Ordinance of the Evangelical Church Council of the Canton of Thurgau Concerning Further Education and Sabbaticals - Principle

1. Continuing Education Courses and Study Leaves are Intended to Serve the Purpose of

1. maintaining and promoting the connection between practice and theory,

2. acquiring advanced knowledge for work in the relevant ecclesiastical office and for the life of the church in a changing society, and

3. enriching and strengthening the personality of the officeholder.

1. This regulation governs the obligation and entitlement to further education and study leave for ordained ministers, male and female pastors elected or employed by the congregations, male and female deacons, male and female administrators, as well as employees of the regional church employed by the church council.

1. Pastors, deacons, administrators, and church staff are obliged to pursue professional and personal development.

2. Regardless of their employment level, they may attend eligible courses of up to two weeks in total over a period of two years.

3. Those working part-time can take time off corresponding to their employment level.

4. In the initial years of service, the regulations of the Concordat concerning further education in the first years of service (WEA) apply to pastors.

1. The Church Council may conduct further training courses and prescribe the attendance of certain courses.

2. Attendance at regional church courses that have been declared mandatory by the Church Council is free of charge.

1. Contributions for participation in courses as defined in § 1 are provided by the regional church and the parish.

2. The church council decides on the granting of contributions by the regional church, and the local supervisory commission decides on those by the parish according to the ordinance of the Synod on compensations in the Evangelical Regional Church of the Canton of Thurgau.

3. The same entitlement to contributions applies to part-time employees as to full-time employees.

1. Anyone wishing to participate in a course must submit an appropriate application, detailing content and costs, to their supervisory authority and the church council no later than two months before the course begins.

2. The local authority, or in the case of employees of the regional church, the church council, decides on the applicant's entitlement and the arrangement for substitutes.

3. If there are deficiencies in the content of the proposed course or biases in the course selection, the church council will reject a course application after consulting with the local supervisory authority.

4. Within a month after the course ends, a report and a brief course summary, specifying the organizer, program, and detailed course costs, must be submitted to the church council. A copy of the course report should be sent to the local authority for their information.

1. The course participant shall bear the costs for travel and course materials, as well as a co-payment for accommodation and meals.

1. The parish, or in the case of denominational employees, the regional church, shall cover the costs of substitutes, insofar as no internal arrangement is possible.

2. In the event of an internal arrangement, it must be ensured that employees who take on additional tasks as part of the substitution are relieved in other work areas.

1. Courses lasting longer than two weeks may be approved and supported by the Church Council in agreement with the employer in the same manner and with the same maximum duration as other further training courses, provided that the training complies with the principle of § 1, is in the interest of the congregation or the regional church, and any time exceeding the statutory maximum duration can be used during free time or an unpaid leave of absence.

1. Parish Ministers shall have the right to two paid study leaves during their service years in the canton, with one lasting up to six months and another lasting up to four months. The first study leave may be taken after ten years of service as an elected or appointed minister, and the second after at least another ten years of service, provided that their role in the respective community has spanned at least three years.

2. Deacons shall have the right to a one-time study leave of up to 6 months after at least ten years of service in the canton as elected or appointed deacons, provided that their role in the respective community has spanned at least three years.

3. The duration of any service years performed by a minister or deacon prior to ordination in the national church shall not be counted.

1. A study leave can be commenced at the latest before the 58th birthday.

2. The study leave is fundamentally to be taken consecutively. Continuing education offers, which are divided over a period that extends beyond the duration of the study leave, can be approved as part of the study leave, provided they are in the interest of the church community or the regional church and do not unduly impair the fulfillment of the task after the study leave. The period of the actual study leave is reduced by the duration of the continuing education time outside of it, including preliminary and follow-up work. In other cases, if the leave is taken in parts, the remainder expires.

1. A leave application must be submitted to the Supervisory Commission and the Church Council by the end of August of the year preceding the leave and must be registered with the Church Council, specifying the intended substitution arrangements. Three months before the start of the leave, the study program must be submitted to the Church Council.

2. The Church Council decides on the applicant's entitlement and the study program.

3. The local authority regulates the substitution.

4. Upon completion of the study leave, a report on the progress and outcome of the study leave must be submitted to the Church Council and the Church Leadership within three months.

1. During study leave, there is an entitlement to full salary.

2. The costs of substitution and any possible course fees are divided between the regional church and the parish in accordance with the Synod's regulation on compensation in the Evangelical Regional Church of the Canton of Thurgau.

1. The church council may defer leave applications if an excessive number of requests in a particular area endangers pastoral or diaconal care, or if an excessive accumulation of applications within the same budget year places an undue burden on the national church.

2. As a rule, applications are approved in the order of their receipt. Exceptions are made if attending a course appears to be particularly urgent for a parish or the national church.

3. Deferred applications are considered registrations for the following year.

1. For senior employees of the regional church, the Church Council may grant a one-time paid study leave of up to six months after at least ten years of service in the regional church.

2. Determinative for the approval of such a request or for the order of approvals are, among other factors, the urgency of the proposed studies in view of fulfilling the mandate of the regional church, the assurance of substitutes, the number of years of service in the regional church, as well as the financial capabilities of the regional church.

1. A study leave can be commenced no later than before the 58th birthday.

2. An application for leave must be submitted to the church council before the end of August of the year preceding the leave, specifying the anticipated replacement arrangements and the study program.

3. Upon completion of the study leave, a report on the progress and outcome of the study leave must be delivered to the church council and the responsible commission within three months.

1. Where taking study leave in a continuous period creates difficulties in regulating substitution and results in unacceptable gaps in the performance of duties, or where the specific study program requires it, the leave can be distributed over a maximum of three non-consecutive periods.

1. During the study leave, there is an entitlement to full salary.

2. The costs for the courses approved by the church council within the framework of the submitted plan will be reimbursed by the national church in accordance with the synod's regulation on compensation.

3. Where an applicant fulfills one part-time position in a parish and another in the national church, the entitlement to study leave and the participation in costs for salary, substitutes, and courses is generally determined separately.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on January 1, 2011, and shall replace the ordinance of the Evangelical Church Council of the Canton of Thurgau concerning further education and study leave dated October 4, 2000.