After working with the Duke Endowment, Duke Divinity School, and two pastors of the North Carolina United Methodist Church…here is our little story.
With a $12 million grant from the Duke Endowment, the Clergy Health Initiative is helping ministers tend to their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. We met with two pastors in North Carolina, followed their day, and talked to them about how the Clergy Health Initiative has helped them in their path.
I was so inspired. I met two wonderful people, pastors in both Elkin, NC and Poplar Branch, NC. Both pastors on opposite sides of the state, one in the Western North Carolina Mountains and the other on the Outer Banks near Kitty Hawk, NC.
Both with a desire, a healthy lifestyle. They both had been experiencing the stresses of being a pastor. The long days, the home visits where food was always offered. Long hours and poor food choices leading to weight gain, increased stress, and lack of focus on their own spiritual health. The Clergy Health Initiative gave them a path, language to bring this problem to the forefront with a plan…a solution.
Reverend Clyde Moore from Elkin, NC began tackling his weight gain issues by cycling. He bought himself a road bike and attends a regular cycling class at the YMCA in Wake Forest, NC. Reverend Renee Edwards began walking, healthy eating, and focused time walking along the boardwalks of the Currituck Sound. Both, took part in this Spirited Life Initiative attending classes and workshops focused on clergy to help with the trials of clergy life. They took part in physical assessments to evaluate their physical health, charting out a plan for success.
Why would the Duke Endowment find the need to invest in the health of clergy in the United Methodist Church of North Carolina? Well…to inspire and create a healthy change in the life of the clergy is investing in the life of the congregation. Sometimes, their is a need to help those who are helping others. Our clergy, our pastors, our spiritual leaders need guidance and direction just like you and I.
If you watch above, this is their stories. To learn more about this initiative, CLICK HERE.