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TORONTO (RNS) A study by the University of Toronto has confirmed what many clergy have long known: Pastors are victims of stress, isolation and burnout. The study of Ontario clergy in six Protestant denominations found the majority feel isolated, stressed out, and spiritually spent. Compiled by the university's Knox College, the study, entitled "Clergy Well-Being: Seeking Wholeness With Integrity," was begun in 2003. Surveys were sent to 30 percent of Ontario's Anglican, Baptist, Evangelical Lutheran, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, and United Church clergy. More than one-quarter responded.
TORONTO (RNS) A study by the University of Toronto has confirmed what many clergy have long known: Pastors are victims of stress, isolation and burnout. The study of Ontario clergy in six Protestant denominations found the majority feel isolated, stressed out, and spiritually spent. Compiled by the university's Knox College, the study, entitled "Clergy Well-Being: Seeking Wholeness With Integrity," was begun in 2003. Surveys were sent to 30 percent of Ontario's Anglican, Baptist, Evangelical Lutheran, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, and United Church clergy. More than one-quarter responded. It found a Christian ministry "in crisis," with 77 percent of pastors saying they felt more like a CEO than a spiritual leader. Eighty percent said they felt guilty if they took time off, despite working 50- and 60-hour weeks. Eighteen percent said they didn't have a close friend in their church or community. "Many clergy could not identify a close friend in the church or the community," said the Rev. Andrew Irvine, who heads the Center for Clergy Care and Congregational Health at the University of Toronto. Irvine told the Presbyterian Record that competition among clergy in the same denomination strains even relationships between peers. With declining church attendance, ministers are forced to focus on the survival of their congregations and denominations more than on providing spiritual leadership, Irvine said. But it's not all gloom. Irvine said many clergy want to ease up on their workload and tend to their own spiritual and personal lives. "These are good people who want ... to serve God and the world in any way they can," he said. "What I believe is that there lies within clergy and each one of us the means to move to recovery and health."
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