Pondering how to address the reverend clergy

From Baltimore-

Despite commendable efforts at housecleaning in recent years,* the Associated Press Stylebook retains some regrettable relics. For today’s homily, we’ll have a look at Rev.

The stylebook entry states what has long been considered orthodox practice: “When this description is used before an individual’s name, precede it with the word the because, unlike Mr. or Mrs., the abbreviation Rev. does not stand for a noun.”

That is, the word reverend and its abbreviation are adjectives.

There are some problems with this supposed rule, which H.L. Mencken in The American Language traces to nineteenth-century diktats by Richard Grant White (who delighted in inventing rules of grammar and usage) and William Cullen Bryant (who delighted in prohibitions).

More here-

https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/columnists/mcintyre/bs-ed-mcintyre-20190929-cm763jmgezbppeffuqaqau45fm-story.html

Do churches need ministers? Not as much as they think

From Christian Today-

Just how important is the minister? Professionals who've trained for two or three years at a college and probably done a bit of an apprenticeship too might not particularly like to hear it said, 'Not very much.'

That's not quite what Andy Griffiths is saying in his Grove booklet, Refusing to be Indispensable: Vacating the centre of church life. But there's certainly an element there of Anglican vicars ministering in such a way that they do themselves out of a job.

Griffiths is co-ordinator of curate training in Chelmsford diocese and a continuing ministerial development adviser. And, as he points out, what's now desirable is shortly to become inevitable. Up to half of Anglican incumbents – vicars or rectors in charge of congregations – will retire during the next 10 years, leaving around 5,000 compared with 23,235 in 1901. How should incumbents relate to their congregations in such a way that they help them minister to themselves and to their local communities?

He has five metaphors for ministry, speaking of the incumbent as the 'vanishing priest' who points to God without herself being present, as apostolic team member, team builder, doorkeeper and 'planet' – that is, one who orbits around the Sun of Righteousness rather than herself being the congregation's centre of gravity. That's a thought borrowed from Pope Benedict when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, and there is a refreshingly broad range of reference in this little book.

More here-

https://www.christiantoday.com/church/do-churches-need-ministers-not-as-much-as-they-think/128492.htm

Call me Hester (or Reverend Hester)

From The Living Church-

Vocation, title, and identity are interwoven in ways that have become increasingly apparent to me since my ordination. Ordination brought with it a new title, as I moved from being Mrs. Hester Mathes to the Reverend Hester Mathes.

The Reverend most often lives in letterheads, email signatures, and Sunday bulletins, all written forms of communication, but what I have learned in my first years of ordained ministry is that my title in spoken language, especially as a priest, becomes trickier. I often hear it in conversations: What are we supposed to call you?

My first response has been to invite people to call me my baptized name, Hester. My idea of ministry is firmly rooted in the priesthood of all believers. I find that my vocation as a priest sets me apart in my ministry, but not above. I operate best through building relationships, and I like being on a first-name basis with those who serve with me.

More here-

http://htl.li/CtJM30flys3

THE FUTURE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH’S CLERGY

From The Living Church-

David Goodhew’s recent post “Facing Episcopal Church Decline” tells a familiar story: the Episcopal Church’s numbers are falling fast and, without a turnaround, things don’t look great for the future of the denomination. He looks at figures such as membership, average Sunday attendance, baptisms, and weddings to trace a sobering picture of an institution facing decades of overall decline. Yet, despite many posts from numerous outlets and voices on the subject of TEC’s membership issues, I’ve yet to see anyone discuss at length another, no less important, side of the story: TEC’s impending leadership and experience vacuum.

In the Church Pension Group’s 2015 Church Compensation Report: A National, Provincial, and Diocesan Analysis of Clergy Compensation, we find a rather fascinating breakdown of the Church’s full-time clergy that reflects decades of inadequate development of young leaders.[1] (For clarity’s sake, I have taken the liberty to create tables that omit the data irrelevant to this post, such as average and median compensation figures.)

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2017/08/11/the-future-of-the-episcopal-churchs-clergy/

Higher Calling, Lower Wages: The Vanishing of the Middle-Class Clergy

From The Atlantic-

For someone seeking a full-time job as a church pastor, Justin Barringer would seem to have the perfect résumé. He’s a seminary grad, an author and book editor, and a former missionary to China and Greece. But despite applying to nearly a hundred jobs over the course of two years, Barringer, who lives in Lexington, Kentucky, could not secure a full-time, salaried church position.

