Much has been said lately about clergy burnout. It is a lead article in today’s (8/2/10) New York Times. I am feeling that stress today as I try to prepare for a 4-day workshop away from my parish. When I condense everything I need to do this week into one day, the task seems insurmountable. And that’s without the daily emergencies that crop up.
Today I saw signs of hope.
The Duke Clergy Health Initiative is working to help us be better pastors to ourselves as well as everyone around us. And a Facebook post from a new colleague put it well:
I must still be “green” since I’ve only been doing this a month, but it seems hard to believe one gets burned out in this profession. I have days where I get exhausted, but I guess I’m too new to understand yet. And, I make sure to take my Sabbath day. If God worked 6 out of 7, then that pretty much tells me that if I think I need to work 7, I’m saying I have more important work than God did…..and, I think not!
When I get down on the church, the way we have shaped it over the years, I am reminded by the new voices in ministry that there’s life in the old girl yet! I guess, as a second-career pastor, I am still one of the newer voices.
A couple of weeks ago, I did something totally out of character and posted a comment on a NYT article about Sabbath. The conversation was life-giving, there was no flaming (like there usually is when religion and culture are discussed) and the form of the article was mirrored by its function – calm, thoughtful and though-provoking.
Lord God, help me live my life centered in You, resting in your sabbath and alive in your shalom.
Soul Rain 