sabbathless clergy

many clergy are working 70 to 80 hours a week ... many also lose their day off to do the unanticipated funeral or hospital visit. ... The number of church buildings, PCCs, schools, parish projects, evangelism initiatives and community demands that each priest has responsibility for is increasing inexorably with the decline in the number of clergy. “And they are potential casualties. In most cases I believe clergy are working too hard and have not got the life/work balance right. Burnout happens and is often hidden. The parish priest is just not supposed to be depressed or worn out.” Richard Hardy, Churches and Community Development Manager at Care for the Family: “Those in church leadership do work long hours and it is very hard to strike a balance. But to avoid burnout it must be done.

I've seen too many clapped out, old before their time clergy. I've myself suffered mild depression partly caused, I think, by overwork. Part of the problem is that for many clergy, being able to measure results of effort, or even to feel that their work is appreciated and has an effect is often drowned by the volume of gripes, complaints and engaging with difficult emotions in others ... not to mention spiritualities that can often have the effect of denying that there is value in what we do because it is tainted with sin, and the distrust of positively evaluating our efforts for fear of pride.

Yet sabbath is an important principle and we need to make sure that we do not collude with the workaholic tendencies that many clery have borne of a sense of duty, of service and of love. We need to say again and again that self care enables service to others and God whereas self neglect disables it over time. We cannot, either, witness to a frenetic culture about the peace and order that God can offer if we refuse to live out of the good of it ourselves. No wonder spiritual seekers discount the church as having worthwhile to say about spiritual practice; we don't appear to be very life-enhancingly spiritual. The spirituality all too many see in the clergy and other church leaders is careworn and anxious and not a little self-justifying.

We need to tell church leaders that their first duty is to pray and their second to reflect ... and by 'tell' I mean church councils and trans-local structures need to say it and act towards clergy out of it.

Can I get off my soapbox now?
Clergy burnout:
Filed in: clergy, burnout, Anglican, CofE, work, hours