{"id":8114,"date":"2006-01-13T19:02:13","date_gmt":"2006-01-14T00:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=8114"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:29:33","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:29:33","slug":"midwinter-to-focus-on-healthier-pastor-lifestyles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/01\/13\/midwinter-to-focus-on-healthier-pastor-lifestyles\/","title":{"rendered":"Midwinter to Focus on Healthier Pastor Lifestyles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CHICAGO, IL (January 13, 2006)  &#8211; Pastors of local congregations are much more  likely to die of heart disease and suffer depression than the members of  their churches. That is the finding of several studies and the reason  Galter LifeCenter, a Covenant-operated health facility in Chicago, is  taking a multi-pronged approach for helping pastors to follow a  healthier lifestyle.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>This year, the LifeCenter is making a stronger push to have pastors take  advantage of health screenings during the Midwinter Conference January  30 through February 3, says Jonathan Lind, the executive director. The  entire conference is focusing on issues of faith and health. As part of  that emphasis, LifeCenter staff along with Mary Chase-Ziolek, a North  Park University professor, will lead a workshop to help make the connection.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the conference, the LifeCenter also is studying the lifestyles of  pastors and desires to work with congregations to develop better health  habits for ministers, says Lind.<\/p>\n<p>Pastors&#8217; health has been declining dramatically since the 1950s when  studies found ministers to be among the healthiest professionals,  experiencing lower disease rates and longer life spans. Later studies  beginning in 1983 found Protestant clergy to have the highest overall  work-related stress of any religious professional and one of the highest  risks of heart disease of any profession.<\/p>\n<p>The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America discovered recently that  their typical pastor had the following profile:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A 51-year-old male with symptoms of depression<\/li>\n<li>High blood pressure and overweight with heightened risk of heart  disease and other illnesses<\/li>\n<li>Works 60-70 hours a week in a sedentary job, lacking physical  exercise and reporting considerable work-related stress<\/li>\n<li>Married with three children, one of whom expresses interest in  following their father into full-time ministry; the pastor, however,  expresses little enthusiasm for encouraging a child to do so<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Another national survey by Pulpit and Pew, a research project on  pastoral leadership based at Duke Divinity School, found that 76 per  cent of clergy were either overweight or obese, compared to 61 per cent  of the general population.<\/p>\n<p>The results are repeated across denominations. &#8220;Doctrinal and  theological differences aside, North American churches have in common  not only the cross and a love of Christ, but also a pastorate whose  health is fast becoming cause for concern,&#8221; the report states.<\/p>\n<p>Several social factors have contributed to the decline in health, says  Dr. Gwen Halaas, who has studied pastors&#8217; health and was quoted in a  2002 article in <em>Divinity<\/em> magazine, a publication of the Duke  University Divinity School:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fewer volunteers at churches because women who once stayed home and  helped carry out the daily tasks of running a church are now working<\/li>\n<li>Pastors now do more counseling and there is increasing demand for  this service<\/li>\n<li>Clergy salaries have not kept pace with other professions and  respect for ministers has declined<\/li>\n<li>Clergy lived closer to home and would walk home, where they would  eat a healthy lunch and dinner. &#8220;Now it&#8217;s a minister who gets up in the  morning and goes all day, and if they get a chance to eat at all, it&#8217;s  fast food, and if they&#8217;re not sitting in their office, they&#8217;re in the  car driving somewhere.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;Basically, it&#8217;s become a more difficult job with fewer rewards,&#8221; said  Halaas. &#8220;And all those things add to stress and take a toll on health.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Covenant ministers were not included in the recent studies, but Lind  says he believes the results would be similar. He also expresses concern  that although Covenant pastors have had access to health screenings at  reduced costs at the conference for at least 15 years, the number taking  advantage of the opportunity has declined.<\/p>\n<p>Lind says he hopes that Galter will become a resource for pastors and  their congregations to help the minister live a healthier lifestyle. The  center still is developing the means to do this. To that end, the center  is making a wellness video that tracks a Covenant pastor through a  program. &#8220;We want to learn a pastor&#8217;s needs,&#8221; Lind says.<\/p>\n<p>Pastors often feel guilty about taking time off to exercise or eat well,  Lind says. They also are afraid their congregations will think their  pastors are not working if seen riding a bike or walking through town in  the middle of the day. &#8220;Pastors don&#8217;t have a 9 to 5 job,&#8221; Lind says.  &#8220;Just because they&#8217;re taking a walk in the middle of the day doesn&#8217;t  mean they&#8217;re not working.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Midwinter health screenings will be held at the conference site the  mornings of January 30 through February 1. If a pastor has not received  a form to register for the screening, they should call John Joyce at  773-878-9936.<\/p>\n<p>The screenings are offered for a $25 contribution, Lind says. The PSA  test, a screening for prostate cancer, will be available for an  additional $25. Other services are available to pastors and spouses at  the center, which is located just north of Covenant offices. To learn  more about those services, including mammograms, prostate exams and EKG  treadmill tests, contact John Joyce.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire?moderation_action=report_form&#038;object_type=post&#038;object_id=8114&#038;width=250&#038;height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHICAGO, IL (January 13, 2006) &#8211; Pastors of local congregations are much more likely to die of heart disease and suffer depression than the members of their churches. That is the finding of several studies and the reason Galter LifeCenter, a Covenant-operated health facility in Chicago, is taking a multi-pronged approach for helping pastors to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Midwinter to Focus on Healthier Pastor Lifestyles - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/01\/13\/midwinter-to-focus-on-healthier-pastor-lifestyles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Midwinter to Focus on Healthier Pastor Lifestyles - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CHICAGO, IL (January 13, 2006) &#8211; Pastors of local congregations are much more likely to die of heart disease and suffer depression than the members of their churches. 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