Dates & Seasons
“In all the busyness, it can be easy for clergy to get out of beneficial habits, including healthy eating, exercising regularly, taking time out for self-care and skipping personal prayer times. It’s important for clergy to remember to take care of themselves, so that they can actually enjoy the festive season,” says ACSQ Wellbeing and Development Officer Rebecca McLean
Justice & Advocacy
“Prioritising mental health in parish and ministry working environments helps promote a culture of care and compassion, enhances organisational productivity and fosters the Church’s mission. It can also help reduce stigma surrounding mental health issues and encourages clergy, employees and volunteers to seek help when needed,” says Work Health and Safety Advisor Michael Kucera.
Meet Rebecca McLean and find out about her current projects and activities, personal faith journey, secret skill, favourite hymn and what scent makes her nostalgic
“One of the highlights of my role is caring for clergy and helping to resource them so their ministries can flourish. Organising subsidised two-day mental health first aid training courses is one of the ways I implement this,” says Wellbeing and Development Officer Rebecca McLean
“The idea for our walk came when we were considering some way of raising awareness about clergy mental wellness to churchgoers, as well as to the wider community. With one of us based in Ipswich and the other at the Cathedral, a walk from one church to the other seemed a natural idea,” say The Rev’d Dr Gemma Dashwood and The Rev’d Selina McMahon
“All people like to be appreciated for their service and work. And, our clergy work really hard as they fulfill their unique calls to ordained ministry – whether in parish, chaplaincy, pastoral care, advocacy, Episcopal, theological education and managerial spaces,” says Wellbeing and Development Officer Rebecca McLean
“A common emerging theme in these chats is that clergy feel that the demands on their time exceed the number of hours in a day, but that being disciplined about their weekly day off is essential to their wellbeing. What I’ve subsequently discovered is that clergy conceive their day off in different ways – in ways that are uniquely authentic and nourishing,” says Wellbeing and Development Officer Rebecca McLean from the Parishes and Other Mission Agencies Commission
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