St. Peter's Episcopal Church

ONE BODY, ONE MISSION, CHANGING LIVES

Thoughts From Eric

Dear Parish Family,

Many of us in the “helping professions” are a lot better at helping others than in following our own advice. We may know how to work with other people, but never get around to working our own personal lives.

Yet, most people in helping professions are led into such work to face up and answer their own deepest questions.

That disparity between our working with others and our failure to work with ourselves often leads to feelings of inadequacy and a sense of fraud. If people knew just how less than ideal our own lives really are, would they trust us with theirs?

Ordained clergy in addition symbolically takes upon themselves both the mantle of Elijah as prophet and Christ’s robe as priest. It is no wonder so many clergy feel both overwhelmed and inadequate.

Several years ago the Episcopal Church through the Church Pension Fund sought to do something about the health of its clergy.

The Pension Fund developed a program called Credo to give clergy an opportunity to get away from their everyday schedule and for eight days spend concentrated time on themselves and their own lives and health – spiritually, physically, vocationally, and financially – and to develop intentional plans to improve these.

In early June I attended Credo 149 in Richmond, Virginia, and found it was a rewarding and beneficial time for me both as a priest and as an individual. This particular Credo was set up especially for clergy 55 and over.

I am proud that the Episcopal Church is taking such a proactive approach to clergy health. As our own bishop, Dorsey Henderson has repeated over the years, “You can’t have a healthy parish without a healthy priest.

”We have tragically witnessed the truth of this by its absence in several parishes in the upstate recently. Unhealthy priests can create unhealthy parishes, and unhealthy parishes can create unhealthy priests. If you read the newspapers, you will have observed– the same also applies to bishops and dioceses.

We have a healthy bishop and with our new Canon to the Ordinary, Michael Bullock, the Diocese is quickly regaining its health.

Our parish is healthy and Credo came at a good time for me personally. I am very optimistic about our future in ministry as a diocese and as a parish.

Let us continue to work together to do the mission God is calling us to accomplish.

God bless,

Fr. Eric+