This is very old news. Far too many Episcopal clergy have been out of shape for as long as I can remember and I have been ordained for 48 years. These days, few, if any have ever been in the military, where being in shape is a requirement. When I was in my mid fifties and still in the Naval Reserve, I had to qualify for physical fitness and BMI (body mass index) standards each year, sit-ups, push-ups, and a mile and a half run (I dismayed the younger officers by running well ahead of them, all the while discussing with a Rabbi fellow chaplain our Ph.D. dissertations).
On many occasions, I have mentioned to my bishops how out of shape, not to say noticeably overweight and pallid, the clergy are. It never seemed to concern them. Now I am nearly 73, and regularly do 20-30 mile bicycle rides on a dirt path near my home. A clergy colleague who is four years older rides for hundreds of miles. As a retired chaplain, I am subject to recall and understand the need to be fit.

As for the clergy unable to cope with their congregations: this again seems to me to be the result of their never having learned how to exercise leadership. Perhaps, again, no military experience. Not knowing how to lead and in turn to be accountable for your leadership or the lack thereof. In my 30 years as a chaplain, I had fitness reports written on my performance every year. These were reviewed by my seniors for the purpose of determining whether I was capable of increased responsibility. The clergy have no supervision and are answerable to no superior authority unless they commit a crime. They are advanced on the basis of some search committee's opinions of them. Beyond that, they never have any idea where they stand vis a vis their peers.

So all that is left is the dynamics of the parish leadership or its effective gossips. And when the skies darken, these clergy, with limited leadership training and discipline, withdraw and comfort themselves with food and drink.

Of course, there are notable exceptions. But there are far too many who are not the exceptions. Show me a pallid, overweight priest and I will show you someone in trouble.

Don't lay all that on the laity and the lack of conflict skills. The conflict should not have arisen in the first place.

One of my priest/lawyer acquaintances used to say, "The clergy work 30% all the time." That is, 24 hours a day. No wonder they are tired.

I do not put up with laity who are unfair or abusive, and my reputation goes before me. Maybe that is why I am called upon to work in troubled congregations and have effected a lot of constructive change. I also do very effective ministry, liturgically, in teaching, pastoral care, and especially in preaching. It is a matter of life-long discipline and dedication.

When I see so many clergy in trouble, and troubled in their personal and professional lives, I think, perhaps uncharitably, that they are in the wrong line of work. The ministry is for those who are fit for that leadership role.

Phillip Cato

It's because the day is so broken up ... early morning meetings, lunches out, pastoral calls, evening meetings. It's hard to just carve out a regular workout time. I finally got a bike to ride back and forth to church to try to get some kind of fitness regime going.

Perhaps I am being uncharitable as well but my rough calculations put Rev. Cato's actual parish 'leadership' experience back a few years. He may not realize that today's laity do not have a chain of command mentality about clergy. Most clergy are underpaid, lacking adequate staff, and expected to run a medium sized 'business' with 100 stakeholders watching, second guessing, and undermining their every action. Pastoral care is also assumed as well as hatching, matching, and dispatching at a moments notice - especially from those "I was a member here years ago' folks.
Coming in to rescue a mess is not the same as serving year after year in a typical moderate sized parish.
A good priest wants to see disciples in the pews - not people saluting.

Having served on a diocesan clergy/staff health insurance committee for some years I know our clergy are viewed by insurers as an unhealthy group relative to other groups with otherwise similar demographics. If you look at clergy waistlines it's rather scary.

Exercise is a matter of discipline and having the will to carve out a part of your week - something clergy should be able to do, right? And the reality is that the job is very often a stressful one with unreasonable expectations. Are we doing a good job of screening out persons not meant for this life? Are we doing a good job of training in seminaries and first placement? What happens when clergy burn out but see no alternative but sticking it out?