Clergy Poverty: Don’t Sell Yourself Short

Dearest dears,

This is a season of professional discernment for some of you, and it seemed not only appropriate but important to share with you this letter I received unsolicited from the Rev. Kathleen McCombe. She has wise words. Heed them.

Mon cher riche en coeur PB,
Several posts recently here and elsewhere allude to the plight of clergy who for multitudinous reasons endure what I would like to call “circumstantial pastoral poverty.” A life given to God which moves struggling on the journey from paycheck to paycheck, including the spectre of huge debt for any level of seminary training is one which is less than free to embody all the gifts of the riches of the incarnate Love come down in God. The default hiding place for those living on the poverty line leads for many to a life as clergy of despondency and bitterness.

I yearn for justice for those who have toiled for years receiving wages which do not honor the skills, commitment, years of study, and ecclesial commitment through ordination. As a clergy who has been on judicatory making decisions on those entering (and leaving) ministry, it seems many clergy are taking taking positions which offer less compensation than their training and skills demand, or settling for less than full time positions because that is what is available.
O rich of heart PB, may we all continue to work together to see that our sisters and brothers, fairly receiving compensation for service rendered, receive the gift of lives able to fully realize the Beauty of God within them.

Dear Kathleen,
How kind of you to write from your perspective on the judicatory level making decisions for clergy on their way in and out of the ministry. I heartily concur with your observation that a life of poverty and resentment severely hampers our ability to do the work to which we were called in the health and spirit the work requires of us. I join you in urging ministers to live out their vocations in ways that do not enable parsimonious religious institutions to hold faithful people hostage to their vocation by offering an opportunity to be ministers at grossly unjust wages. We all know clergy who work far more than their part time contracts stipulate (is there really any part-time parish ministry position for sole pastors of congregations?), who are burdened by debt, and whose congregations employ them year after year with promises of wage increases if only they “grow the church” (no minister can “grow a church” — only a church can grow a church), if the stewardship campaign does well, and if other expenses don’t take priority over paying the minister more. Meanwhile, the minister is expected to be a top-notch trained professional, lead well, preach effectively, counsel wisely, supervise staff, represent the congregation in the community, and hold the community in prayer at all hours and in all seasons.

They must have a mobile phone, a computer and printer, respectable wardrobe, working vehicle, social media savvy, financial acumen, theological education, organizational development knowledge, systems theory knowledge, administrative skills, pastoral and counseling talents and resources, the ability to function as a triage social worker, and denominational and ecumenical connections and involvement. They must be aware of the social justice and sociological issues of our time, and be articulate about them. They must understand both Islamic extremism and the tax code of their state. They must be willing to say prayers for a dying pet and to keep vigil with a family that is making decisions about taking a loved one off of life support. They must be equally socially comfortable at the Martin Luther King Day breakfast, coffee hour and the weddings of strangers — and have outfits to wear to all of those.

Their weekends are spoken for.
They get one day off a week if they’re lucky.
They will have to pay for housekeepers, dog walkers, prepared food and driveway shovelers when the demands of ministry keep them from attending to their own domestic responsibilities.

This may sound glamorous and welcome to the seminarian who dreams of having the title “Reverend” and the yoke of the stole that goes with it.
Trust us, dear ones. It is not glamorous.
It is, however, amazingly fulfilling and profound.

But you should not try to do it while holding a begging bowl.
I believe that in this new era where minister is held accountable for knowing and doing so much more than has ever been true for clergy in any other century, no one should take on the task without fair and just compensation.
There are many ways to live out a ministry and not to suffer exploitation along the way.
You may choose to embrace poverty, and that is commendable. If you do, please do so openly and within the context of communities that honor and share your commitments.