The Silence (and Silencing) of the Clergy

From Clint Schnekloth-

According to my letter of call, my congregation called me to preach and teach. I guess this means I have to commit to saying things within hearing distance of others. 

Additionally, my letter indicates I’m called to do traditional pastor-like stuff: sacraments, worship, pastoral care, encourage others to ministry, etc. 
Then, as if the preaching and teaching weren’t enough, it indicates I’m supposed to speak for justice in behalf of the poor and oppressed, and equip my congregation for witness and service, and guide the people of God in proclaiming God’s love through word and deed.
I fully recognize there is a lot of action in there, lots of loving, ministering, sacramenting, etc. But you know, that letter of call is a lot about speaking and words! My words. The words of those in my congregation. The church is really a word-house. Words make a difference. A seriously huge difference, so much so that the Savior of the world is also referred to in our tradition as the Word.
Given that reality, it’s always amazed me how silent clergy are, and how much the church (writ large) attempts to silence clergy.

More here-

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/clintschnekloth/2019/01/the-silence-and-silencing-of-the-clergy/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=share_bar&fbclid=IwAR2tsZAANTJpjsUfx0ZK88o9p2wAxhDPFR6TRixsd-Lwk4Kw_31nn8C3HcE#HxIfX7mR8Jy18686.01

Clergy Housing Tax Break Lands in Seventh Circuit

From Chicago-

Churches and the IRS joined forces Wednesday before a sympathetic Seventh Circuit panel to argue that a 65-year-old income tax housing exemption for clergy members does not violate the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.

“The court has to take history into account,” said attorney Luke Goodrich of the nonprofit law firm Becket, a public-interest firm representing the churches and pastors. “Tax exemptions for parsonages predate the founding [of the U.S.].”

The U.S. tax code grants “ministers of the Gospel” an exemption on income tax for the portion of their wages spent on housing.

26 U.S.C. § 107(2) allows for a payment separate from a pastor’s salary that is used for paying mortgages, utility bills and other housing-related expenses to be excluded from gross income on tax returns.

The IRS has interpreted the 1954 law to apply to religious leaders of all faiths, not just Christian ministers.

More here-

https://www.courthousenews.com/clergy-housing-tax-break-lands-in-seventh-circuit/

CLERGY MAY SOON FIND TAXES SOARING AS RESULT OF AN UNDER-THE-RADAR RULING

From Religion Dispatches-

Relatively little fanfare accompanied U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb’s ruling in October that a tax exemption for clergy housing dating back to 1954 violates the First Amendment. Crabb confirmed her ruling in the case Gaylor v. Mnuchin this past Wednesday, declaring unconstitutional a provision of the tax code that’s made it possible for clergy to enjoy higher standards of living than their salaries might suggest.

At issue is section 107 of the U.S. Tax Code, which contains two subsections pertaining to “the case of a minister of the gospel.” (The term was originally intended to refer only to ordained Christian clergy, but its meaning was later expanded by the Internal Revenue Service to include their counterparts in other religious traditions.) The first subsection, 107(1), allows a minister to exclude from taxable income the value of a living space that’s considered “part of his compensation,” while the second, 107(2), permits the exclusion of “the rental allowance paid to him” for a living space. This second subsection, wherein the employer provides the money rather than the space itself, is the one that Crabb found unconstitutional.

More here-

http://religiondispatches.org/clergy-may-soon-find-taxes-soaring-as-result-of-an-under-the-radar-ruling/

Not even vicars have the patience of saints

From The Guardian-

“You only work one day a week!” Clergy hear it all the time. The people who say it think they’re being original. They’re not. Being a vicar is an enormous privilege, but it is also hard work and the clergy can pay a heavy emotional price.

So when I read that the Rev Andy Thewlis in Wiltshire had written a strongly worded letter to his congregation for what he perceived as their lack of warmth – a letter for which he has since issued an apology – I wasn’t remotely surprised. He said his enthusiasm had been sapped by “grumbling and disunity”, also complaining about “arrogant gossips” and “criticism and negativity”. It “drains energy”, he said. Every case is different. But all clergy will recognise something of this.

