clarify a position that makes people upset, thinking there is something unfair going on, churches in America are the same as any other non profit. Anyone who is on payroll at a church pays the same state, local, Federal, Medicare as any other American. They usually pay double social security because the government looks at it as a contractor job and we are forced to pay the employer 1/2 also. The only tax related perk that a Pastor is eligible for is provided housing in the form of a parsonage or a housing allowance if the church does not own one. Groundskeepers, Park rangers, resident heathcare and similar workers often have the same deal. My housing allowance was $800 per month. My salary was only what was left after all the operating bills were paid. The congregation was mostly lower income, with single mothers and old retirees. Want to guess what my payroll looked like after the insurance, water, power, telephone bills and the money spent on the benevolent programs? If I didn't teach part time at the local college, I would have been eating dandilion greens out of the lawn.
To clarify a position that makes people upset, thinking there is something unfair going on, churches in America are the same as any other non profit. Anyone who is on payroll at a church pays the same state, local, Federal, Medicare as any other American. They usually pay double social security because the government looks at it as a contractor job and we are forced to pay the employer 1/2 also. The only tax related perk that a Pastor is eligible for is provided housing in the form of a parsonage or a housing allowance if the church does not own one. Groundskeepers, Park rangers, resident heathcare and similar workers often have the same deal. My housing allowance was $800 per month. My salary was only what was left after all the operating bills were paid. The congregation was mostly lower income, with single mothers and old retirees. Want to guess what my payroll looked like after the insurance, water, power, telephone bills and the money spent on the benevolent programs? If I didn't teach part time at the local college, I would have been eating dandilion greens out of the lawn.
