Theology of Sabbath and Clergy Care

While the Jewish practice of Saturday as Sabbath did not survive in the Church, the call for spiritual rest and the redemption of time did not end.. In my research, I found that to have

Theology of Sabbath and Clergy Care

By

Gerald Sevick

Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology of the University of the South

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the degree of

THEOLOGY OF SABBATH AND CLERGY SELF-CARE

BCP 1979, THE DIOCESE AND PARISH, AND THE CLERGY

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Throughout salvation history, Sabbath has been an essential faith practice The spiritual significance of Sabbath for Gods’ chosen people cannot be denied, nor their growing dependence

on it for their very identity Sabbath is more than one of the Ten Commandments It is embraced

as the heart and soul of the spiritual life for anyone seeking rhythm of work and rest in life The place of Sabbath in the life of all God’s people did not die with the rising of Christianity While the Jewish practice of Saturday as Sabbath did not survive in the Church, the call for spiritual rest and the redemption of time did not end Sabbath continues to have a place and role in the life and health of the people of God Throughout the Church’s life the spirituality of Sabbath hasbeen discussed

At the 1888 Lambeth Conference, Resolution 6 reflects a concern with the laxity in Sabbath-keeping and the practice of making Sunday a day of amusement The resolution calls upon the Church to honor the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy as an obligation to a day ofrest for all people (Appendix III) Lambeth revisited this affirmation in 1998 in Resolution 1.8 (Appendix IV), reaffirming the Biblical view of creation and our call to be stewards of the earth

As an aspect of this, they pray that there be a “recovery of the Sabbath principle, as part of the redemption of time and the restoration of the divinely intended rhythms of life”1

1 Lambeth Resolution 1.8, “On Creation,” 1998.

The spiritual needs of the Church and the weekly practices the bishops observed

motivated the submission of the 1888 resolution Stewardship informed the approval of the 1998resolution In 2003, the General Convention of The Episcopal Church concurred in an amended resolution 2003-A135 (Appendix V) This resolution called the Church to encourage personal spiritual discipline that included the “holy habits” of tithing, daily personal prayer and study, Sabbath time, and weekly corporate worship It called upon every diocese, vestry, and individualmember of the church to adopt the declaration affirming such a way of life While this act affirms the necessity of spiritual disciplines little has been done to enact this on the diocesan level

My participation in the Seminary of the South’s Church Development Institute in the late 1990s focused on frameworks that would enable parish leaders to evaluate and vision for parish growth and development Those three summers gave me tools, models, and knowledge that improved my leadership skills and helped me redefine Church growth and lay leaders The institute continually raised the question, “If the leaders of a parish are not spiritually healthy, how can they lead a congregation into health?” This led me to focus on how ordained do or do not care for their own souls

It may seem obvious that the spiritual health and well-being of the clergy plays a major role in the healthy development of the spiritual lives of their congregation, but this concept was not being discussed in the clergy workshops, retreats, and clericus meetings in which I was involved Books were being written, but my experience was that most clergy were not reading these works, and the formation process for ordination did not include them in the seminary experience

Clergy who focused on spiritual well-being and the health of their souls (which is the essence of self-care) made a difference in the focus of the congregation Both the souls of the individual and that of the congregation need care Clergy understand their ministry as the cure (care) of souls while not thinking of the significance of caring for their own souls However,

if clergy are not seriously taking the health of their own souls into consideration, they are more likely to experience burnout and stress

In my conversations with clergy, I found that inappropriate expectations too often

discouraged clergy from focusing on their own spiritual health A sacrificial attitude that ignores

the pastor’s own soul is cultivated early in formation The expectation becomes one of sacrifice:

the clergy sacrifice their own care in the name of caring for the congregation Jesus’ model of

sacrifice is often the image used for the spirituality for clergy Agape, one of the Greek words

for love is essential to the Christian faith because it speaks to a self-giving love that is sacrificial,and desires to put other people first Jesus’ sacrificial love is the model of what all love should

be Clergy often embrace this call to sacrificial love without exploring Jesus’ concurrent call to rest in him Whether appreciative or needy, members of the congregation reinforce the clergy sense of responsibility to be all things to all parishioners and to be examples that “God is always present.” This, along with a common “need to be needed,” ensures that clergy fall into the trap

of caring for others while ignoring their own relationship with God While the minister is, in many ways, “on” 24/7, that does not mean that clergy should always say “yes” to all requests It

is important to be available when needed; it is another thing altogether to be available just because one is wanted

The expectation that ordained ministry is sacrificial translates itself into a lack of permission

to take time for spiritual care While clergy sometimes learn that they should take their day off

each week and to take their vacations the expectation that clergy will be actively and

intentionally engaged in the care of their own souls is rare The bishop, vestry, parish, and the pastor need to give overt permission for self-care through active support, approval, and making resources available for self-care

Clergy seldom receive permission for self-care in the formation process, either before

ordination (time in seminary) or after ordination (in the first parish) As a whole, most clergy communicate that there was limited permission given and little expectation communicated for paying attention to the needs of their souls during the formative first two to three years of

ordained ministry Often their first rectors were poor model and perpetuated their poor self-care through the newly ordained Role models who ignore the spiritual life and/or place a greater focus on professional competence than proficiency in the Christian disciplines, I maintain, do thegreatest damage to a new clergy’s soul, causing spiritual malnourishment, burnout, and possibly ending in vocational crisis Clergy have self reported that their current work practices were formed in their first parishes

The Gospel writers show us that Jesus was a man of prayer who often set aside place and time for spiritual refreshment Jesus did not reject the commandment to keep the Sabbath but sought to reinterpret what constituted Sabbath-keeping In the Gospel According to Matthew, Jesus promises rest to those who come to him Jesus indentifies himself as the Incarnation of Sabbath Hence, I believe it is possible to speak of Jesus as our Sabbath rest while maintaining the integrity of a scriptural Sabbath identity A sound theology of Jesus as Sabbath may enable

us to create a model of soul-care rooted in scripture, Jesus’ own identity, and the Christian disciplines developed over the centuries

In my research, I found that to have a sound theology of Jesus as Sabbath, one also needed a sound theology of time, work, and rest This paper seeks to address these issues by rooting our understanding in the Hebrew experience of Sabbath, work, and rest and by moving into the Christian experience of the need for a disciplined spirituality I believe clergy need to rediscover the joy and faithfulness of the traditional Christian disciplines with Sabbath as the foundation

CHAPTER 2 THEOLOGY OF SABBATH AND CLERGY SELF-CARE

The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), Mark S Hansin, in a correspondence to the clergy of the ELCA on June 22, 2005, quoted the 12th century monk, Bernard of Clairvaux:

