Layers: Responding to Comments Pastorally
Susan is a pastor transitioning to a new call. While introducing herself to the congregations, she engaged in conversation that one would expect around ministry, such as balancing time. But […]
Posts
Pastoral Care with Persons with Narcissistic and Antisocial Personality Disorder: An Interview with The Rev. MaryJane Inman
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 […]
Keeping It Real: Friends Who Ask the Right Questions
“Would you be asked to do that if you were married?” My friend Catherine always cuts to the heart of the matter, not mincing words. She is the person who […]
Ministering to Persons who Have Depression or Anxiety
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 […]
Pastoral Care with People with Thought Disorders
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 […]
Love and Limits: Pastoral Care for Persons with Borderline Personality
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 […]
Mental Health Boundaries from a Recovering One-Year Pastor
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 […]
The Holy No
For Christmas last year, my husband gave me a “NO” button. It’s big, it’s red, and when you push it, a loud voice says (in one of eight ways), “No!” […]
When Personal Grief and Public Ministry Collide
I was sitting at one end of my church’s Fellowship Hall, surrounded by a pile of opened gifts and resting a plate laden with cake on my swollen, pregnant belly. […]
How to Boss Up
One of the reasons Young Clergy Women International exists is to offer a space for young clergy women to seek support, share ideas, and build community. Last week one of […]
