Nurturing the health of the Body of Christ through
caring for its pastors.
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Visit
www.pastoralcarenetwork.org
Learn
more about PPCN
and our 11th Annual Gathering
PPCN Officers:
President: Dan Corll
Pittsburgh
Vice President: Julie Johnson
Palo Duro
Secretary: Carol Allen
Chicago
Treasurer: Alan Baroody
Savannah
Editor: Stephen McCutchan
Salem
Members At Large:
Christine Sage, Pacific
Joe Sandifer, Greater Atlanta
Lou Snead, Mission
Ken Waddell, Cherokee
Denominational
Advisors:
Marcia Meyers,
PCUSA Office of Vocation
Helen Locklear
Board of Pensions
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A
perfect gift to recognize the excellent work of pastors
A CD designed to support pastors, featuring song
writer david bailey
Cost: $10
To
order call 1-800 524-2612
and ask for item OGA-08-099
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Join these Judicatories
in Supporting PPCN
Mission
Salem
Savannah
Mid-Kentucky
Central Florida
Synod of South Atlantic
Greater Atlanta
Philadelphia
Cherokee
Northeast Georgia
Chicago
Providence
Palo Duro
Grace
Pittsburgh
Carlisle
Louisville
Mid-Atlantic
De Cristo
Flint River
Board of Pensions
Presbytery of Miami Valley
Presbytery of the Pacific
Visit our
website for details
on how to join.
www.pastoralcarenetwork.org
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Helpful
Websites from other denominations concerned about the
health of pastors.
A Methodist site:
http://bachdevelopment.com
The Lutheran Board of Pensions:
https://www.elcabop.org/en/LiveWell
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Ministers
in Transition
I
have a call from God, but I don't have a call from a
church. This time is depressing and terrible. How can
I move? What can I do in the meantime?
These
are comments and questions we hear all the time if we
are trying to pastor pastors who are in transition. In
an effort to give assistance, the Presbytery of
Greater Atlanta conducted a Seminary for all folks who
are without a call or are members-at-large or are in
transition in any way.
The
program they created is listed below:
Spiritual
Challenges of Transition
Tom
Evans, Executive Presbyter
Emotional,
Family, Psychological and
Vocational
Challenges of Transition
Robby
Carroll, Pastoral Counselor
Care
of Self During a Time of Transition
Joe
Sandifer, Pastoral Care Team Staff
Guidelines,
Tips and Protocols for Writing and Disseminating One's
PIF
Penny
Hill, Associate Executive Presbyter
Maintaining
Health Insurance and Other Board of Pensions Benefits
Clark
Simmons, PCUSA Board of Pensions
Real
Estate - Practical Advice for the Current Market
Conditions
Cheryl
Gosa, Experienced Realtor
For
additional information please contact Joe Sandifer
jwsandifer@aol.com
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11th Annual PPCN Conference
San
Francisco Theological Seminary
San
Anselmo, CA
October
25-28, 2010
SUPPORTING MINISTRY LEADERS:
COACHING, MENTORING, SPIRITUAL DIRECTION AND
MORE.
Speakers,
workshops, discussion and networking will provide the
most current resources for engaging these aspects of
ministry for your presbytery and pastoral care
setting. We
continue to focus on providing resources to
presbyteries that are seeking to find creative and
effective ways to care for and support ministry
leaders. Building a strong network of pastoral care
givers for ministers is important to our shared
efforts. The PPCN Board invites every presbytery in
the PCUSA to send staff persons, COM and CPM members,
and others involved in pastoral care to our up-coming
national conference.
Conference
Brochure ______________________________________________
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Presbyterian
Writers Conference
April 28-29, 2010
Sponsored
by the Presbyterian Writers Guild
www.presbywriters.org
You'll attend workshops on
how to maximize your creativity, write from the heart,
string for Presbyterian publications, break the
publishing barrier, write fiction with a purpose,
build your platform and create community online,
"drink deep" with commercial songwriting,
write for the screen, and other classes,
including the subtle touches of good writing, which
might teach you how to write shorter sentence
Nurture Yourself through
writing
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Governing
Bodies Supporting Healthy Pastors
The
statistics on the health of pastors is growing
increasingly disturbing. There are some actions that a
Presbytery or even a community of churches can take.