The demands are many. A typical day for a member of the clergy begins with morning prayer, reading from the Bible and mentioning to God the needs of the whole community. They can then find themselves going from a lively school assembly to a visit to a bereaved parishioner to plan a funeral service. They may then attend a meeting to discuss repair works to a listed building, take a communion service in an old people’s home, liaise with organists to choose next month’s liturgical music, report a potential safeguarding concern, and in the evening chair a meeting of the parochial church council. No day is quite the same, which is one of the great things about being a vicar. But a schedule requiring such mental, spiritual and emotional agility can take its toll.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/05/vicars-patience-saints-clergy-congregation-god?CMP=share_btn_fb

12 Things that your Pastor, Priest, or Minister Wishes You Knew

From Patheos-

1. YOU are a source of encouragement to us. All too often the people in our pews imagine that clergy are islands of devotion – except, of course, when we fail spectacularly and publicly. We aren’t. Like everyone else we draw encouragement from others who are faithful and courageous. You shouldn’t be that way for our sake, of course, but don’t forget, there are days when we draw renewed strength from your example.

2. Don’t forget to show up. A bishop or a search committee may have been instrumental in our coming to your parish, but we count on your presence. In one ancient Rabbinic story God tells the children of Israel, “If you obey the Law, I am God. If you don’t, I am not.” The story didn’t mean that literally, but it makes an important point. God works through people and through God’s church. That work requires your presence.

Read more at

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/whatgodwantsforyourlife/2015/05/12-things-that-your-pastor-priest-or-minister-wishes-you-knew/#IpMl8tHDMvdyzRYU.99

Federal judge rules clergy housing tax exemption unconstitutional (again)

From The Cafe-

A renewed lawsuit challenging the income tax break on clergy housing allowances (sometimes called the parsonage exemption) has been upheld by the same federal district judge who ruled the law unconstitutional in 2013.

As members of clergy and their Vestries know, a portion of a minister of religion’s compensation package may be designated as housing allowance, and exempted from income taxes (although not from the minister’s self-employment taxes). Find a helpful background to the housing allowance exemption here.

US District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in 2013, and again in Wisconsin on Friday, that the provision is unconstitutional because it provides a benefit to some people but not to others. Her 2013 ruling was reversed on appeal, but the Freedom from Religion Foundation believes that it has the grounds for that reversal covered this time around.

More here-

https://www.episcopalcafe.com/federal-judge-rules-clergy-housing-tax-exemption-unconstitutional-again/

PRIESTS ARE NOT PAID TO DO ANYTHING

From The Living Church-

In these early days of my priestly ministry, the questions I’ve thought about the most are the ones that fall into the same category as Cole Hartin’s “Should priests be paid to pray?“ — a category I might call questions of theological scheduling. In my daily life, I feel many of the tensions that Hartin articulates. Is it okay for me to wait until the start of the traditional work day to say the morning office? If I had to skip my day off last week, does that mean I take an extra one the next? Do I count a midnight call to the hospital as “working hours”?

To be a parish priest is, if nothing else, to live in a world of bizarre rhythms — you don’t clock in but you also never really clock out. On one hand, you work for a volunteer organization, which means you often need to be available after 5 p.m., when your volunteers are free. On the other hand, you also work in an institution that looks in many ways like the offices many of your parishioners work in from 9 to 5 — with office hours, staff meetings, terrible coffee, and a regular UPS guy.

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2017/08/21/priests-are-not-paid-to-do-anything/

Sitting in a pew -- I'm the worst!

From Clergy Confidential-

Sitting in a pew -- I'm the worst!

I'm lousy at sitting in pews.

Of course as a "professional" church goer, I don't do it very often. On Sunday mornings I strut around the altar in fancy vestments, stand in the pulpit for 10-12 minutes, and sit only when other people are doing liturgical things -- like reading from the Bible or singing a choral anthem.

But as Summer rolls around and vacation looms, I'll be spending a few weeks sitting in pews at some yet-to-be-determined churches. And I'll again realize just how easily annoyed I can be. Uncharitable thoughts inevitable arise. Like:

"I can't believe how many typos are in this bulletin. 'The Lard be with you?!' Come on!" 

"That is not the proper order in which to light the altar candles. What kind of liturgical yahoo trained this acolyte anyway?"  

"If this hymn was played any slower, I swear I'd fall asleep standing up." 

"Would it be rude to yell, 'I object!' in the middle of this vaguely heretical sermon?"

More here-

http://www.clergyconfidential.com/2017/06/sitting-in-pew-im-worst.html

Riding Shotgun: On Being the Clergy-Adjacent

From Mockingbird-

I was hauling a giant luggage container, the kind that attaches to a car roof, across my driveway with the woman who bought it from me on craigslist. It wasn’t heavy, but it was awkward and large, and we were having a bit of a hard time maneuvering it. It was dark outside, and we couldn’t really see what we were doing.

“Oh my god, this is like hauling a dead body by dark of night.”

I said it, and then I immediately wished I hadn’t said it. “I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just that my husband is clergy, and so death is…just…”

“Don’t sweat it,” my new friend said. “My husband is a funeral director. It’s a big family business. I was thinking the same thing.”

