Nashville clergy re-activate the Covenant Association, originally formed to be a meeting place and voice for social justice oriented clergy who don't endorse conservative politics. The Tennessean reports:
A fascinating report titled "Pastors Who Are Not Believers" was released in March. Here is its setup.
The internet and search engines have changed the possibilities for spreading rumors at the same time they opens up the possibility of finding information relevant to clergy search committees. Carol Howard Merritt, author of "Tribal Church" (Alban), offers some thoughts:
In Oprah Magazine, writer (and clergy spouse), Andrew Corsello reflects on the changes that came when he and his family moved from Virginia to California and when his wife, the Rev. Dana Corsello, became the first female rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in San Francisco:
She's a Big Cheese. (He's a Little Annoyed.)
In Oprah Magazine
Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina suspended by the new bishop:
Writing in The New York Times, Paul Vitello surveys the landscape of clergy life and finds that it is not a pretty picture:
We found that pastors' health was worse off across the board than the populations where they serve. Their rates of obesity were about 10 percent higher. We looked at other kinds of chronic diseases. High blood pressure rates were about four percent higher, asthma rates also about four percent higher. Their diabetes rates are about three percent higher than other North Carolinians.
Please share with us your thoughts on clergy health and burnout. It's easy and anonymous. Go here to give us your thoughts.
Elizabeth Kaeton's playing trendspotter. She's thinking about who's got what title in The Episcopal Church, and what some of the critical distinctions between them might be - and, so long as we're on the subject, from where (or whom) those distinctions arise.
Recently there have been a plethora of articles on clergy and the congregations they serve. Some are concerned with burn out, some are blaming clergy or bishops, some are blaming congregations for whatever is troubling in today's churches:
The Rev. Nigel Taber-Hamilton wonders:
Are we scapegoating our clergy?
A letter from Herb Gunn, director of communication for CREDO, an Episcopal wellness project for church leaders. He reflects on the current news about clergy and congregations and stress:
Dr. Maria Evans, who writes and reflects at the blog Kirkepiscatoid, explores the subject of touch in church, especially as related to clergy.
A study reported on in USA Today has found that more young people are exploring careers in ministry just at the same time that a wave of Baby Boomer ministers are retiring. USA Today calls this "prayers being answered" for churches across the land.
The New York Times ran a crop of letters yesterday in which writers responded to the Times' recent story and op-ed piece about clergy burnout. This one came from Bonnie Anderson, President of the Episcopal Church's House of Deputies:
An Anglican, a former Archbishop of Dublin, has expressed his support for the formation of a Catholic association of Irish priests.
The Colorado Springs Gazette's Mark Barna has a point: both Rev. Don Armstrong and his Springs-based compatriot Ted Haggard have evinced "an ability to inspire congregants."
Religion and Ethics Newsweekly is the latest mainstream media outlet to take an interest in the clergy stress story that has already been featured in The New York Times and on National Public Radio. If we are not mistaken, this particular piece is set at a CREDO conference, although, disappointingly, CREDO isn't mentioned.
A Catholic priest from Florida died during the celebration of the Mass on Friday, AP reports.
Roman Catholic bishops hosted an event ending yesterday that taught priests how to perform exorcisms. It's been reported that 56 bishops and 66 priests attended.
The Episcopal Church's Office of Public Affairs has issued a press release on the church's Office of Transition Ministry which you can read below. I am wondering if it provides an opportunity for a Cafe community conversation about what the release refers to as the "calling process." How do priests end up where they end up? How well is this process working? How could it be improved?
A group of sociologists associated with Hartford Seminary has published the results of study of clergy women in the Presbyterian Church that revisits a study done in 1993-1994 to see what is now different in their career and career paths.
The conclusions of the most recent study are presented in 5-fold order:
Bruce Epperly, in this week's missive from the Alban Institute says:
New pastors are most successful in the transition from seminary to their first congregation when they expect and accept imperfection as an essential ingredient in the art of ministry.
Might it be a good thing if clergy (or other quasi-public figures) keep two Facebook identities? What might they (we!?) have to hide? Or, is it perhaps just about boundary-setting? What do you think? Should we have one Facebook account for the public side of our life and another for the private?
This being the first full week of the new year, Episcopal Church senior seminarians are hunkering down to take the GOEs. Don't know what this means? Well, the GOEs are the General Ordination Exams which have been administered each year since 1972 by the by the General Board of Examining Chaplains to those who are in the ordination process for the priesthood.
Ron Crawford offers up his advice for New Year's Resolutions for Ministers. What are yours?
The New York Magazine reports that Episcopal priest, the Rev. Aberto Cutié, also known as 'Padre Beto', will return to television this summer.
Church Pension Group releases study on the last 3+ decades of female priests, deacons and bishops:
Called to Serve Study
From CPG Press Release
Writing for the Alban Institute, Dan Hotchkiss says:
The Rev. Andrew Cooley, rector of St. Mark's, Durango, CO, recently announced an impending retirement date of May 1. In response, The Durango Herald offered something you don't see much of anymore - a comprehensive and humanely written retirement announcement.
The Association for Episcopal Deacons (AED) is the new name of the group formerly known as North American Association for the Diaconate (NAAD):
This article about about women who have children and have made the ordination vow has popped up in enough places it seems appropriate that our readers should give their take.
The news last week that the College for Bishops was launching a $15 million capital campaign to assure its future was greeted by an unusually large number of negative comments here on the Café, as well as on our Facebook page. More of that negativity was directed at the bishops than seemed fair to me. I am returning to the issue not to suggest that the bishops are blameless, but to because I think it provides a useful opportunity to examine how decisions get made, money gets spent, and interests get met in our church.
