Caregiving clergy need to give self-care, too

By Reed Galin*

GOLDSBORO, N.C. (UMNS)-The morning sun glares off a rural road in North Carolina, where the Rev. Chuck Cook has worked up a pretty good sweat.

The Rev. Chuck Cook, a United Methodist district superintendent in North Carolina, models healthy habits as a participant in Duke Divinity School's Clergy Health Initiative. UMNS photos by Reed Galin.

He leans into a 17-mile-an-hour breeze of his own making, shoulders hunched forward. It is a deliberate attack on the open road in front of him-and on the years behind him.

The occasional passing motorists would never suppose the slender cyclist in a neon lime jersey is 58 years old. Even when he stops peddling to talk, the former Marine's squared jaw and the calm intensity beneath his pointed riding helmet suggest a much younger man.

Cook works hard to be an exception in The United Methodist Church, where data from medical and disability claims indicate the church has a health problem among its U.S. clergy.

"My schedule just now allows me to focus on fitness," he says. "Generally, I think it's quite difficult for pastors to engage in regular physical activity."

As a district superintendent overseeing 68 United Methodist pastors, Cook has begun facilitating Weight Watchers programs for colleagues and support groups for their physical, emotional and mental health.

The efforts are encouraged by a new emphasis on health and wholeness under a statewide Clergy Health Initiative launched in 2007 by United Methodist-related Duke Divinity School. The $12 million initiative is being funded by the Duke Endowment to assess and improve the personal health of 1,600 United Methodist pastors across North Carolina.

24/7 lifestyle
Project director Robin Swift says extensive surveys and data indicate that the 24/7 nature of clergy demands leaves little time or energy for pastors to minister to themselves. The resulting stress is an exacerbating factor.

Director Robin Swift hopes clergy health emphasis will become part of seminary training.

"When people first heard about this, they thought we were going to make everybody lose 30 pounds and take pie away from every church supper," Swift said. "We really want to reinforce that we know that health is much broader than that."

Many possibilities are under consideration. Duke could provide personal trainers, health club memberships, equipment, group and/or individual therapy, spiritual direction, marriage counseling, financial counseling-"pretty much the whole universe that has to do with the health of body, mind and spirit," Swift said.

She believes the key to success is not to prescribe what will be offered or established, but to help individual pastors design their own health programs with the kind of help they actually will use.

Cook is among the first to directly benefit from the initiative. He participated in one initial offering-an intense weekend of physical and mental evaluation and counseling. Even with his pre-existing dedication to fitness, the experience helped him to modify his exercise approach and his mental outlook. He's anxious for his colleagues to benefit as well.

"The most important thing is that it has allowed us to put physical fitness and spiritual fitness on our calendars as an appointment that should be honored just like any other appointment and can't be broken," he said.

Setting boundaries
The institutional recognition of her profession's health challenges will change the Rev. Mary Lou McElray's life, she believes, as well as make her a better pastor at Center United Methodist church in Sanford, N.C. McElray and her husband live in a parsonage that is physically attached to her church. It's symbolic of a profession that is unique in its lack of personal or professional boundaries.

"There's always an illness or an accident or marriage in crises," she said. "You have someone who's suffering. You want to be there for them and really need to be fully present. You focus all your energy on your congregation and end up putting your own needs on the back burner."

Over time, with too many bake sales and barbecue dinners (after all, this is North Carolina, she jokes), and too little exercise and self-discipline, McElray gained about 100 pounds and developed stress-related diabetes. Along with the pressures of the job, personal finances are always an issue, and her performance is constantly evaluated by parishioners and supervisors.

"We judge ourselves so harshly, how many new families came to the church and the pressure of I need to perform, and it just becomes a snowball and then we feel guilty because we haven't been with our own families enough. And there's no down time for self-renewal or spiritual reflection. It's pretty ironic, given our mission in life," she said.

Initial assistance from Duke connected McElray with a parish nurse who started her on a personal health program. The pastor has since worked off half her weight gain. Having help in focusing on lifestyle challenges that are typically built into the clergy lifestyle makes all the difference, according to McElray.

Unhealthy trends
Practical issues were a factor in Duke's study into clergy health. Insurance premiums were rising for a group that has an unusually high incidence of medical problems such as heart disease. Pastors are also prone to putting off preventative care.

Swift believes this new health emphasis will affect younger pastors as well. She thinks it should be worked into the seminary experience so that pastors will enter their new profession with an awareness of the need to minister to themselves-much like police academies routinely counsel students about dealing with stress.

Meanwhile, as McElray is on her way to the home of a church member confined to bed rest, she's talking about how her personal health is tied in with all the ways she wants to be there for her parishioners.

"If I'm gonna talk the talk and tell my parishioners they need to take care of their bodies, which are the temple of the Lord, then I need to take care of myself. How in the world can we tell our congregation what is truly important and brings true happiness if we're not practicing this ourselves?"

*Reed is a freelance producer in Nashville, Tenn.