We laughed—hard—at the coincidence, as we wedged the empty container into the back of her large SUV. I wish I had kept her number, because it’s not every day that you meet another pilgrim on the highway of Husbands With Strange Careers, and who can haul a giant luggage container through a dark driveway.

More here-

http://www.mbird.com/2017/06/riding-shotgun-on-being-the-clergy-adjacent/

AVOIDING BURNOUT IN MINISTRY

From The Living Church-

Shortly after being ordained, I found myself completely overwhelmed. I was then rector of the only Anglican church in a small city in northern Canada. My wife and I had just moved into the rectory beside the church, and we had a newborn. All these changes happened within a month. I felt ill-prepared to navigate the complex intersecting realities of parish ministry and family life.

A big factor was the scope of ministry in that parish. My time was spent not with only a growing number of church members, but also people in the community with minimal connection to the church. As well, my community being a hub, I was called upon by people outside the community who were in town for one reason or another (this broad scope of ministry is actually quite common in northern Canada). Additionally, there were many challenges in the community and limited resources to meet those challenges. I saw firsthand what Eugene Peterson describes as “the sheer quantity of wreckage around us — wrecked bodies, wrecked marriages, wrecked careers, wrecked plans, wrecked families.”


More here-

http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2017/04/24/avoiding-burnout-in-ministry/

A move to part-time clergy sparks innovation in congregations

From Faith and Leadership-

Adjusting to life without a full-time pastor has become a pressing challenge for thousands of congregations in mainline Protestant denominations across the country.

Shrinking attendance and ever-leaner budgets have forced churches to pare back the pastorate, and many wonder how effective ministry can happen when clergy are working just 30, 20 or 10 hours a week for the church.

Relearning how to do effective congregational ministry with part-time clergy is no easy task, and denominational officers have no easy answers. The traditional model for mainline churches relies on full-time clergy, and it can be difficult to envision a thriving congregation with a part-time pastor.

More here-

https://www.faithandleadership.com/move-part-time-clergy-sparks-innovation-congregations

Clergy and Narcissistic Personality Disorder

From A Living Text-

I have long suspected that the pastorate attracts those with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). It offers a position of trust and esteem, where your opinions are sought after and you are adulated for speaking publicly. You are invited into the trust of parishioners, and you are seen as closer to God (even if our theology tells us that this is not the case). It was therefore quite interesting to find a paper on this subject by R. Glenn Ball and Darrell Puls. Puls has a blog here.

In their paper, the authors focus on the Presbyterian Church in Canada, but their conclusions have broader application:

Now extrapolate our findings to the United States. Conservative estimates are that there are roughly 300,000–350,000 churches in the United States. If the percentages hold true, 96,300–112,350 congregations in the United States are pastored by clergy with diagnosable Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

More here-

https://alivingtext.com/clergy-and-narcissistic-personality-disorder-ad72f54edee9#.kl5zw2mgt

Part-time clergy make room for lay ministries

From New Hampshire-

One of the biggest trends in church life is one that denominations actively discourage: the growing use of part-time clergy to lead congregations. No longer able to afford full-time pastors, churches are defying warnings and signing up part-timers, who often have other jobs and limit their church work to 10 or 20 hours a week

Congregations braving these waters have plenty of company. Five years ago, 55 percent of United Methodist congregations in New England had a part-time pastor. Today, it’s 70 percent. The percentage is nearly as high (about 66 percent) for both the United Church of Christ in Maine and the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Having a part-time leader is no longer an oddity. It’s the norm.

More here-

http://www.newburyportnews.com/news/religion/part-time-clergy-make-room-for-lay-ministries/article_138044aa-dda0-5756-87f6-7bd829e33c9e.html

Solace for the soul

From Anglican Journal-

Religion, say some mental health experts, has at times been a mixed blessing for people of faith struggling with mental illness—but the picture is changing, bringing new hope for the afflicted.

Sr. Dorothy Heiderscheit, chief executive officer of The Southdown Institute, a psychological treatment facility for clergy outside Toronto, says that priests struggling with mental health problems have often faced a barrier to getting help, based on the notion that their faith should be sufficient and that they, therefore, needn’t turn to psychology.

However, Heiderscheit says, a growing awareness in recent decades of what mental illness is, and of the complex relationship between faith and psychology, has considerably dismantled this block to seeking help. One result of this has been a change in the mindset of clerics coming to Southdown. “Their attitude is different from the days of just being ordered to come,” she says. “They come knowing that they’ve got something to look at, and grateful that they’ve got a safe environment to do it.”

- See more at:

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/solace-for-the-soul#sthash.akRycROz.dpuf