As far as I can judge I have lived among the brethren without quarrel I have been submissive to authority, responding to the beck and call of my superior I do not covet goods not mine With sweat on my brow, I eat my bread Yet, in all these practices, there is evidence only of my fidelity, nothing of enjoyment I obey the commandments

to the best of my ability, I hope But in so doing my soul thirsts like a parched land The Bishop continues, “Are we much different today? Could it be that our souls thirst like a parched land because we confuse joy with happiness, good fortune, or pleasant

circumstances?”2

It may seem that because of the very nature of their ministry, the clergy soul is safe Theyminister in the Church Some would believe they are safe from the world, practicing a sacred ministry among the people of God Graced by the Holy Spirit, they are shepherds of Christ’s flock They administer the holy sacraments, welcoming people into the household of God Clergy can enter into the worship space anytime they wish to pray and meditate on the divine Having studied the Church Fathers and Mothers, they know the nature of the spiritual journey Their practice does not reflect a personal understanding of the need for soul care

When a pastor experiences the soul’s thirsting like a parched land, she may be

experiencing burnout, a form of emotional, social, physical, and spiritual exhaustion In an article on burnout, Rowland Croucher lists the signs of burnout as decreased energy, feelings of failure, a reduced sense of reward, a sense of helplessness, and cynicism and negativism

21 Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop, “Words of concern, gratitude and hope” available from

http://archive.elca.org/bishop/messages/archive; Internet; accessed 6 July 2005.

regarding self and the world.3 Lynne Baab, in her book, Beating Burnout, makes the connection

between exhaustion and burnout She writes, “Most definitions of burnout do address this issue

of energy; most definitions have the word exhaustion or depletion in them."4 Roy Oswald, in

Clergy Self-Care, identifies the overuse of listening and caring capacities, too many needy

people, and too much responsibility as stressors that deplete energy.5

Burnout exists in all professions, and its causes are well-documented Burnout causes include work-related, lifestyle-related, or psychological sources According to Elisabeth Scott, there are seven work-related causes of burnout: unclear requirements, impossible requirements, high-stress times with no “down times, big consequences for failure, lack of personal control, lack of recognition, and poor leadership.”6 Lifestyle causes include too much work with little balance, inadequate supportive resources, too little social support, no time for hobbies, too little sleep, and too little time off.7 Finally, psychological reasons for burnout include perfectionist tendencies, pessimism, excitability, Type “A” personality, poor fit for the job, and a lack of belief

in the job to be done.8

The cause of clergy burnout may be more serious than the burnout itself A common factor involved in the three categories (work-related, lifestyle, and psychological) is alienation –

a separation of the person from his/her energy source, purpose, and identity For clergy, this means alienation from God and from the Church Most books dealing with clergy care focus on

3 Rowland Croucher, “Stress and Burnout in Ministry”; available from

http://www.churchlink.com.au/churchlink/forum/r_croucher/stress_burnout.html; Internet; accessed 3 March 2008.

4 Lynne M Baab, Beating Burnout in Congregations (Bethesda, MD: The Alban Institute, 2003), 7.

5 Roy M Oswald, Clergy Self-Care (Bethesda, MD: The Alban Institute, 1991), 58

6Elizabeth Scott, “Job Burnout: Job Factors That Contribute to Employee Burnout”; available from

http://stress.about.com/od/burnout/a/job_burnout.htm; Internet; accessed 20 January 2008.

7 Elizabeth Scott, “Daily Life Stress and Burnout: What Presets the Highest Risk”; available from

http://stress.about.com/od/burnout/a/life_stress.htm; Internet; accessed 24 October 2006.

8 Elizabeth Scott, “Personality Traits and Attitudes That Increase Your Risk for Burnout”; available from http://stress.about.com/od/burnout/a/mental_burnout.html; Internet; accessed 24 October 2006.

burnout, distress, and depression The sense of being alone is beyond the psychological and social, more serious than low energy or motivation Alienation from God as well as from

ministry assaults the entire person and is a spiritual issue Clergy who have cut themselves off from their source of grace and spiritual purpose move closer each day to burnout, to a crisis of faith, and to malnourished souls

In the desert tradition, acedia is a commonly identified sin of the fathers and mothers

St Gregory the Great referred to this deadly sin as “tristia” or sadness In the chapter, “The Sins of Clergy” in Spirituality for Ministry, Urban Holmes describes the

dangers clergy face when they do not pay attention to their spiritual life Acedia, he states, is the root sin for clergy as spiritual guides It is “the product of a calculated apathy, sustained only by the embers of a dying soul A lack of passion for the life of the soul and an irreverent approach

to the holy are important signs that the pastor is in spiritual danger.”9

It is evident in my conversations with others that the changing expectations of clergy and the church in secular society have caused identity issues for many pastors Senior clergy

remember when being ordained conferred preferential treatment, some financial discount, and a free cup of coffee Clergy have lost this respected status in the larger world (as has the Church) Clergy and the Church are not considered as relevant to society’s everyday life as in the past In addition, clergy have redefined their own role in the congregation As mutual ministry models and lay education mature, clergy become facilitators of team ministry instead of the respected head and final word on all matters ecclesial of earlier models However, the model of the pastor

as chief source of pastoral care remains

One way clergy have redefined their ministry is by using a professional model to define their work Professional should mean “proficient;” hence, professional clergy should be

9 Urban T Holmes, Spirituality for Ministry (Pennsylvania: Morehouse Publishing, 2002), 35-36.

proficient in ministry However, Holmes describes professionalism as characterized by external power and status In one clergy support group, discussions of significant occurrences in

members’ personal and professional lives has directed the conversation toward parish programs and conflicts in power rather than toward ministries and issues of vocation. 10 In this model, continuing education becomes professional development rather than spiritual formation Instead

of proficiency describing the maturation of the clergy spiritual life and ministry, it becomes an acclaim of standing in the profession

Another means of redefining ordained ministry is by removing the symbolic, sacramentalnature of the call Instead of being a model of spiritual maturity for the congregation or a

caretaker of parishioner souls, the pastor becomes a layperson with leadership authority, or “one

of the folks.” Ordination authorizes the clergy to minister to a congregation and to pastorally care for the people The ordained ministry becomes a function rather than an identity

The difficulty these redefinitions have is they do not address the spiritual well-being of the ordained: if the pastor is proficient enough or democratic enough, the pastor will be fine These redefinitions focus on task to the detriment of the souls of the clergy and people

The ordained do not change the nature of their humanity in ordination Clergy were baptized before they were ordained Baptism concerns the state of the soul and the purpose for which Christ died The ordained minister was first a lay minister While some children of God live their Christian faith through the ordained ministry, identity as an ordained minister must never supersede baptismal identity Baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus is the foundation for identity, ministry, and spiritual health Even in traditions that proclaim an

ontological difference made at ordination, ordination does not rewrite the essence of the human need for God and the call to an ever-deepening spiritual life

