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Administration & Finance Resources

Last Updated: May 12, 2026

CONTACTS

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Maria Gillespie

Chief Financial Officer

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Maria Gillespie

Chief Financial Officer
919-600-5311
EMAIL

Maria joined the diocesan staff in April 2013. Her responsibilities include all aspects of finance for the diocese, including the budget, common trust fund, health and retiree benefits and the general administration of the diocese. She also serves as the treasurer of the North Carolina Church Foundation. She graduated from The Ohio State University with a major in accounting and received her CPA. Shortly after, she attended Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio, graduating with her Master’s in Business Administration. Prior to working with the Diocese, she worked in public accounting and as an adjunct professor at Franklin University, where she enjoyed teaching students of all ages.

Maria has been married to Jim, her college sweetheart from OSU, for 25 years. She is the mom of three girls, two of whom are twins, and couldn’t imagine life without them. They are a constant joy. When not at work she enjoys being with her family and friends. Maria loves relaxing at Lake Gaston, kayaking/paddle boarding, reading and walking her goldendoodles, Ginger and Penny.

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Erin Sweeney

Benefits and Finance Coordinator

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I'm sorry, I can’t help identify or describe this person.Erin Sweeney

Benefits and Finance Coordinator
919-600-5313
EMAIL

A native North Carolinian, Erin was born and raised in the Raleigh area. Prior to joining the team at the Diocesan House in Raleigh, she worked as an office manager and bookkeeper for several years. She finds great joy in welcoming all who visit the diocese, and she supports the diocesan office in countless administrative tasks.

In her free time, Erin enjoys cooking, traveling, cheering on her favorite sports teams and volunteering at her church in Wake Forest.

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Becky Poynter

Accountant

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A person with glasses smiling outdoors, with trees and a garden in the blurred background. Bright daylight highlights the scene.Becky Poynter

Accountant
919-600-5310
EMAIL

Becky joined the diocesan staff as an accountant in the spring of 2022. She will be a value-added member of our finance team and assist our chief financial officer with maintaining internal controls, preparing financial reports, and working on the diocesan audit and convention.

Becky is married to her best friend, Greg, and is the mom to a son and a daughter. In her free time, Becky enjoys reading, beginning new cross stitch projects and attending her daughter’s travel softball games.

BENEFITS

BENEFITS CONTACTS

Contact information for the Church Pension Group Medical Trust and vendors who provide insurance coverage to employees of the Diocese of North Carolina and its congregations is below.

THE CHURCH PENSION GROUP MEDICAL TRUST

Client Services
Monday through Friday
8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET (excluding holidays)
1-800-480-9967 / mtcustserv@cpg.org
www.cpg.org

FOR RETIREES IN THE CPG GROUP MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS

United Healthcare Client Services
Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time
1-866-519-5401 (TTY users call 711)
https://retiree.uhc.com/ecmt

BENEFITS ELIGIBILITY AND RESOURCES

Benefits eligibility requirements in the Diocese of North Carolina, in accordance with Church Pension Group rules and regulations

Employee Regularly Scheduled to Work at least 1,000 hours/year (20 hours/week)

  1. Pension plan participation (If clergy, participation in the Clergy Defined Benefit Plan)
  2. Employer-provided Group Term Life Insurance
  3. Eligible voluntarily to enroll in medical and dental coverage through the Episcopal Church Medical Trust (The employer has no obligation to pay.)

Employee Regularly Scheduled to Work at least 1,500 hours/year (30 hours/week) or more

  1. Pension plan participation (If clergy, participation in the Clergy Defined Benefit Plan)
  2. Employer-provided Group Term Life Insurance
  3. Medical and dental coverage through the Episcopal Church Medical Trust

CLERGY Employee Regularly Scheduled to Work less than 1,000 hours/year (0-19 hours/week)

  1. Clergy Defined Benefit Pension Plan (if participation eligibility criteria below are met)
    1. Employee does not qualify to participate in the medical and dental plans, or employer-provided Group Term Life Insurance.
    2. The cleric must be enrolled in the Clergy Defined Benefit Pension Plan.

Employers must enroll Clergy Employees under the age of 72 in the Clergy Defined Benefit Pension Plan if they are both:

  • expected to be regularly employed for five or more consecutive months by the same employer and
  • are compensated by the employer

The employee will be treated as regularly employed if the employee meets one of the following requirements:

  • They have a letter of agreement (or other contract of employment) with their employer.
  • They are duly called to their position by their bishop, vestry, or rector.
  • Their position has a formal title (for example, rector or priest-in-charge) indicating an ongoing substantial relationship with their employer.
  • Their employer issues them a Form W-2 (or equivalent).
  • They are scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week.

LAY Employee Regularly Scheduled to Work less than 1,000 Hours/year (0-19hrs/week)

Employee does not qualify for pension plan participation, medical and dental plans, or employer-provided Group Term Life Insurance.

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BENEFITS FOR CHURCH ADMINISTRATORS

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CHURCH FINANCES

DIOCESAN BUDGET

INVESTMENTS

INVESTMENT FUND INFORMATION

The Investment Fund of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina is open to all churches in the diocese and other organizations affiliated with the diocese. The Investment Fund seeks to maximize total return with reasonable risk. Investments in the fund are overseen by the Trustees with support from the Investment Advisory Committee; the funds are managed by Sterling Capital Investment Consulting. The fund is audited annually by the diocesan independent auditors.

The Investment Fund offers two important advantages to congregations who choose to participate: the opportunity to be part of a larger investment pool with economies of scale and the careful monitoring of investment managers, fees and performance with a well-defined procedure to make changes as necessary.

Inquiries about the fund are always welcome. Please contact Maria Gillespie, chief financial officer.

REPORTING

Filing of the 2025 parochial report is open. They are due March 1. Unlike previous years, the portal will close on that date, and congregations will not be able to make any adjustments or entries after that time. Please note that the portal is managed by The Episcopal Church office, not by the diocese.

  • Downloadable forms and instructions are available on the Episcopal Church’s General Convention website. There you will also find a video tutorial and detailed instructions.
  • Email notifications were sent directly to each congregation by The Episcopal Church. Please log into the portal at reports.dfms.org and enter your email address in the “Login Name” Field. If you do not know your password, please select “I forgot my password” under the password field. You will receive an email from DFMS Reports with a password reset link.

Parochial reports can be submitted only through the electronic portal. There is no need to send a paper copy. If you can’t remember what email you used last year, please contact Becky Poynter, and she can reset the congregation’s account and send you a new PIN. Once you have submitted the parochial report online with The Episcopal Church, there is no need to send the diocese a hard copy.

Please note this change:

Historically, Line A of the parochial report has been used to assess the fair share assessment. However, the lines in the financial section of the report have changed. If the figure in Line 3 is comparable to the number reported in Line A last year, it will be used in place of Line A for the fair share assessment.

For your reference, the fair share rate for 2026 has been set at 10.55%, a decrease from 10.65% in 2025.

Do you need extra help filing your parochial report (due March 1) or audit (due September 1) this year? Please click the button below to request an audit and financial guidance team member who will focus on supporting and assisting your congregation in completing the annual parochial report or the short or long audit forms.

Request help with your parochial report audit
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