A
first step might be to help arrange a health fair
strictly for pastors in a contiguous community. Large
presbyteries could do this in sections of a presbytery
but it would make a positive witness to the community
if executives from the various denominations in an
area coordinated such an activity.
The
presbytery could approach a local hospital and talk
with them about providing health personnel for such an
event. They could check blood pressure, sugar in the
blood, cholesterol count, weight, etc. They may even
have portable sonogram machines or other machines to
check other health issues.
In
addition you would want health personnel to provide
tables with literature and advice on signs to look for
with respect to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, etc.
An additional advantage for the pastor is that s/he
would be better informed about what to do if a member
of the congregation showed such symptoms. There could
also be a demonstration of mouth to mouth
resuscitation, use of a defibrillator, etc.
If
you are near an educational medical center, they
probably have a division that would be glad to work
with you on designing
such an event. You might even get someone to
include some brief seminars on healthy cooking, home
exercise programs, stress reduction programs, etc. It
would be worth checking with the local branch of a
large health insurance industry like Blue Cross to see
if they would help sponsor such an event.
If
you did it ecumenically, you could have sufficient
numbers without anyone driving too far. Plus you
probably could get some good media coverage for a
positive cooperative event among the churches.
Because
it is focused on pastors and professional church
staff, it would be good to have some elements built
into the design that address the unique aspects of
working in a church and the resultant pressures of
such a profession.
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Congregational Support for
Healthy Pastors
It
is appropriate for the session to be concerned about
the physical health of the pastors and educators (P/E)
on the staff of their church. It should be clear that
a congregation benefits from supporting their staff to
maintain their physical health. Many corporations are
learning this lesson and our Board of Pensions is
making this a major focus of some of their efforts.
First,
a session can become familiar with the programs
offered by the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian
Church (www.pensions.org)
in their wellness program. Here is an example of the
value of the connectional church.
Second,
they can express verbal support for the P/E in
maintaining their physical health and make sure they
are aware of these resources. For example, if they are
having trouble with their weight, are they aware of
the Weight Management Program that they can access at
1-866-640-2772.
Third,
a congregation can support their staff in taking time
to make physical exercise a part of their regular
routine. One congregation had a member that offered
use of his weight machines for the pastor's use.
Several congregations have tried to help provide
membership at a Y or sports club. In some cases, the
health insurance will even help with the cost of such
a membership.
Fourth,
they can invite the pastor and educator to lead the
whole congregation in the spiritual dimensions of
physical health. Reminding the congregation that
according to Paul (1 Corinthians 19) this is a
spiritual issue for the whole Body of Christ.
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Four
Steps for the Pastor or Educator
By
virtue of our call, we are not our own. We have been
set aside by God for a special purpose. As Paul
reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:19, "Do you not
know that your body is a temple (or sanctuary) of the
Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and
that you are not your own?" Here are four steps
to get you started.
First,
you need to give yourself permission to take time for
physical exercise. We need to see the time required to
do this as part of being obedient to our call. If
taking time for physical exercise is not already a
habit, we need to build in support for altering our
already filled schedule.
Second,
take a piece of paper and make a quick list of the
variety of ways that one can engage in physical
exercise. As individuals there are such things as
walking, running, swimming, weight lifting, etc. Once
you have your list, look at it and see what is most
attractive to you. What is a modest way that you can
begin with one form of exercise that is already
attractive to you?
Third,
look at some of the ways people get exercise in
connection with other people. Some play sports, attend
exercise classes, find a partner to walk with, run
with, etc. Who do you know who might enjoy partnering
with you to begin a better exercise program? Having
someone else who expects you to participate helps
build support for changing your habits. Some people
have found the benefit of an early morning or evening
walking program.
Fourth,
commit yourself to exploring the spiritual dimensions
of taking care of your physical body. Use your
research and reflection in preaching or teaching a
course on caring for our bodies. Sharing with your
congregation your desire to improve your body and
invite them to do the same. There is nothing like
public commitment to strengthen your resolve.
The
major step is an awareness that this is not in
addition to the responsibilities of ministry.
It is part of it.
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