Praying Together on Monday - January 14, 2013

1/14/2013

Abba, Today I begin with thanksgiving for your goodness and grace to me. Thank you for caring for and about me, everything that happens in and around my life is of importance to you, even the smallest detail, THANK YOU!

I don’t often understand why you allow events and circumstances to occur, but I thank you for being present, in my struggles, pain and yes, confusion. Thank you for the good days, days when things go well. Help me to trust you during good times and well as those that aren't as well.

As I minister those around me as I work alongside them, my I remember they too have difficulties and struggles as I do as well. May I remember that their days are filled with as many questions and challenges as I have.  Allow me to be filled with your Spirit of grace and understanding, as walk this road of daily living together with others.

Thank you for the mixture of elements which make up my day and week. Thank you for opportunities, and yes, even challenges I don’t understand. I pray for the selfish and self-serving;  those who seems to brush the ‘poor and less-important’ aside as if they don’t matter.

Help me to remember I’m you’re and You are at work in and through me as well as anyone else. Thank You for the value you've given me and my life. The purpose You called me to and for.  May I learn and understand the value of patience and have the willingness to continue in the work and struggle of life and ministry for you glory.

Thank you for a new week with all of you wonderful opportunities, even those that are disguised as challenges or painful experiences. Trusting you for your goodness and mercy, I walk into this new day and week believing, that “ . . . all things work together for good, to them who love the Lord, who are the called according to His purpose.”

Thank you for the ‘left-overs,’ and what some to think of ‘throwaway’s’ of these you can and often do create something new, different ; may they and we learn together how to create something new. Thank you for being at work in and around my life, for that which isn't easy. Thank you for being present. For this and these I bless you, AMEN!!!

T.A. Burns

"UBUNTU"

If you are a Pastor or Christian Leader . . .

Pastors learn to Heal Themselves
By  JoAnne Viviano
The Columbus Dispatch Friday January 4, 2013 4:40 AM

• Comments: 0

Pastor Rickey Baker was wrapping up a Sunday sermon at New Palestine Church in North Linden when he suddenly felt exhausted and weak, so much so that he eventually left the sanctuary and found a seat in the foyer.

Chest pains prompted him to call for emergency medical service, and he was taken to a hospital, where the father of four learned he had had a massive heart attack.

More than two years later, the 50-year-old Baker has changed his eating habits and slimmed down. He says God was trying to wake him up and set him on a path to ensure he’d be able to keep doing the work he was meant to do.

Baker is not alone in his struggle to stay healthy as the leader of a church congregation. Recent studies indicate that clergy members might sometimes be so focused on taking care of their flock that they neglect their own health.

For example, researchers at Duke University in Durham, N.C., found in 2008 that United Methodist pastors in North Carolina had an obesity rate of about 41 percent, versus the state average of about 29 percent. The pastors also had higher rates of high blood pressure, angina, diabetes, asthma and arthritis.  “They’ve been called to this vocation of serving God, and they see serving others as an important part of that,” said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, the research director of the Duke University Clergy Health Initiative, which includes a two-year intervention program for those involved in the study.

“It’s never clear to them what is God’s work in answering their call and what is taking care of themselves and OK to say no to,” she said. Added to the self-pressure is pressure from congregations that expect pastors to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Proeschold-Bell said. As church budgets shrink and people have less time to volunteer, pastors are responsible for everything from mowing the lawn to planning Bible camps to raising money for a new building.

She said it’s important for church leaders to understand and address the pressures because the cost of clergy health care could bankrupt congregations. The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Methodist Church and the Reformed Church in America are among those that have taken steps in that direction, as have local groups. In Columbus, personal trainer Sidney West of Body By Sid offers a Pastor Fit Program aimed at clergy members.

The Methodist Theological School of Ohio, in Delaware, has overhauled food-service options to encourage more-healthful eating: All-you-can-eat meals and a soft-drink fountain have been eliminated from the dining hall, and fresh fruit is free with any purchase. In vending machines, soda has been replaced with juice, candy bars with granola bars. A goal is to raise awareness when potential clergy members are just beginning on their path, said the Rev. Jay Rundell, president of the school. Along with changing food options, the school has offered more workout space and opportunities for students to take advantage of the campus’ vast outdoor areas. A healthy clergy, he said, can serve as a role model for congregations. “A pastor has the privilege to be in a very central place,” he said. “Most pastors in most congregations have a great deal of influence. With that kind of influence, you could set really good examples.”

Pastors are constantly responding to phone calls, text messages and emails, Baker said. Even when things do get quiet, the members of their congregation are still on their mind.
He and his wife, Carolyn, New Palestine’s co-pastor, joined West’s Pastor Fit Program in September after their son heard a radio ad offering a free 28-day trial.

Mr. Baker said he also changed his eating, exercise and thinking habits, and the couple have continued to work with West. “I’m really looking forward to working out now. My body craves it,” said Mrs. Baker, 48. “It’s been so great for us physically, there’s no way we could walk away.” West said he started his program because “Pastors have instilled so much in us, in me, so it was my time to give back. I realize I have a God-given gift, and I can’t keep it to myself.”

His work has led to a number of other faith-based events, including a “Chain-Breaking” health-and-fitness seminar for clergy this Saturday at New Palestine Church. A similar event for the general public is planned for February. Mr. Baker said the new lifestyle has affected the way he and his wife preach, offering their congregation messages on good health and on moving forward “one step at a time.”

“Being in this program has changed the way I look at life,” he said. “It has changed the way I look at ministry.”
A “Chain-Breaking” seminar for clergy members will feature health screenings and speakers from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at New Palestine Church, 1000 E. Hudson St. For more information, call 614-262-5353 or visit www.bodybysid.com.
jviviano@dispatch.com
@JoAnneViviano