It isn’t all baptisms, weddings and Sunday service… Clergy are unsung heros. Hidden front-line workers that support your community - helping out at food banks, hosting kids' clubs, visiting the elderly and the sick, being present and listening to other people's trauma in their darkest hours. This giving by clergy, living out their faith, reaches far beyond the church, supporting people of all faiths and none.
When you scratch the surface, the extent of their commitment to others seems endless. In an off-the-cuff conversation, a clergy spouse reported constantly having a tent in their garden for homeless people (it is much safer than being on the streets) and an extension lead trailing from the house to the tent to provide electricity. That level of commitment to others is overwhelming and humbling – if not exhausting.
Even when clergy aren’t giving to the community, they can become ‘ground down’ if they face a lack of support from their congregation - repeated disapproval, judgementalism, or a lack of sensitivity towards cultural differences.
In recent years many faith leaders say they have also become unwitting lightning rods as they had to make polarising choices that have subjected them to increasingly aggressive criticism.
Being part of the clergy is a 'whole-work whole-life' commitment. This constant giving and ’fire-fighting’ can come at a cost - either to clergy themselves or their families.
Burnout is common in the caring professions. Clergy have reported to us experiences of emotional and physical exhaustion, a loss of empathy, disengagement and self-doubt around work and general feelings of being overwhelmed.
This challenge of clergy life can also be felt among spouses and children as they are often in a position of continually sharing their home or loved one with others, or trying to protect them. Placed within the context of a world of excessive communication and stimulation, children are more at risk of feelings of anxiety and depression which can lead the family towards a downward spiral of bad stress and mental ill health.
In the difficult times St Luke’s provides one-to-one counselling for clergy, their spouses and children up to the age of 18.
But we also work hard to help clergy avoid the difficult times altogether. We offer reflective practice groups where clergy can share their challenges and joys of ministry. Workshops are available around topics such as ‘trauma-informed ministry’, ‘developing resilience’, ‘Negotiating relationships and expectations’, etc. All of our counselling and training is provided by global experts who have a sound understanding of the calling to ministry life.
I rate the training as some of the best I have experienced in my 22 years of ministry
In this year alone St Luke’s has seen an increase of two-thirds in the number of referrals for psychological ill-health this year compared with the previous year. In order to continue with our work supporting those that do so much for our communities, we need your help.
* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.