10 Ibid., 39

Clergy who focus on ministry to the detriment of their spiritual health will find

themselves in spiritual danger Relying on personal skills and talents instead of on God,

believing that the work done is a sign of righteousness, and developing a lack of accountability

to superiors, families, and congregations constitute spiritually risky behaviors This risky

behavior communicates itself to the congregation and perpetuates unhealthy approaches to spirituality The doctrine of the communion of saints teaches the Church that the sin of one affects the whole Sin, as one reads in the first eleven chapters of Genesis, infiltrates and infects the cosmos Secrecy and denial do not contain or control sin There must be a head-on attack of sin by the grace and power of Christ for it to be vanquished

The state of the pastor’s soul is of great importance for the Church The pastor’s

particular role in the congregation means that the health of the pastor’s soul has an effect on the congregation itself Spiritual identity and sense of soul in each (clergy and congregation) is vital

1 God, who seeks the reconciliation of all things, brings unity in divisive worldviews

2 Our own souls need an intimate relationship with God not rooted in our leadership, but

in the fact that we, the created, need God the creator

3 In this intimate relationship, we learn to tell the truth about ourselves, thus becoming truth tellers to the congregation

11 Alan Jones, Spirituality and Prayer (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992), 47.

12 Ibid., 50.

4 As one is more open to God and reality, one can let others in and be helpful supporters and ministers.

5 Chaos is the precursor of creation rather than evidence of danger

Jones’ centered spirituality of presence is a valuable lead-in to Sabbath-keeping In Sabbath, the pastor experiences the presence of God, moving into a life that looks for and sees God The center is the position that holds all things together God is the one who holds all things together, seeking reconciliation of the estranged Thus, God is not at the center: God is thecenter

Soul care has taken a back seat to professional development Clergy have been taught more about the life and care of the soul as historical spiritual theology than as a necessary aspect

of the Christian faith The moral life and the intellectual life have greater influence in formation than that of the spiritual life If clergy do not rediscover the deeply rooted need of the soul for attention and care, they risk becoming more like paid professionals than ministers of God, developing skill sets without a sense of the spiritual life This is not a new phenomenon; the Church has lived in similar times However, at a time when even the relevance of faith is in question, there is a greater need for leaders in the Church to find a way back to a spiritual focus

One of the earliest gifts given to God’s people is that of Sabbath Sabbath is a gift that allows for soul-care and spiritual growth in God It is my argument that discovering the identity, purpose, and practice of Sabbath will move clergy and laity into a more intense and intentional spiritual life

Rediscovering Sabbath begins the journey toward health and wholeness (spiritual,

physical, and social) A perusal through the spirituality section of a bookstore shows a recent rise

in interest in Sabbath, indicating the need for clergy and all people to find a way to practice Sabbath Sabbath, given by God to creation, offers times not only of rest, but also of the

rediscovery of identity who we are and what we are called to be A recovery of Sabbath by pastors will not only be a source of health for them, but will affect the congregations they serve This fact alone could be reason enough for clergy to pursue the use of Sabbath as a part of their spiritual discipline.

CHAPTER 3 BIBLICAL FOUNDATION – WHAT IS SABBATH?

Simply understood, Sabbath is the time God rested from creating all that is, visible and invisible The Hebrew word translated “rested” is “shabat,” more accurately translated “to

cease, desist.”13 The Priestly account of creation, found in Genesis 1, addresses the various culticpractices of the time and teaches that the stars are not deities and that the creation of the earth was through divine will rather than divine conflict God transcends creation and yet is so

engaged in it as to be pleased with it God and creation have a relationship, but creation is not made of the divine being

Walter Brueggemann dates this story to the sixth century B.C The story, addressed to theJewish exiles in Babylon, reminds them of who their God is and what God expects In exile, the Sabbath kept their identity when they lost their sacred places and objects Brueggemann writes

of four aspects to Sabbath from the creation account: first, it discloses something about the God

of Israel; second, it is a kerygmatic statement about the world; third, it is a sociological

expression of a new humanity; last, it is about the rest of God and that this rest is promised for allpeople.14

While God called all creation good, it was the seventh day that receives the designation holy Sabbath is sanctified time In discussing the three blessings in the Priestly creation

account, James McKeown suggests that since the first two blessings are related to living

creatures and their fertility, blessing the seventh day involves the fertility of the human race’s relationship to God In addition, through the seventh day blessing God “acknowledges the

13 Claus Westermann, Genesis 1-11 (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984) 173.

14 Walter Brueggemann, Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching

(Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982), 24-36.

benefits received from the seventh day and honors it He sanctifies it and sets it apart so that people may receive blessing from it and benefit from a cessation of labor.” 15

Sabbath is holy because God made it so Humanity received it for their rest and renewal

in God (spiritual, emotional, physical, and social) The blessing of Sabbath was to extend to all creation Sabbath is so valuable and essential that it is proscribed in one of the Ten

Commandments Sabbath reminds people of who they are, who God is, and what God has done and will do for them and the world

Feasts and fasts return us to places or events, but the Sabbath returns us to more than place or event Sabbath, in a unique way, draws us into God Abraham Heschel writes that whileall else may be taken away from the Jews, Sabbath is their cathedral and cannot be destroyed.16

Sabbath remembers creation, celebrates freedom, and anticipates the fulfillment of God’s reign Therefore, Sabbath time is creative, liberating, and promise-embracing The exploration

of each of these facets enables us to move to an understanding of Sabbath that is fully centered

Christ-SABBATH AS CREATIVE

Genesis 1 describes the creation of the world and the blessing of the seventh day

Genesis records this seventh day as the day God rested (shabat) from creating the universe –

stars, planets, vegetable, animal life, and humanity Creation is finished, and God rests Sabbathbelonged to God before it was given to humanity

God sets aside (makes holy) the seventh day, indicating that creation is complete Humanity observes the moment without actually participating in it All that God speaks into existence is

15 James McKeown, Genesis (Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing, 2008), 28-29.

16 Abraham J Heschel, The Sabbath (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1979), 8.

“good.” The first time Genesis uses the word “holy” is in reference to Sabbath time, “And God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy.”17 (Genesis 2:3) While calling creation "good" does suggest certain holiness, only the Sabbath receives the name “holy” in the creation story

Genesis does not yet mention the command to memorialize God’s rest with a weekly setting apart of time Until there is covenant, Sabbath is simply God’s rest after creation In Hebrew

Sabbath is “created” (bara), giving it an equal place in creation.18 Sabbath is unique in God’s act

of creation because it is not of matter

God blesses the day and makes it holy, thereby setting the stage for a call to Sabbath for those who will be the “People of God” in Exodus 31 Humanity receives an invitation to enter this divine holy time of rest Karl Barth understands this Sabbath rest as a core reality in all that God will do with and for humanity The rest that God “knows” becomes the rest humanity is invited to join He writes of the invitation God offers to humanity:

It is God’s rest which is the conclusion of the one and the beginning of the other, i.e., God’s free, solemn, and joyful satisfaction with that which has taken place and has been completed as creation, and His invitation to man to rest with Him, i.e., with Him to be satisfied with that which has taken place through Him The goal of creation, and at the same time the beginning of all that follows, is the event of God’s Sabbath freedom, Sabbath rest and Sabbath joy, in which man, too, has been summoned to participate It is the event of divine rest in the face of the cosmos completed with the creation of man - a rest which takes precedence over all man’s eagerness and zeal to enter upon this task.19

By contrast, the creation story in Genesis 2 does not include creation as a series of days The story describes that before vegetation and rain, the Lord God formed an earth creature from the dust of the ground The Lord God breathes life spirit (breath) into the man No day is set aside as “holy” in this story The garden itself is the holy place

17 All biblical quotations are from the New Revised Standard Bible unless otherwise noted.

18 Heschel, The Sabbath, 109.

19 Karl Barth, Church Dogmatic III.1: The Doctrine of Creation (New York: T & T Clark, 2004), 98.

The second account, with its more ancient roots, focuses less on cultic practices such as the origin of Sabbath-keeping, than on the basic issues of pain, the struggle for subsistence, and the clear separation from God Gan-Eden (paradise or bliss) is the symbol of the relationship God intends for creation a perfect harmony between the earth, humanity, and God God

walking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening illustrates the intimacy of the relationship between creation and creator The close relationship of creator and created is depicted in God’s charge to Adam to care for creation Hence, the story describes Adam and Eve living within the garden in perfect Sabbath God created Adam and Eve to live and work surrounded by and as a part of the garden place where God walked

The profoundly personal relationship in the garden between Creator and the human creature is lost as Adam and Eve come to “know” good and evil This “knowing” is more than intellectual understanding To know is to have a relationship with the thing or person

encountered The first humans understand right from wrong They know what they should and should not do Through tasting the fruit of the tree, Adam and Eve experience an intimate encounter with evil that affects their souls By disobeying God and by believing the lie of the tempter, they open a personal relationship with evil

Once Adam and Eve intimately experience good and evil they are no longer able to live

in a perfect and eternal Sabbath The joy of walking intimately with God in the Garden is lost, and the first exile occurs Knowing evil with such intimacy destroys their ability to be open to God; they hide their bodies with leaves and themselves in the trees They know disobedience and are unable to return to the original state of bliss, joy, and rest in their creator

The movement away from the created good continues through the following chapters of Genesis Creation is falling back into chaos Sin infects all of creation For creation to be saved

(re-created), God must intervene Genesis 12 begins the story of God’s redeeming work not with the creation of a person, but with God’s creation of a people From this point, the story becomes (at least in part) the story of God’s restoration of the original garden relationship.

This is why the covenant people eventually understand Sabbath as a vital aspect of that relationship: in keeping Sabbath, the people of God will taste what will one day be the

“returned” relationship between God the creator and humanity, the created

On Mount Sinai, the commandment to keep the seventh day holy (set apart) is presented

as a reflection of creation “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy…for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth…but rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it” (Ex 20:8-11) Work cannot be all-defining for God’s people; God’s people are more than producers and consumers God calls human beings out of their toil

to remember something deeper and truer about who they are and who God is The command to remember the Sabbath is a vital aspect of recreating God’s original intention for humanity and allcreation, of entering God’s heart to find a place of rest and relationship

In Hebrew thought, to remember is to keep alive, to keep some person or event present,

or to re-join that which had been separated In contrast, to forget means to uncreate – to cause something to cease its existence For God’s people to forget is for them to deny the covenant andGod’s work of salvation

Violating Sabbath is to withhold for self that which rightly belongs to God Clearly, the reason for withholding for self is in order to have holy, well-being, and security on one’s own terms and without reference to or reliance upon God Violation of Sabbath as a gesture of self-sufficiency means in the end to overthrow all that is crucial and

definitional in Israel’s faith.20

20 Walter Brueggemann, Exodus, in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol 1 ed Leander E Keck, ed Al

(Nashville: Abington Press, 1994), 923.

The importance of remembering Sabbath is stressed in the second set of tablets recounted

in Exodus 31: “You shall keep my Sabbaths…” (Ex 31:13) The message to the people is that the seventh day belongs to God and that they must keep this command in perpetuity Here God speaks in the plural of Sabbath time (Sabbaths) The command to keep Sabbath is a means of remembering that the God who freed them from slavery, established a covenant with them, and sanctified them is the same one who created all things This seventh day reminds them of two realities: they are set apart in a perpetual covenant, and their God rested on the seventh day of creating and was refreshed (Ex 31:17)

Embracing the seventh day of the week as sacred allows creation to stay in union,

spiritually and substantially, with God Weekly Sabbath-keeping reaffirms God as Creator and humanity as created Sabbath is spiritual union with God and encourages an integration of human labor with the divine work of creating and ordering Sabbath allows there to be a rhythm

of work and rest Sabbath, as a gift from God to humanity, is to aid humanity in remembering who God is and what the goal of covenant is

Setting aside the seventh day reminds the people of God that the God with whom they have covenant is the creator of the universe and is vital for their identity and future relationship

as God’s chosen people In forgetting who the creator is, they run after false gods hoping for a fruitful season The command is that Sabbath, observed throughout their generations, will be a perpetual sign between God and the people of Israel (Ex 31:16-17) The consequence of failing

to set aside this day as holy is death the same consequence for the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

Exodus 20 extends Sabbath rest to family, slaves, animals, and the stranger This

command allows a day of liberation for all creation Farmland is included in Exodus 23 each seventh year Exodus 15 and 21 call for the forgiveness of all debt and the return of property to original owners During Sabbath and the Sabbatical year, people are released from work and from society's unjust economic and social restraints The people remember the God who wills freedom Here is liberation at its most fundamental

In contrast to the creation emphasis of Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5 presents the Sabbath day as a reminder of the freedom from Pharaoh God gave the Hebrews In the covenant, the Hebrews are to “observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy…Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day (Deut 5:12-15)

On the seventh day, the Sabbath, the people are to reflect on their deliverance from slavery by the hand of the same God who is their creator and who rested after six days of work Now the command is to remember not only God as creator, but also God as liberator God heard the cries of the people and responded Liberation revealed their God as loving and powerful The deities of other people had little power over God’s people when God acted

Rarely is the full liberation of Israel realized Israel is seldom free, and even when the Israelites occupy their own land, they are frequently vassals of other nations with occupying armies surrounding them Their liberation is not yet complete.