So he splits his time among three jobs, working as a freelance editor, an employee at a nonprofit for the homeless, and a part-time assistant pastor at a United Methodist Church. “I am not mad at the church,” Barringer says. “However, I wish someone had advised me against taking on so much debt in order to be trained for ministry.”

Barringer’s story is becoming increasingly typical as Protestant churches nationwide cut back on full-time, salaried positions. Consequently, many new pastors either ask friends and family for donations (a time-honored clerical tradition) or take on other jobs. Working two jobs has become so common for clergy members, in fact, that churches and seminaries have a euphemistic term for it: bi-vocational ministry.

More here-

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/07/higher-calling-lower-wages-the-collapse-of-the-middle-class-clergy/374786/?utm_source=fbb

Ministry Statistics report clergy are older, and fewer are stipendiary

From The Church Times-

FALLING numbers of stipendiary clergy in the Church of England, reported in the latest statistics, show the urgent need for more ordina­tions, the Director of Ministry for the Archbishops’ Council, the Ven. Julian Hubbard, has said.

The statistics, released yesterday, reveal that, while the total number of ordained ministers has remained at around 20,500 from 2012 to the end of last year, the number of stipendiary bishops, priests, and deacons fell from 8006 in 2012 to 7661.

The number of stipendiary women clergy has risen slightly every year, but has not offset the decline in numbers of men.

Archdeacon Hubbard said: "The overall picture confirms what is widely known about the challenges we face. While the number of stipen­diary ordinations showed a welcome increase between 2012 and 2015, this is not sufficient to redress the gathering effect of clergy retirements predicted over the next ten years."

More here-

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2016/3-june/news/uk/fewer-clergy-on-a-stipend-and-older

How much should a preacher be paid? Put in your 2 cents' worth

From Alabama-

Tax-time always means thinking about how much people get paid and should be paid for their work. And that brings up the perennial question for church board sessions every year: What should ministers make for their work of sermonizing, serving, leading and bedside praying? Should they, in fact, even be paid at all? Should they simply trust that - like the lily of the field and the care-free sparrow - that God will supply their needs?

No they shouldn't, says the Rev. Dr. Tammy Gregory Brown, who, as executive presbyter of the Presbytery of North Alabama is sometimes called upon to help congregations decide what to pay a minister. Ministers should trust that God will supply their needs, of course, but God will supply those needs through the orderly generosity of the congregation and a fair salary package.
More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2015/04/paying_the_preacher.html

How to Snap Pastors Like Breadsticks

From Huffington-

Crunching the numbers speaks for itself: A 2007 Duke University study found that 85 percent of seminary graduates leave the ministry within five years and 90 percent flee before retirement. The attrition rate in North Georgia, the Bible Belt's leather buckle, "ran as high as 90% for those having served 20 years or more." Alban Institute and Fuller Seminary research showed that "50% of ministers drop out of ministry within the first five years and many never go back to church again."

It's a verified fact: Anyone signing up for the professional ministry is nuts. Don't waste time on those psychological tests. If they want the job, they're cracked.

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-redfern/how-to-snap-pastors-like-_b_5646161.html

Higher Calling, Lower Wages: The Vanishing of the Middle-Class Clergy

From The Atlantic-

For someone seeking a full-time job as a church pastor, Justin Barringer would seem to have the perfect résumé. He’s a seminary grad, an author and book editor, and a former missionary to China and Greece. But despite applying to nearly a hundred jobs over the course of two years, Barringer, who lives in Lexington, Kentucky, could not secure a full-time, salaried church position.

So he splits his time among three jobs, working as a freelance editor, an employee at a nonprofit for the homeless, and a part-time assistant pastor at a United Methodist Church. “I am not mad at the church,” Barringer says. “However, I wish someone had advised me against taking on so much debt in order to be trained for ministry.”

{snip}

For example, the Episcopal Church has reported that the retirement rate of its clergy exceeds the ordination rate by 43 percent. And last year, an article from an official publication of the Presbyterian Church wondered if full-time pastors are becoming an "endangered species."

