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[PCUSANEWS] Clergywomen counseled to 'take care'


From PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>
Date 30 May 2003 11:35:07 -0400

Note #7789 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Clergywomen counseled to 'take care'
GA03100

Clergywomen counseled to 'take care'

'Anyone here ever experience burnout issues?'

by Emily Enders Odom

DENVER, May 29 - A spirit of solidarity and collegiality prevailed at the
annual Assembly luncheon meeting of the National Association of Presbyterian
Clergywomen (NAPC).

	The Rev. Aleida Jernigan, of Redwoods Presbytery, a member of the
association's National Steering Committee, smilingly described her role at
the 215th General Assembly as "hosting the booth and hugging all of you."

	With the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women as ministers of
Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA) coming up in 2006, about
40 women gathered to affirm, uphold and celebrate the gifts of clergywomen
and all sisters in ministry.

	In an annual tradition, the women were asked to rise according to the
number of years since their ordinations. The Rev. Peggy Howland, of Yonkers,
NY in the Presbytery of Hudson River, had the longest tenure - 45 years.

	After a round of applause, Howland took a moment to acknowledge her
table-mate, Alice Green, of Anchorage, AK, saying, "Alice was doing it long
before any of us, but they didn't have ordination."

	The Rev. Ernestine Cole, a vice president and dean of students at
Columbia Theological Seminary, spoke briefly about the report on
"Clergywomen's Experience in Ministry," which is scheduled to come to the
Assembly Friday. The report, prepared by the Advocacy Committee for Women's
Concerns (ACWC), of which Cole is a member, is a study of the problems and
issues faced by women clergy in the PC(USA).

	Cole's observations about the high incidence of "burnout" among
female clergy proved a fitting introduction for the guest speaker for the
event, the Rev. Melissa Bane Sevier, author of Journey Toward Renewal: A
Spiritual Companion for Pastoral Sabbaticals. Citing statistical and
anecdotal evidence that women are less likely than men to apply for
sabbatical grants and leaves, Sevier emphasized the importance of self-care
for women, who often think first of caring for others.

	"We have to be faithful to Christ and allow our hearts and minds to
be renewed by the Holy Spirit, and allow ourselves to be seen and to see
ourselves as God's daughters," Sevier said, "not as people who exist for the
sole purpose of working and worrying our way through life. It's not healthy
for us."

	Her rhetorical question, "Anyone here ever experience burnout
issues?" was met with nervous laughter and a forest of raised hands.

	Sevier confessed to having become "an evangelist about taking care of
yourself" after experiencing burnout and taking a sabbatical to renew
herself. "If your life is out of balance," she said, "you have to make a way
to restore that balance. It's your calling, just as much as it's your calling
to care for other people.

	"Listen to the voice of God within you, and take care." 

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