Taking a Break

A recent article published in the New York Times, “Taking a Break from the Lord’s Work,” discusses a variety of current research on clergy health across denominations. Most of the analysis is based on social scientific statistics and insights, so there is no biblically informed response for meeting the sabbath needs of clergy. There is, however, much useful information for taking account your own habits and needs.

Thanks to Tony Stoutenburg for the link.

The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could.

Public health experts who have led the studies caution that there is no simple explanation of why so many members of a profession once associated with rosy-cheeked longevity have become so unhealthy and unhappy.

But while research continues, a growing number of health care experts and religious leaders have settled on one simple remedy that has long been a touchy subject with many clerics: taking more time off.

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As cellphones and social media expose the clergy to new dimensions of stress, and as health care costs soar, some of the country’s largest religious denominations have begun wellness campaigns that preach the virtues of getting away. It has been described by some health experts as a sort of slow-food movement for the clerical soul.

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Read the full article at the New York Times