Clergy Wellness

"Grief is a funny thing…it twists and turns and jerks you around in ways you might not anticipate and, yet, not at all at the times you do anticipate." Just a few months into a new appointment, in a conference new to her, the Rev. Debbie Sperry had her mother pass away from cancer. Sperry shares how her grief and ministry have interacted in this vulnerable, well-written post.

Following a recent post by Rev. Austin Adkinson where he shared his own struggles with anxiety, Sun Magrath gives an overview of the general kinds people encounter. "Anxiety is not a sign of weakness," Magrath writes. "It is an understandable and treatable disorder that can be overcome..."

The Rev. Shane Moore shares how an encounter with panic attacks, and subsequent conversations with members of his church, led him to offer a 4-week sermon series on the topic of mental health. He wonders how we could "change the conversation" around the topic if more churches engaged mental health directly.

"I’m not going to say everything went perfectly. I’m not going to say it was easy. But about two years ago I asked my District Superintendent for help with my anxiety disorder, and I’m glad I did." Rev. Austin Adkinson, pastor at Haller Lake UMC in Seattle, shares his story of asking for and receiving help as a means of encouraging clergy colleagues in need to do the same.

In her latest post to the Clergy Wellness blog, Sue Magrath encourages pastors to consider the concept of Sacred Play. In a role so often burdened with unrealistic internal and external expectations, play could provide an avenue toward discovering balance, maintaining perspective, and sustaining energy.

Rev. Susan Boegli, pastor of Battleground Community UMC, has been sober for ten months. In this post for the Clergy Wellness Corner, she shares how her journey to sobriety started last year on Good Friday, the fear she took on in stepping into the light, and the support she has received along the way.

In the latest column for the Clergy Wellness Corner, Sue Magrath discusses some of the provocations of Brene’ Brown's work on vulnerability, the blessings it can offer to us, and the interesting challenges it can raise for clergy persons.

By Patrick Scriven | Director of Communications, Young People’s Ministries Being a clergy spouse is a complicated gift. In my experience, it has many positives...

By Rev. Earl D. Lane | Pateros Community United Methodist Church Question: What do Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Russell Wilson (quarterback, Seattle Seahawks),...

By Sue Magrath | Sacred Mountain Ministries The clergy wellness task force has been working for the last several months to put together a “Helping Professionals Directory” for...