What happens when a small church decides to stop competing? Everyone wins. The small, suburban bedroom community where I pastor is saturated with churches. There is a main road that will take you all the way through town, which begins at a highway exit. In one four-mile stretch, there are no less than fifteen church […]
The spirit of play is very important in my ministry as a pastoral caregiver at a psychiatric hospital. That spirit comes out in various ways. Sometimes I joke with my patients. Sometimes I’m irreverent. Sometimes I tease. In addition to demonstrating playfulness, my theology also involves a type of openness and creativity as I listen […]
This devotional is the final installment in a series exploring the kinship between the Heroine’s Journey as established by Maureen Murdock, my lived experience of ministry as a female clergy person, and a few familiar fictional characters. Each devotional ends with a blessing for the Heroine at that stage of the journey. In the previous […]
Although I work in a specialized setting of a state psychiatric hospital, when speaking to church pastors I sometimes recognize behaviors and problems they describe as having similarities to those I witness in the psych hospital. Some of those are similar to people with Borderline Personality Disorder, some bring to mind folks who have experienced […]
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), depression and anxiety are the most common mental illnesses diagnosed in the United States. With almost a third of adults experiencing symptoms related to one or both of these illnesses, chances are you will have folks with these struggles in your congregation. In my setting, a […]
For most church pastors, it can be intimidating to consider giving pastoral care to someone with a psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia, or someone who is paranoid. People who face a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder make up approximately 1% of the adult population in the United States. The vast majority of people with such […]
In seminary, one of my mentors said, “Beware the first person to introduce themselves to you in a new congregation—they’re probably borderline.” I’ve heard similar refrains in clergy circles ever since: “They will take all your time and energy if you let them.” “Every church has got one.” “Beware the borderlines!” Stereotypes and horror stories […]
This devotional is the ninth installment in what will be a series of ten exploring the kinship between the Heroine’s Journey as established by Maureen Murdock, my lived experience of ministry as a female clergy person, and a few familiar fictional characters. Each devotional ends with a blessing for the Heroine at that stage. In […]
I knew I had made a mistake as I sat in a COVID-distanced circle with my district superintendent and the five people I trusted most in my church to discuss my future as their pastor. Well, really, I knew that I had made a mistake when someone I had counted as a supporter and friend […]
As an Episcopal priest who has spent her entire career working full-time in psychiatric or medical hospital settings, I often find it difficult to translate my experiences and knowledge of mental health and illness in ways that are useful for parish clergy. I operate in a very boundaried setting with set hours. My patients don’t […]
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