Perusing one of your typical let's-get-an-article-in-the-paper notices concerning the ordination of Roxane Gwyn to the priesthood in Fuquay-Varina / Holly Springs, North Carolina (it sounds like it was a hoot by the way), I spied the following in the interview.
Writing for the Alban Weekly, Bruce G. Epperly says:
I often tell new pastors that ministry is a marathon, not a sprint.
Why is it that when we talk about clergy ethics, we tend to think about the kinds of behaviors in which clergy should *not* be involved, rather than the kinds of moral stands they should take?
From the Jesus in Love Blog:
Freelance radio reporter Jesse Hardman has lovingly profiled his father, The Rev. Bob Hardman, whose Parkinsons has been debilitating, yet unable so far to stifle his will.
Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington, Kentucky, has announced the selection of former Washington National Cathedral staff member Rev. Canon Carol L. Wade as its next dean.
Writing for the Alban Institute, Landon Whitsitt asks some provocative questions: to what extent are clergy "experts" at running a parish, and why don't search processes focus much on a candidate's administrative skills?
Rev. Ali Wurm, an openly gay priest who served St. Bede's in the city of Adelaide in southern Australia, recently gave up her post as Priest-In-Charge, acknowledging what seems to be a general failure of acceptance of her life - not just from some church members, but also among fellow clergy, if not within the fuller hierarchy of her diocese.
Mary Frances Schjonberg, Episcopal News Service, rounds up the news on the changes to the Church Pension Group benefit plans for married same sex couples as well as bishops' reactions to changes in marriage equality laws:
The Rev. Mary M. Brown of the Odyssey Networks summarizes the findings of a Lilly Foundation-funded study on preaching in an article for the Huffington Post:
Word comes that priest, writer, and advocate Kenneth Leech is ill:
Rich Howells profiles The Rev. Peter D’Angio, the openly gay rector of St. Luke's in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on everything from gay marriage to what the Bible says about homosexuality.
Deborah Potter filed an insightful report on clergy wellness for Religion Ethics Newsweekly in October, and PBS liked it well enough to rebroadcast it last weekend. It features the Rev. Joseph Stewart-Sicking, an Episcopal priest who teaches pastoral counseling, and includes a visit to a CREDO conference at the Lake Logan Episcopal Center in North Carolina. We like it well enough to rebroadcast it, too.
UPDATED - see below
The Los Angeles Times reports:
An L.A. County Sheriff's official confirmed Tuesday that deputies recovered a stolen Rembrandt from the pastor's office of an Episcopal church in Encino.
On his blog Becoming, hospice physician and Episcopal priest Steve Thomason recounts some of his memories of what happened at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest on 9/11/2001.
Rev. Lyndon Harris, who was the priest at St. Paul's Chapel (across Church Street from the World Trade Center) on September 11, 2001, reflects on his process so far and has some things to say about forgiveness.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams sends a video greeting to the Vital Church Planting Conference on September 5.
Okay, pulpit-ascenders and sermon-attenders: Read the following and tell me if it's anything like your experience:
When I started seminary and began envisioning myself as a clergyperson, I started looking at the style of women pastors, particularly women head pastors. And I noticed that virtually without exception, they had “The Haircut.” The Don’t-Think-of-Me-as-a-Woman-Think-of-Me-as-a-Pastor haircut.
From the YouTube channel for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth:
Twelve retired clergy came out of retirement to serve congregations that had lost their church homes in a schism. The Diocese of Fort Worth says thank you.
The General Ordination Examinations begin this week. What was your experience? Stories of terror or humor? What strategies do you suggest for getting through the week? For test takers and spouses/partners?
In light of the discussions about the future of the church what is your opinion of the Exams? Do you think the exams make any difference to the church? or are they one more form of "hazing" and "hoops"? for those seeking ordination?
The Rev. Dr. Francis H. Wade will serve as interim dean of Washington National Cathedral, Episcopal News Service reports.
There have been some very thoughtful comments lately on The Lead as we think about the future of the church. In addition to sincerely thanking those who have taken the time to read and respond, we thought it might be informative to look closely at some of the comments.
Columbus Dispatch writer Meredith Heagney has filed a story about the impact of the current economic climate on pastors.
Here at the Cafe, we are trying to mix more conversation about the future of the Episcopal Church, and other profound issues, such as whether squirrels go to heaven, into our usual mix of faith-related news. Last week, a post from Scott Gunn at Seven Whole Days, caught our eye. He listed a number of things in the Episcopal Church that need fixing, prominent among them the way in which parishes select clergy.
On Friday we posted a video - "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus" - that had been making the electronic rounds lately. It created a good conversation when it landed here.
The New York Times offers a retrospective on the tenure of the Rev. Bill Tully on the occasion of his retirement as rector of St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City.
The story begins:
The Florida Times-Union published a lengthy story yesterday on clergy burnout and how to avoid it. The story quotes these troubling statistics: 80 percent of clergy say their job negatively affects their families and almost 60 percent say they would leave ministry if they had another vocation.
After 18 years as Rector of St. Bart's in New York, and following on an announcement made last year, Bill Tully has retired. His final sermon there was a meditation on Jonah and its very real implications for the maintenance of spiritual community for today.
He concluded, in part:
Rev. Patrick Miller, rector of St. Mark's, Houston, has been a student of boxing since 2007, and as the Houston Chronicle reports, he's striving to integrate lessons learned in the ring with those acquired in the process of his work.
