{"id":709,"date":"2025-03-15T04:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T10:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/adminmatters\/?p=709"},"modified":"2025-03-14T13:23:41","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T19:23:41","slug":"index-of-the-march-2025-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/adminmatters\/index-of-the-march-2025-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"Index of the March 2025 Issue"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Issue 98 of Administration Matters<\/h2>\n<h3>2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly<\/h3>\n<p>The 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly will take place July 28\u2013Aug. 2 in Phoenix, Ariz. Under the theme \u201cFor the Life of the World,\u201d the assembly will meet around word and water, wine and bread, to carry on its work on behalf of the entire church. Key actions during the assembly will be electing a new presiding bishop and secretary, considering a new social statement on civic life and faith, edits to the social statement Sexuality (2009) and recommendations from the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church. Live video of worship and plenary sessions will be accessible at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elca.org\/about\/leadership\/churchwide-assembly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Churchwide Assembly<\/a> page at elca.org.<\/p>\n<h3>New 2024 Tax Guides Available for ELCA Ministers and Congregations<\/h3>\n<p>Two tax guides are now available for church personnel through Portico Benefit Services, offering support to ministers and congregations in the ELCA benefit program.<br \/>\n\u2022 Available on <a href=\"https:\/\/auth.porticobenefits.org\/u\/login\/identifier?state=hKFo2SB2M2NaU21LdjVsSWthOXQ3WlEwN01TUGpkVFp4MmptdKFur3VuaXZlcnNhbC1sb2dpbqN0aWTZIFZMVjV4NzVnMW1PaTgzbWwyQUw1RFh4SnZucldUX3pWo2NpZNkgSkszS3V0U2dZZUFIQ0IxUUVWVWhEQnFOS012QUsxQVY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">myPortico<\/a>, Richard R. Hammar\u2019s \u201cClergy Tax Return Preparation Guide\u201d focuses on tax-related topics most relevant to ministers.<br \/>\n\u2022 \u201cFederal Reporting Requirements for Churches\u201d helps congregations understand their federal tax-reporting requirements. It can be found on the Tax Filing Information tab on <a href=\"https:\/\/auth.porticobenefits.org\/u\/login\/identifier?state=hKFo2SBvZWRldFlZcG1nX2xNVHFlejFlaGR5YTd6cGQ2ZjVpR6Fur3VuaXZlcnNhbC1sb2dpbqN0aWTZIDB1MXNqVElpeGZKbUNVZDA2Zkctd1NnM2RPeGI2THdzo2NpZNkgY3VRajc4TUZVVUI1NVZIVHJsWEcwTFllRlNuSWkyWGU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EmployerLink<\/a>. Employers and plan members must sign in to their Portico account to access these guides.<\/p>\n<h3>Commercial Insurance Trends for 2025<\/h3>\n<p>This article summarizes key findings from the white paper \u201c2025 Commercial Insurance Trends and How to Navigate Them.\u201d For comprehensive insights and actionable tips, <a href=\"https:\/\/info.churchmutual.com\/five-commercial-insurance-trends-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">click here<\/a> to download the full white paper. The insurance industry has seen a number of changes over the past year, with increased rates, increased deductibles and even decreased insurability. This isn\u2019t because insurance companies are taking more than their fair share \u2014 it\u2019s because risk levels have gotten substantially higher. As we begin 2025, it\u2019s important to have a perspective on trends that have caused insurance rates to change so much. Here\u2019s a closer look: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchmutual.com\/resources\/2025-commercial-insurance-trends\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2025 Commercial Insurance Trends<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Frequently Asked Questions About Managing Employee Time<\/h3>\n<p>Managing employee time accurately and efficiently is vital to the success of an organization. Though the rules for managing employee time can be nuanced, labor laws must be closely followed to ensure that your organization is complying with them and that employees are appropriately protected. &gt;<a href=\"https:\/\/capincrouse.com\/frequently-asked-questions-about-managing-employee-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">More<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Clergy Tax Issues: Status and Exemptions<\/h3>\n<p>This resource, available at <a href=\"https:\/\/elcamediaresources.blob.core.windows.net\/cdn\/wp-content\/uploads\/clergy_tax_issues_2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">elca.org<\/a>, will help you navigate the intricacies of the clergy tax return as you prepare to file for 2024. There is much confusion around clergy taxes due to the dual tax status that is unique to clergy. Though most clergy are considered employees for the purposes of federal income tax reporting, all clergy are considered to be self-employed for the purposes of Social Security and Medicare tax with respect to services they perform in the exercise of their ministry.<\/p>\n<h3>Four Ways to Improve Your Church\u2019s Online Presence<\/h3>\n<p>To find information about businesses or service providers, more people now go to the internet than to any other source. This is why it\u2019s important to have a social media strategy and a system in place to provide search engines with information about your church. &gt;<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2025\/03\/4-Ways-to-improve-your-churchs-online-presence.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Issue 98 of Administration Matters 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly The 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly will take place July 28\u2013Aug. 2 in Phoenix, Ariz. Under the theme \u201cFor the Life of the World,\u201d the assembly will meet around word and water, wine and bread, to carry on its work on behalf of the entire church. Key [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Index of the March 2025 Issue - Administration Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/adminmatters\/index-of-the-march-2025-issue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Index of the March 2025 Issue - Administration Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Issue 98 of Administration Matters 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly The 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly will take place July 28\u2013Aug. 2 in Phoenix, Ariz. 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