Retaining and Appreciating Staff During Uncertain Times
By the Presbytery’s Commission on Ministry
The Great Resignation continues! According to NPR, last November a whopping 3% of the American work force resigned from their jobs. 1 Unemployment remains low, the number of open jobs high, and all across the country, businesses are finding it difficult to staff to full capacity. Even around the Presbytery, some Music Director searches are continuing because suitable candidates aren’t available. Several churches are seeking either interim or permanent installed pastors. Are you wondering how the Great Resignation might affect your church? The Commission on Ministry is wondering too!
The Washington Post published a recent article on how many pastors are leaving their churches. Entitled The first Christmas as a layperson: Burned out by the pandemic, many clergy quit in the past year 2, the article chronicled former pastors in their new jobs, and how different Christmas was outside of the pastoral role. Citing the Barna statistic that 38% of Protestant clergy have considered quitting ministry in the past year, the Post questions if this is a time of crisis for American clergy.
“Amid fights about masks and vaccine mandates, to how far religious leaders can go in expressing political views that might alienate some of their followers, to whether Zoom creates or stifles spiritual community, pastoral burnout has been high.”
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Pastors, who place a high value on relationships, are finding it hard to care for people during the pandemic, while also keeping them safe. Many are questioning their purpose and wondering how they can lead a church divided over politics to accomplish positive things in the world, let alone be leaders on issues like racism and being good neighbors. Granted, we don’t know how many pastors pre-pandemic regularly considered leaving ministry, but this statistic still seems significant.
The impact of these forces on the church is real. The church is supposed to be oriented towards meeting our purpose of serving Christ in the world. Yet some of us have found it difficult during the pandemic to figure out how to continue vital ministries. Perhaps we don’t consider how this change of purpose and mission affects our staff, and mostly importantly our pastors. A significant part of a pastor’s call isn’t about the money; it’s about the relationships with the congregation and about the mission which can happen through the work of the church. It’s about communicating the love and justice of Jesus Christ to communities and the world. Yet those things have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
If you are a church with a pastor, with full staff positions, congratulations! If you are a church missing a pastor or some of your staff, you know how hard it is to find people to hire or a pastor to call right now. The Commission on Ministry is especially interested in helping all of our churches care for and retain our pastors and staff in this challenging time.
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Some secular employers are working hard to retain their current employees by making changes to affect their employee satisfaction and happiness in positive directions. You might think it’s all about higher wages and more benefits that cost the church’s bottom line, but it’s not. Daniel Goleman, author of the best seller Emotional Intelligence and frequent contributor to Korn Ferry, says in a recent article that some of the best companies are having success with nontraditional measures, like emphasizing purpose. 3
Nationwide started a Social Justice Task Force, Goleman reports, giving employees opportunities to help Nationwide find effective ways to fight racism and promote social justice. This accomplishes a second purpose of helping employees feel like they are able to take action on something which matters to them. It’s part of a ‘giving back’ movement across companies; The Great Place to Work Institute found in a recent survey that employees felt 15.6 times better about their workplace when their companies found ways to give back over the past few years. Goleman goes on to report that OhioHealth (a health care system) asked various departments within their system to adopt the frontline staff units in their hospitals and care for them. This included notes of encouragement, food, small gifts, and public thank yous. How do we care for our ‘frontline’ workers? How do we take care of the pastors and staff who have spent so much time and energy over the years caring for us? How can we help our congregations see that our divisions, complaints, and challenges are causing pastors and staff to consider leaving their jobs for an uncertain future instead of continuing to lead and nurture us? How can we create a more positive climate that helps the church reclaim its mission and lead into the future?
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A recent article from Christianity Today suggests that millennials and others see a clear road for the church to take leadership in our society in meaningful ways 4, but we can’t do it if we’re not starting with a good foundation built on solid relationships with our pastors, staff, and congregations. Stay tuned – the Commission on Ministry and the Commission on Spiritual Leader Development are working together to provide a short webinar on tips for pastor and staff retention and building a positive work climate, facilitated by a panel of church leaders. It will be held on Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 7 pm. More details will be coming out soon!
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The next stated meeting,
the 984th Gathering of Presbytery
is scheduled for Thursday, March 10, at 10 am via Zoom.