More here-

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/07/higher-calling-lower-wages-the-collapse-of-the-middle-class-clergy/374786/

The clergy ask for help with stress

From The Church Times-

MORE than three-quarters of the clergy questioned in a survey about their mental health would welcome help with managing stress.

The survey of 492 clergy was conducted for St Luke's Healthcare for the Clergy, in preparation for a conference next week on clergy stress, to be attended by representatives from every English diocese.

More than half the clergy polled (53 per cent) reported that they had received no training about stress. The 45-54 age-band appears to be the most stressful. Only 10.5 per cent said that they would decline help with stress, against the average across all ages of 22.6 per cent. Male clergy were more resistant to help than women: 24.4 per cent as opposed to 18 per cent.

The questionnaire also asked about clergy well-being. Given four options, 37.4 per cent of respondents agreed that they were "positive and energised"; 50.4 per cent said that they had "more good days than bad"; 11 per cent said that they were "struggling"; and 1.2 per cent (six people in the sample) opted for "barely coping, if I'm honest".

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/11-october/news/uk/the-clergy-ask-for-help-with-stress

Revealed: News reporter is the worst job in the world (but it's good news for death predictors)

From The Independent- (Clergy come in #110 out of 200)

It's official, I have the worst job in the world.

That’s according to a new survey by the website CareerCast.com, who have analysed and ranked 200 careers and found the lowly news reporter to be the worst.

The jobs were ordered according to five criteria: physical demands, income, stress, work environment and hiring outlook, with long hours, low salaries and dwindling hiring and career progression prospects ensuring news reporters prop up the list.

Other careers in the bottom 10 include lumberjack, enlisted military personnel, actor, oil rig worker, dairy farmer, meter reader, postman, roofer, flight attendant and farmer.


More here-


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/revealed-news-reporter-is-the-worst-job-in-the-world-but-its-good-news-for-death-predictors-8586327.html

'Called or collared?' Sacrifices of the Anglican priesthood

From England-

The first ever study of the lives of Church of England clergy has revealed the personal costs of committing yourself to God.

Written by the Bishop of Brechin and Dr Caroline Gatrell of Lancaster University Management School, the book Managing Clergy Lives (Bloomsbury) is based on in-depth interviews with 46 deans.

The Bishop, the Rt Rev Dr Nigel Peyton, said it was revealing that every interview was interrupted in some way by a caller at the door or on the phone.

“Being a priest is like being a monarch – you can’t resign and your job is your life. You must always be available to people. As the vicar in the very accurate TV sitcom Rev said, there is no such thing as a day off when you are a vicar. You do not have the same opportunities or freedom as other people and this does entail sacrifices.”

One interviewee, Philip, found that when he opened his vicarage for “hunger lunches”, some parishioners took advantage.

http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/news/28143/sacrifices-of-anglican-priesthood/

Event to urge clergy to care for themselves

From Central PA-

The very characteristics that endear clergy to their congregations — constant availability, patient listening, wise counsel and heartfelt praying — sometimes can wear them out.

The Rt. Rev. Nathan D. Baxter, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, has called Episcopal clergy together to address those issues Feb. 6-8 at its 2012 Winter Clergy Conference at Holiday Inn Harrisburg East, Swatara Township.

Using the theme “Caring For Ourselves So That We May Care For Others,” the conference for Episcopal clergy will focus on the clergy’s duty to take care of themselves so they can minister to others.

Baxter said the diocese has received a grant from the Pennsylvania Episcopal Widows Corp. to design and host a two-year pilot project on clergy wellness.

More here-

http://blog.pennlive.com/life/2012/01/event_to_urge_clergy_to_care_f.html

Clergy, Heal Thyselves

From Huffington- (That's what I need some atheist friends-then I'll feel less stressed)

A few weeks ago, there was a rash of media coverage of a Duke University study that told a lot of us clergy what we already knew: those charged with shepherding the sheep are often not men and women who are good at taking care of themselves.

Many are overweight, suffer from high blood pressure, and grapple with depression at higher rates than the average American. Ask your pastor about her stress level, if you can catch her or her moving from worship service to coffee hour to adult study in the space of two hours, all the while trying to come up with memorable pastoral advice for each of the 300 congregants who wants her undivided, Zen-like attention.

