June 2010
Pilgrim’s Progress
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 12:08pm
The Society for Spirituality, Theology, & Health held its third annual meeting on June 15-18 here at Duke. I’m glad to say I’ve attended all three meetings. The Society is a key sponsor of an ongoing conversation without which the Clergy Health Initiative might not exist.
What's Vacation For?
Wed, 06/23/2010 - 6:00amRecently I went online to rent a beach house for a week in August. The place I prefer to go is one I’ve visited many times over a span of more than twenty years. What struck me as I checked realtor websites for rental options this year were the selling points listed for the various properties. Location, of course, is always paramount, beach-front still at a premium.
Stroke Warning Signals
Tue, 06/22/2010 - 11:25amThere's a flurry of viral e-mails this morning about a new way to recognize when someone has had a stroke, so we thought we'd share both the traditional warning signs, and the new approach.
Coaching from the Pews: Laity’s Role in Improving Clergy Health
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 6:00amLast week, I and several colleagues from the Clergy Health Initiative attended the United Methodist Annual Conferences in Greenville and Lake Junaluska, N.C. Our primary purpose in going was to share information about the Clergy Health Initiative – our research findings and future plans for introducing a suite of interventions to improve the health of pastors statewide.
Wise Counsel
Tue, 06/15/2010 - 2:35pmFollow this link to Speaking to the Soul. Today's essay has wonderful advice written by an old friend to a younger friend who is spiritually afire...
Preaching on Healing
Tue, 06/15/2010 - 2:35pmPassages on healing appear often in the Bible, giving pastors frequent opportunities to speak about health. But when delivered in the context of modern medicine, where true cures are not always available, the concept of "healing" can be a challenging one for listeners to accept.
Clergy Health Initiative in the News
Wed, 06/09/2010 - 9:51amFindings from the Clergy Health Initiative’s 2008 survey of United Methodist pastors in North Carolina, which were published online last month in the journal, Obesity, have been appearing in a variety of publications over the last few weeks.
What We Know
Tue, 06/08/2010 - 6:00am
Many of you have already seen it, but in case you haven’t: the current issue of Circuit Rider (May/June/July 2010) features three articles on Clergy Health.
Melissa Rudolph writes on the physical health challenges of United Methodist clergy, and gives an overview of the efforts of general boards and different Annual Conferences to meet the challenge.
The Rev. Grace Hackney: Ramblings of A Pastor in Transition
Fri, 06/04/2010 - 1:35pmThis post is one of two on itinerancy transitions - the other is from the congregant's point of view.
I am moving this year, after serving at Cedar Grove United Methodist Church for seven years. Cedar Grove was my first appointment, so this is my first move. I initiated the move, after long and careful discernment. I did not want this move to be my idea, but rather, God’s desire. I needed to know that I was not merely leaving, but rather, that God was calling me to a new place of ministry.
Happier with Age
Wed, 06/02/2010 - 11:30amDo people’s moods change over time? A 2008 Gallup phone survey of 340,000 Americans sought to measure both their sense of global well-being as well as their general mood (degree of happiness, stress, anger, or worry), and see whether either evolves. The results of this study recently were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the findings may interest you.