SABBATH AS ESCHATOLOGICAL

Sabbath now has a dual nature: to look to the nature of God as creator and to remember that their God is also liberator, or savior After King David, King Solomon slowly sold off portions of Promised Land The kingdom divided, and foreign governments overthrew both kingdoms With Jerusalem and the temple destroyed, God’s people were scattered and held captive Even after returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple, they did not regain

sovereignty They held the Promised Land only a brief time before they were occupied again The Promised Land, meant to be a land of rest, a place where God would bless the people and keep them safe, had become another trophy in the hands of one earthly power or another This land, meant to be a place of refreshment and peace for those who worshipped the one God, became a place ruled by those who worship other gods The people, even when living in the Promised Land, experienced exile from the Sabbath promise of the land They began to look for

a new day, a day of return and renewal

Exile was a part of their day-to-day reality, and the oppressors in their midst meant that the fullness of the promised rest had not yet been realized A new facet of Sabbath developed through this exile and continued occupation Sabbath became a way enabling the people to maintain their identity through practices that set them apart from their oppressors while they continued their in belief that one day God would complete all things The prophet Isaiah

proclaimed that a day would arrive when swords shall be beaten into plowshares (Isaiah 2:4) In

the midst of their suffering, Sabbath represented an oasis of joy and peace while waiting for God’s new actions to complete their liberation

With the promise of the Messiah, the people of Israel understood that a new time of peacewould enter into human history a true Sabbath The Talmud stresses the obligation of keeping Sabbath and the hope that in doing so the Messiah will come Many believed if “Israel observed

a single Sabbath properly, immediately would the son of David come…if Israel were to keep twoSabbaths according to the law, they would be redeemed forthwith.”21 In this teaching, Sabbath’s essence is future-oriented Sabbath rest after six days of work is a type for the Sabbath rest of the world in the fullness of time One Midrash of the Sabbath explains, “God said: ‘If you observe My commandments I will give you My most precious gift.’ Israel asked: ‘What will thatbe?’ God said: ‘The future world.’ Said Israel: ‘But will there be no reward in this world?’ God said: ‘Shabbat will be a foretaste, for it is one-sixth of the world-to-come.’”22 This Midrash further illustrates the idea of Sabbath as completion

An eschatological embrace of Sabbath, found in Holy Scripture and in the tradition of Midrash, allows a look back at God as creator, recognition of God in the present as liberator, and

a view of the future fulfillment of God’s purpose Abraham Heschel, in his book, The Sabbath,

writes of the Sabbath as an expression and encounter with the eternal “The essence of the world

to come is Sabbath eternal, and the seventh day in time is an example of eternity The seventh

day has the flavor of the seventh heaven and was given as a foretaste of the world to come; ot hi le-‘olam, a token of eternity.”23

In an endnote Heschel quotes two Sabbath prayers, one of which is read four times using the phrase, “‘Lord, our God, let us inherit Thy holy Sabbath’ This is perhaps a reference to the

21 A, Cohen, Everyman’s Talmud (New York: Schocken Books, 1975), 352.

22 W Gunther Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary (New York: Union of American Hebrew

Congregations, 1981), 552.

23 Heschel, The Sabbath, 74.

Sabbath as a synonym for the life to come, since the earthly Sabbath, of course, is already in the possession of man The second prayer, prayed at the end of grace, points to the relationship of

Sabbath to the world to come ‘May the All-merciful let us inherit the day which will be all

Sabbath and rest in the life eternal.’”24 Sabbath is a foretaste of what we will receive in eternity

24 Ibid.,114.

CHAPTER 4 JESUS, SABBATH, AND THE NEW TESTAMENT

Truly keeping Sabbath draws the faithful into embracing a promised future, understanding that the earthly Sabbath, at her best, is an introduction to what will be Faithful observation of Sabbath is a means of embracing God’s full promise to Israel Consequently, the Sabbath controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees deal with core elements of the Jewish faith The Pharisees used the oral traditions, interpretations of the command to keep Sabbath, to define work Jesus, accused of working on the Sabbath, understood that his Father continued thework of salvation even on the Sabbath Jesus saw his work as one with Sabbath His theology ofwork allowed him to heal on the Sabbath, even within the walls of the synagogue

Brad H Young describes Jesus’ rich understanding of the oral traditions of Judaism and how he consequently speaks to the Pharisees from a position of knowledge and wisdom Jesus’ respect and honor of the Sabbath are evident in the New Testament Instead of dismissing the

practice of Sabbath, Jesus questioned the interpretation of Sabbath and how to keep it holy The Halakhah, the interpretative principle of how a faithful Jew is to walk the way of holiness, was

the source for many of the discussions Jesus had over Sabbath with the Pharisees.25

Jesus uses examples of the priests in the temple, David and the Bread of Presence, and saving an ox from death to inform his understanding and approach to Sabbath-keeping (Matthew 12:1-9) Jesus did not argue over the holiness of Sabbath, nor did he claim that Sabbath was no longer a valid practice The Jewish tradition taught that one could work in order to save a life Jesus took the tradition one-step further, claiming that healing a person was an aspect of

salvation and therefore proper activity for Sabbath

25 Brad H Young, Jesus: The Jewish Theologian (Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997), 103-112.

Sabbath is an acknowledgment of God as creator and liberator; it is also the evidence of divine promises for the human race The healings Jesus performed on the Sabbath become more than miracles; they are signs of fulfillment In the Kingdom of God, there would be no more death or disease Sabbath was not a series of restrictions Instead, Jesus presented the Sabbath

as a gift through which humanity would encounter the grace of God

Sabbath is a means to remember, to rest, and to anticipate what is to come In being open

to the gift of Sabbath, one opens to God This is how Jesus understood Sabbath time and why hehad no hesitancy in healing and forgiving on that most holy of days Sabbaths were often the time for Jesus to re-create those who were born with limbs that would not work or eyes that could not see Jesus gave freedom on the Sabbath to those enslaved by their sin, and thereby showed them they could find true rest in Him Here, in the ministry of Jesus, one finds the themes of Sabbath, creation, liberation, and the eternal fulfillment made present

Jesus understood that his work on the Sabbath was faithful to the understanding that God was working out salvation even on Sabbath John 5:16-17 reflects the conflict of Jesus’ work of healing on Sabbath and his defense “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” Jesus understood his work is no different from the work of the Father – even on Sabbath Those who heard this defense understood this interpretation, for they sought to kill him “because he was not only breaking Sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal toGod.” (John 5:18)

Jesus continues to identify himself with God as he invites those who would be his

disciples to experience him as Sabbath rest

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30)

This scripture becomes the crux of the Christian understanding of Sabbath Jesus speaks of himself as the incarnation of Torah (the yoke) and of Sabbath He is the rest offered to those weighed down by the heavy burdens that some interpretations of Torah would place on God’s people

The conservative Jewish Christian community in the first century for which Matthew wrote would have still valued Sabbath practice In the Matthew passage, Jesus twice invites those who are with him to experience rest This call, which probably came on a Sabbath, leads Jesus and the disciples into a Sabbath controversy Chapter 12 of Matthew opens by identifying the day as Sabbath Here is an important Christological point: Jesus, speaking on the Sabbath, invites his disciples to enter into his rest