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Many thanks to all the clerks of session and pastors who so faithfully completed the annual statistical report for their church. We had 95% of our congregations reporting data which will be used to inform presbytery leaders, committees and commissions about how we can best support our congregations in their life and ministry. Gratefully, Mary Gaut |
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The In The Loop ministry group continues its B'More Human discussions with a session next week entitled "Driving While Black." Discover how the advent of the automobile brought new mobility and freedom for African Americans but also exposed them to discrimination and deadly violence, and how that history resonates today. Join the discussion on Monday, February 21 at 6:30pm. More information and registration
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2022 TRIENNIUM CANCELLED - Regrettably, it was announced this week that this year's summer youth conference has been cancelled. If you have any questions of concerns, contact Rev. Amy Carlson at acarlson@secondpresby.org. |
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Supporting Environmental Human Rights |
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Friday, February 18 – Maryland Environmental Human Rights Student Rally
Please join the students and youth of Maryland at Lawyers Mall in Annapolis at 3pm to demonstrate to our legislators that the youth are paying attention and that this is of vital importance to us. We are encouraging those who can’t be with us in person to join in demonstrating virtually. RSVP here and ask friends and allies to join you!
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Tuesday, February 22 at 11am – Faith Leader Rally on Zoom Faith leaders from across the state will be gathering to urge the Maryland General Assembly to pass HB596/SB783 – the Environmental Human Rights Amendment. If you are a faith leader, whether lay or ordained, please join us. Register here
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Monday, February 28 at 7pm – Zoom Q&A with Environmental Attorney Matt Littleton, MDEHR Advisor will be answering your questions about constitutional environmental rights amendments, how they are used and what they will do in Maryland. RSVP here to reserve your seat!
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Wednesday, March 9 at 1pm – SB783 Hearing
SB783 has been assigned a hearing date in the Judicial Proceedings Committee (JPR) on March 9 at 1pm. Members of the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee will be invited to join JPR to view this hearing. MDEHR will be coordinating with Senator Smith and our strategic partners in creating our oral testimony. Please contact Nina Beth Cardin at nina@mdehr.org if you have a compelling story in support of the amendment.
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Monday, February 21 - Govans Presbyterian Church hosts a Black History Month concert with Roderick Demmings, Jr. in their sanctuary and online. Register in advance
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Monday, February 21 - Driving While Black An In The Loop ministry group dialogue about racial injustice in America. For more information, or to register, visit our website.
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Saturday, February 26 - Caring for Others Without Losing Yourself In this workshop, join Dr. Isa Gucciardi as she helps us do the inner work fundamental to being able to stay in balance while serving and caring for others effectively. 1-4 pm FREE Registration
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Together We Welcome: A National Faith Gathering to Strengthen Support for Refugees, Immigrants and Migrants -- From Friday, March 4 - Sunday, March 6. Susan Krehbiel is presenting in one of the conference workshops sponsored by PC(USA). Registration and full schedule here
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The 894th Gathering of the Presbytery of Baltimore Our first stated meeting of the year takes place Thursday, March 10 at 10 am. Mark your calendars!
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Church Administrator
Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church of Odenton, MD is seeking administrative support to the Pastor and Associate Pastor to organize and run the church office and facilitate church communications. There are a mix of core administrative and office management duties, community and church membership outreach, and website and social media maintenance responsibilities. Previous administrative experience, tech savvy in MS Office, Google Docs, Zoom, and social media applications is preferred. The position is part-time (30 hours per week), Monday-Friday from 9 am - 3 pm, but also requires quarterly attendance at Sunday service and periodic evening session meetings. Full Job Description here. Please email admin@arkanddove.org with resume and contact information.
Development Director
Contemporary Music Leader
Christ Our Anchor Presbyterian Church is a small and welcoming congregation in the Cape St. Claire neighborhood of Annapolis, MD. This church plans to offer two worship services for all ages; one traditional and one contemporary and is seeking a music leader for the contemporary service. The ideal candidate would be creative, patient, organized, accepting, encouraging and demonstrates familiarity with contemporary Christian worship music. The Contemporary Music Leader shall be responsible to the Session of the church through the Worship Committee and shall be supervised by the Pastor. Job description – Website description
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