No matter what you may have heard, ordained folk do occasionally step outside the sanctuary and go to the doctors to be weighed and warned, so we aren't oblivious to the toll parish life and our own expectations can take upon our mental and physical health.

But what are some of the more creative ways in which we collared ones are taking care of ourselves? I thought I'd ask a few of my colleagues.

Which is where I ran into trouble: they were on vacation, just one step ahead of me. But when I finally ran a few to earth, here are a few tips they shared for staying sane in a crazy family system.

Cultivate some atheist friends, advises Barbara Crafton, an Episcopal priest, conference leader and author. Take naps, she adds. And stay away from the choirmaster.

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-e-evans/clergy-burnout_b_692945.html

Episcopal clergy 'very stressed,' but 'very happy'

From ELO-

In early August, New York Times religion writer Paul Vitello touched an ecclesial nerve when he launched a story, "Taking a Break From the Lord's Work," and raised a range of important questions on clergy wellness. His reporting, based on studies of clergy health, cut across the interfaith spectrum and resonates with lay professionals in the church, as well. It concluded that self-care, sabbatical rest and time for re-creation help church leaders lean into rising levels of stress, depression and fatigue.

A week later, Jeffrey MacDonald opined in the Times in "Congregations Gone Wild" on the same clergy propensity for physical and spiritual burnout, yet his conclusions shifted the debate in a different direction. MacDonald nodded to "several new studies" on clergy burnout and offered seemingly anecdotal evidence that demeans the laity as entertainment hounds who hunger for little more than "comforting, amusing fare" and render the clergy the "spiritual equivalents of concierges."

Based upon relevant data gathered and addressed in 12 years of conducting research and hosting more than 200 conferences on wellness in the Episcopal Church, CREDO Institute Inc., an affiliate of the Church Pension Group, comes to a different conclusion.

Through analysis articulated in the Clergy Wellness Report (2006) and the initial findings of the Emotional Health of Clergy Report (2010), we have observed that there is more to the challenge of clergy stress than fickleness of congregations and the cultural pressures of increased consumerism among churchgoers.

More here with links to referenced articles.

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_124048_ENG_HTM.htm

Evidence Grows of Problem of Clergy Burnout

From The New York Times-

The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could.

Public health experts who have led the studies caution that there is no simple explanation of why so many members of a profession once associated with rosy-cheeked longevity have become so unhealthy and unhappy.

But while research continues, a growing number of health care experts and religious leaders have settled on one simple remedy that has long been a touchy subject with many clerics: taking more time off.

“We had a pastor in our study group who hadn’t taken a vacation in 18 years,” said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, an assistant professor of health research at Duke University who directs one of the studies. “These people tend to be driven by a sense of a duty to God to answer every call for help from anybody, and they are virtually called upon all the time, 24/7.”

As cellphones and social media expose the clergy to new dimensions of stress, and as health care costs soar, some of the country’s largest religious denominations have begun wellness campaigns that preach the virtues of getting away. It has been described by some health experts as a sort of slow-food movement for the clerical soul.

More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/nyregion/02burnout.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Tattoos, motorcycle distinguish new priest

From Hawaii-

St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Kapolei was looking for a new leader who was young, vibrant and a bit of "a rock star" to draw young people.

Enter Paul K. Klitzke, who at 30 is the youngest priest in the youngest church in the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii. He plays electric guitar in the church band. He sports an earring and tattoos. He zooms about Kapolei on a red motorcycle.

Someone he met here told him he looked more like a biker than a vicar.

(Indeed, he is planning a Blessing of the Bikes service later this year.)

Klitzke came from Wasilla, Alaska, where he served as priest of St. David's Episcopal Church and developed activities for youth the last five years. He arrived in March and will be ceremoniously installed tomorrow by Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick. Established in 2002, the congregation meets at Island Pacific Academy, 909 Haumea St.

"We were looking for ... someone said 'a rock-star priest,' somebody who would draw families, attract a lot of people ... exciting," said Cheryl Chee, a member of the St. Nicholas committee that interviewed Klitzke for the job. "He seemed to fit what we were looking for, his experience and appeal to young people."

More here-

http://www.staradvertiser.com/features/religionstories/20100710_tattoos_motorcycle_distinguish_new_priest.html