In speaking these words of invitation, Jesus calls those who suffer under the burden of many religious obligations to enter into a relationship that would be one of rest, refreshment, joy,and relief, in other words Sabbath rest The Pharisees, insisting on religious practices and obligations (things necessary), caused spiritual weariness rather than joy At the time, “yoke” described both the Torah and the interpretation of how to live Torah Jesus is inviting a new way

of faithful living His invitation does not eradicate what is truly divine revelation and teaching, but allows a new freedom It allows a rest from all that is too burdensome for God’s weary people

Jesus offers himself as the incarnation of Sabbath Jacob Neusner, in A Rabbi Talks to Jesus, writes that this is exactly what Jesus means The real issue, he writes, in Jesus’ comments

about Sabbath is not about the need for Sabbath or how one keeps Sabbath Rabbi Neusner identifies the difficulty as being how Jesus speaks of himself and his relationship to Sabbath

The clarity and boldness of Jesus’ statement is the challenge Jesus sees himself as Israel’s Sabbath.26

Samuele Bacchiocchi, in an exploration of Sabbath theology and the rise of the Church’s observance of Sunday as the primary day of devotion, writes that while there was controversy surrounding Jesus and Sabbath, Jesus himself sees Sabbath as an affirmation of His work and identity When Jesus speaks of healing in such verses as Luke 4:18, John 5:17, John 9:4, and Luke 13:16, he provides examples of Sabbath as a backdrop to understand the person and the work of Jesus Bacchiocchi links Jesus’ own resting in the tomb on the Sabbath as an affirmation

of the relationship of Jesus’ sacrifice and Sabbath rest.27

The relationship between Jesus and Sabbath continues as an issue in the early Church: What does it mean to keep Sabbath now that Jesus has brought a new deliverance? While it is clear that the early Church kept Sabbath, as more Gentiles joined the Church and a separation between Church and synagogue occurred, a more spiritualized understanding of Sabbath formed.Entry into the salvific work of Jesus brought about a Sabbath reality that was both available in the present and fully realized in the world to come In the letter to the Hebrews 3:11-18, the writer reminds the Church that those who are disobedient do not enter into God’s rest Hebrews 4:1 calls upon the church not to ignore the invitation to enter into God’s rest Hebrews 4:3 affirms that believers have entered into God’s rest unlike those who refused to obey Finally, in Hebrews 4:9 the writer speaks of a Sabbath rest yet to come for the people of God – a future-oriented perspective Because of this promised future rest, “those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest,

so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs” (4:10-11)

26 Jacob Neusner, A Rabbi talks to Jesus (New York: Doubleday, 1993), 58-74.

27 Samuele Bacchiocchi, From Sabbath to Sunday (Rome: The Pontifical Gregorian University Press,

1977), 17-72.

The author of Hebrews takes the creation account of the seventh day along with Psalm 95:11 to make the point The “today” of Psalm 95:7 is the Church’s present moment The invitation that “today” one harkens to the voice of God calls for an immediate response to the work of Christ This is not a call to the observance of a single day called Sabbath, but to a relationship with God that gives the eschatological rest the Sabbath day promises The blessings

in Sabbath are fully realized through the person of Jesus

In the first quarter of the seventeenth century, Jacob Boehme wrote a book entitled The Way to Christ In his meditation on the commandment to remember the Sabbath day, he writes

of Sabbath as a way to live into God’s order for creation and God’s will for all things God is Sabbath, and all things are to rest in God Boehme writes that at the right time, God sends Jesus

as a new Sabbath, and humanity is the dwelling place for the Word Resting in Christ is dwelling

in Sabbath Boehme prays that he might let God’s Holy Word keep Sabbath in him and that he might make Sabbath holy in its keeping.28

What is the Sabbath for those who follow Jesus? Paul presents Jesus as the second Adam– the recapitulation of humanity Jesus' work reconciles the world to the God who created it Paul’s letter to the Romans addresses the alienation from God that the Gentiles experience In Romans 1:22-23, Paul writes, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals and reptiles.” This, Paul would say, is the act of the created seeking to create the divine Thus, they begin to worship the created rather than the Creator, reversing the right order of the universe God’s reaction, Paul states, was to let them go their own way as they moved further away from their creator Sabbath is the call to remember who is the creator and created Jesus returns us to the creator who becomes Father, and we become adopted children of the Almighty

28 Jacob Boehme, The Way to Christ (New York: Paulist Press, 1978), 108-111.

Ireneuas describes Jesus as the recapitulation of all things Jesus is the fulfillment of all that is Israel: past, present, and future Ireneuas describes what the Matthew passage affirms - Jesus as yoke and rest As the incarnation of God, Jesus is the one where all creation gathers Jesus is the recapitulation of the whole Torah and of all Sabbaths He invites humanity to come

to him for rest Jesus becomes what God, through Sabbath, calls people to remember: God is thecreator Paul writes that all in Christ is a new creation – Jesus creates Jesus offers divine rest to those who are weary and heavy-burdened He is the divine liberator who sets humanity free from the slavery of sin He is the door to the fulfillment of all things In him, all things are new

Jesus has given Sabbath to the entire world He becomes spiritual rest In him, we remember our deliverance and we wait for the world to come Sabbath is the relationship with the Father, through Jesus the Messiah A life devoted to following Christ means embracing him

as Lord, Savior, and Sabbath This frees the Christian from worrying about Sabbath as a day of the week and allows us to seek Sabbath time in Christ In seeking Sabbath time in Jesus, new possibilities open to the Church for the how and when of Sabbath rest In understanding that Jesus not only calls the Church to work for the kingdom but also to come to him as Holy

Sabbath, each disciple working for this kingdom must also rest in Christ from that work

Jesus provides a place of rest for those who would follow him In Jesus’ farewell

discourse in John 14, he tells the disciples not to be troubled, to believe in God and in him To believe means to rest one’s heart, to trust and rely on him, to stake one’s soul on him and who he

is Jesus speaks of his Father’s house as having many dwelling places He adds that he is going

to prepare a place for his disciples The word translated “dwelling places” is a term used for stops along the road for those who need respite from their travels The journey will continue for those who follow him, but he will be sure to provide places of rest – Sabbath

In Colossians 1 Paul says of Jesus: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of

all creation; 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and

invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created

through him and for him.” This reference to the divine nature of Christ as creator of the universe

echoes the prologue of the Gospel According to John…”in him all things were made.” Early in the life of the Church, she celebrated and affirmed this aspect of Jesus’ identity

II Corinthians 5:17 proclaims that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation Galatians 6:15 affirms this again as Paul writes, “For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!” The act of recreating is also the act of liberation

Jesus also presents himself in the role of Sabbath as liberating In the eighth chapter of John, Jesus says that those who continue in his word will be disciples and will know the truth, and the true will set them free He announces, “So if the Son makes you free, you are free indeed” (John 8:31-41) and Luke records Jesus announcing that his healing of a woman on the Sabbath set her free (Luke 13:12) The connection between healing and freedom from sin and illness on the Sabbath links the healing with the observance of Sabbath as a day to remember God freeing the Hebrews from slavery

Freedom is a major theme for Paul in his letters to the Romans and Corinthians He writes to the Romans that Jesus has set believers free from sin (Romans 6) He writes of the liberation from the law of sin and death and that creation itself will be set free from its bondage

to decay (Romans 8:21) In the liberation Jesus offers, the believer enters into a relationship withGod with qualities of Sabbath - Sabbath rest, Sabbath joy, and Sabbath peace

In exploring the nature of biblical Sabbath and how Jesus speaks of himself, one

discovers that Jesus understands that in some significant way he now is the essence of Sabbath,

and as Sabbath he is an encounter with God as creator and as liberator The third reality of Sabbath (eschatological reality) can also be found in the work and person of Jesus.

