Care for Clergy

I posted about this a while back, but found some important info and I thought is was worth revisiting "care for clergy".

The stats are quite serious: pastors suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at higher rates than most Americans. It is hard to give help when you have such a need for help yourself. Pastoral work is rewarding and invigorating - and also demanding and challenging; in the 1st Century as well as in the 21st Century.

But there are people who are watching, and providing support. I've been impressed with what I've learned about the Alban Institute when it comes to resources for ministering in the parish. They recently posted an article on Clergy Burnout that does more than list the problems. It also gives resources for help.

Here are some others: Wheat Ridge offer excellent resources for ministry sabbaticals, including grants. And they provide some of the best resources for planning available so the experience of a sabbatical is the most beneficial - for the Pastor and for the congregation.

A number of years back Wheat Ridge supported a project called Grace Place Retreats, an excellent resource for pastors and their spouses to find renewal. (More info about them from their director, John Eckrich, in the responses to the Clergy Burnout article.)