The Revelation to John points to such eternal Sabbath rest Revelation 14:13 proclaims

“blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.’” This Sabbath rest is dynamic and is experienced

as the final step of redemption

The resurrection of Jesus is the sign to the Church of what is to come Resurrection speaks to the culmination of all creation The fact that the resurrection story takes place in a garden is important Jesus is buried in a garden tomb (John 19:41) and is believed to be the gardener by Mary at the resurrection Jesus, the second Adam, walks in a garden Jesus also promises the thief paradise (Luke 23:43) when this man asks Jesus to remember him in the kingdom The return to the garden relationship, the Sabbath relationship, is promised in the Easter event

Jesus, as Sabbath rest, is the garden of which the Church has a foretaste As the Church rests in him, she waits for him to return us to the garden of perfect Sabbath in the eschaton Resting in him is a taste of the Sabbath It is what Paul calls the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) These gifts are not only present for us now, but they are the signs of paradise, the kingdom

to come, and the Sabbath garden Sabbath-keeping enables a person to receive, grow, and manifest the fruits of the Holy Spirit in day-to-day living

Paul affirms Christ's power to complete all things in his letter to the Church in Rome The promise is that what God intended for creation will come about He writes in Chapter 8:

19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who

subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for

adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:19-23)

Outside the garden are the expectations and demands of a world estranged from Sabbath These can create a pull between walking in the garden of resurrection and Sabbath rest while engaging in work the world creates Sabbath is the garden relationship of seeing fully and being completely whole within the union of the human soul and the creator, the lover of that soul The Revelation to John celebrates this union as a banquet with Christ as the host and the source of fulfillment Angels and archangels, the hosts of heaven gathered around the throne singing

“Holy, Holy, Holy” indicate what heavenly Sabbath is

The celebration of the Holy Eucharist, as a foreshadowing of that heavenly banquet, is a sign of Sabbath The Eucharist is an encounter with God the Father through Jesus the Christ, in the Holy Spirit and is therefore a foretaste of what is the fulfillment of the work of salvation Just as Eucharist (and all the sacraments) has this eschatological aspect, so does Sabbath

Alan Jones writes that the Christian “enters into a new dimension of living which the saints call divine This is how we can be conscious of ourselves by being Christ-Conscious rather than self-conscious.”29 This Christ-consciousness is the goal of those who seek to be Jesus’ disciples Sabbath enables the mind to rest in God the Father, transformed into the mind

of Christ, and to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit Sabbath, beginning in space and time, hallowed by prayer, is the journey into the very heart of the Holy Trinity Sabbath is the holy dance: the invitation for God’s children to enter into that eternal relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

29 Alan Jones, Journey into Christ (Massachusetts: Cowley Publications, 1992), 97.

CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH

CREDO Institute, a program sponsored by the Church Pension Group of the Episcopal Church to provide clergy with an environment for rest and learning through a week retreat, various inventories, and consultation about their personal and professional needs, sponsored a research study on the wellness of Episcopal clergy Among the most significant findings, a panel

of fourteen Church leaders stated that clergy-reported stress and depression exceeded the

benchmark population, as did incidence of high cholesterol and high blood pressure.30 (AppendixVI) While the focus of the study was the physical well-being of Episcopal clergy, findings implicated issues of spiritual well-being The report did not explore issues of prayer, spiritual life, and clergy wellness Of interest, however, was the recognition that the medical profession isacknowledging the role of prayer in sustaining health and wholeness They report, “There is a growing recognition that genuine health depends on the interdependence and integration of mind,body and spirit, and that promoting this integration is the business of the whole Church.”31

In addition, a 2006 survey of Canadian pastors found a majority of respondents struggled with issues of identity and fulfillment Eighty-six percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that they prayed with others but do not have time for personal prayer Sixty percent reported that they had, at one time or another, considered leaving the ordained ministry, and seventy percent disagreed with the statement, “I feel fulfilled in ministry.” In the same study, themajority expressed being “unfulfilled, exhausted from working long hours and are suffering a

30 CREDO Institute, Episcopal Clergy Wellness: A Report to the Church of the State of Clergy Wellness

(Memphis, TN: The CREDO Institute, June 2006), 8

31 Ibid., 7.

‘critical crisis of identity,’ with the most (77%) feeling like a chief executive officer rather than a pastor.” 32

In startling contrast, a study released in 2007 by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago reported that ordained ministry scored as the profession with the highest job satisfaction Tom Smith, director of the General Social Survey, commented,

“Apparently the rewards of spiritual guidance and leadership outweigh the burdens of being a religious leader.”33

However, a sense of satisfaction is not the same as a healthy and vibrant spiritual life Our society rewards productivity work measured and completed Clergy observe the results of their pastoral visits, the responses from sermons and classes, and witness their parishioners experiencing the love and grace of Christ and of the Church Loving the congregation and having it love back provides the pastor with significant affirmation

This affirmation may at times replace the affirmation and grace God desires to give the pastor simply as a child of God, a baptized believer Within the daily life of ministering, the priest may ignore or minimize the needs of his own soul Dawn and Peterson state that one can

become “so diligent in being a pastor, working for Jesus, that it crowds out the personal of living

for Jesus .The constant danger for those who enter the ranks of the ordained is that they take on

a role, a professional religious role, that gradually can obliterate the life of the soul.”34

In order to determine how well clergy are entering into an intentional life of self-care, which is “soul-tending,” and to begin a conversation concerning a theology of Sabbath, I

developed a questionnaire for ordained ministers from several traditions and denominations

32 Marites N Sison, “Clergy Struggle with Identity and Feelings of Loneliness, Exhaustion,” Anglican Journal/1, 10 December 2006, 132.

33 Marcia Z Nelson, “Survey Says Clergy Have Highest Job Satisfaction,” Religion News Service, 27 April

2007.

34 Marva Dawn and Eugene Peterson, The Unnecessary Pastor (Vancouver: Eerdmans Publishing, 2000),

13-14.

(Appendix I)35 Since the questionnaire went to clergy in two Episcopal Dioceses (Dallas and Texas) and in the Episcopal Seminary of the South, the majority of respondents were Episcopal clergy From 2005 through 2008 these clergy were queried in areas of concern including

spiritual disciplines, theological understandings of Sabbath, and the teachings and expectations each cleric encountered in seminary and in the diocese or other judicatory The questionnaire also asked clergy to assess the expectations for self-care present in their first parishes and

articulated by their supervisor/mentor Clergy responded to questions pertaining to the practice

of the traditional spiritual disciplines, taking weekly days off, vacationing, and participating in clergy support groups

With respect to spiritual disciplines, over half of respondents reported they had a rule of life The majority did not have a spiritual director (27 of 43 respondents), and slightly more thanhalf made no use of auricular confession (22 out of 42 reporting) Out of the forty-seven

answering the daily office question, twenty-nine reported they did pray the office on a daily basis Given that clergy from denominations without the sacrament of confession or the daily office answered the questions, it is difficult to interpret the meaning of this number

According to respondents, neither the cleric’s first parish placement nor the experience in seminary fostered an environment of self-care Out of the forty-five clergy who answered this question regarding their first parishes, thirty said their first parish did not show concern for clergy care Supervisors in first parishes scored poorly in teaching the newly ordained about self-care Out of thirty-seven responses to the question, nine said they learned nothing, seven reported that what they learned was all negative, four responded with “not much,” and only seven reported that their first supervisor was a good model Another four respondents said they learned to take their time off The remainder did not have a supervisor after ordination The

35 A summary of questionnaire responses is located in Appendix II.

harshest responses in the questionnaire were to the first supervisor question (What did you learn from your first supervisor, after ordination, about clergy well-being and self-care?), as illustrated

by the following comments:

“Do it yourself, no one else will.”

“Mother Church can be a bitch.”

“Clergy sometimes leave the Church.”

“Being a Priest called me to share in the crucifixion of Jesus.”

“Holy Mother Church was an alligator, who ate her young But if I took

responsibility for myself the Church would meet me more than half way.”

These statements reflect an early acceptance of the negative effect the ministry can have on the ordained The pain and possible burnout is clear—these clergy believe the Church cares little fortheir well-being

The respondents’ current parishes fared no better Thirty-one reported their present parishdoes nothing to assist in self-care Five reported that their parish did express concern but left it

up to them to do something about it Of those who reported their parish does support clergy care, twelve out of fifteen said that it was in the form of taking time off from the office The remaining three wrote that the support was either financial or encouragement to participate in small support groups and spiritual disciplines

self-The majority of respondents recognized a need to form systems of support and

accountability with others who understand the issues of the ordained ministry Thirty-two were involved in some form of clergy support group, with only sixteen not in any group The high number of clergy who reported participating in a support group might account for the low

number in spiritual direction (twenty-seven do not, sixteen do) Their group work may have addressed many of the spiritual needs usually addressed in formal spiritual direction

Some clergy have the sense that they do not need to pay special attention to the health of their souls because they do not experience distress in their spiritual lives or in the spiritual life of their congregations The response, “I have no conflict or pressure in the church congregation I

serve,” indicates a belief that without conflict, the soul does not need any care.

One priest expressed resistance to the idea of taking time for the care of a personal relationship with God “Setting time aside for my relationship with God is counter productive Too little and forms a dichotomy in my life Self-care is dangerous It comes too close to being self-conscious.” The work of the Church took precedent over the health of the pastor’s soul While this statement affirms a belief in the sacrificial nature of ministry and faith (denial of self),

it also denies the pastor’s own need for soul care

In some places the bishop, the canon to the ordinary, and the parish seem to assume that

as clergy make a difference in the lives of others and the Church, their own souls inevitably suffer from neglect This distorted attitude of self-sacrifice expects a future reward for present suffering and can lead to distress and burnout as clergy ignore the basic needs of the soul and the need to recognize and experience themselves as whole

CHAPTER 6 SPIRITUAL IDENTITY AND MINISTRY

One’s understanding of the human soul influences one’s spiritual life and lifestyle We do

not have a soul; we are soul Defining the human as having soul instead of being soul divides a

person into parts and threatens the wholeness of the individual We become parts –a body that holds a soul: part mind, part spirit We view life as fractured or compartmentalized, full of memories, hungers, pains, and joys Self-care is determined by this understanding of life and self

Care of the soul is about the care of the whole self Care (as opposed to cure), as Moore states, is the on-going attention we pay to our wholeness To care for one’s soul is to care for one’s humanity: all that one is as a human being, a creation of God The need for soul care extends far beyond the need to prevent distress and burnout Care of the soul is rooted in a thriving faith and not in the avoidance of the stressful or negative

If a theology of the communion of saints speaks to the spiritual unity of all baptized Christians, then the health of one soul affects the health of other souls The healthy and growing spiritual life of the priest enhances the health and growth of the congregation Eleanor L

McLaughlin recognizes the public nature of a priest’s spirituality She identifies four points that make up priestly spirituality The first is the priest as leader of the liturgical life of the Church: the priest lifts up each season and each sacrament so the people of God enter into the mystery of the faith Second is the priestly discipline of personal prayer Third, McLaughlin identifies the nature of the priest as spiritual director and confessor The last point is the priestly call to pray without ceasing – making all of life sacramental. 36 While acknowledging that lay spirituality has overlapping functions and needs, she identifies the special needs of clergy spiritual life as it is

36 Eleanor L McLaughlin, Priestly Spirituality (Pennsylvania: Ascension Press, 1981), 11.

“nurtured in the awesome privilege and responsibility of Presidency in the Eucharistic

community.”37

Rooted in baptism, the priestly life is alter Christus: Christ to the mystical Body of

Christ, the Church The ministry of priesthood is much more than function or profession The priesthood has a sacramental nature that participates in a unique way in and for the Church The issues of soul-care, Sabbath, and spiritual health take on special significance for the ordained who, while called to care for the souls of their parishioners, must also find a way to stay focused

on their own spiritual health

In his introduction to Priesthood and Prayer, originally published in 1933, Bede Frost,

writes, “I am of the Priesthood and Prayer of Jesus The very character and state of that office by

which the world is redeemed and restored to God has been bestowed (sic) upon me by the Divine

Mercy, that through me that Mercy might be known and conveyed to men.”38 This is a weighty understanding of ordained ministry and, if not balanced with humility and self-care, can create a sense that the ordained carry the burden of the gospel message while the laity only receive the graces offered

William Willimon, in his book, Pastor: the Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry,

writes that blackout or brownout (as opposed to burnout) for clergy is, “the gradual dissipation ofmeaning in ministry, a blurring of vision, the inability to keep the theological rationale for ministry that is necessary to enliven our imagination.” He continues by stating that the pastor must cultivate, in the face of such a stress-filled vocation “the disciplines of Sabbath observance,refurbishment, re-creation, and remembrance of vocation In prayer, the one who is so often

37 Ibid., 12.

38 Bede Frost, Priesthood and Prayer (London: A.R Mowbray & Co., 1939), 83.