In this episode of our Clergy Burnout series, we’re joined by Dr. Jessica Young Brown, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, author, and consultant to churches and community organizations on mental health, trauma, race and racism, and organizational dynamics.

Co-hosted by Kate Rae Davis, MDiv, and Rose Madrid Swetman, this discussion centers around the warning signs of burnout and the potential impact that addressing burnout - or letting it go unnoticed - can have on pastors and their communities. We discuss practical ways that pastors can foster greater awareness and care for their own physical and mental health, and how congregants can also grow in awareness to step in and support their pastors. 

We hope that this is a space where pastors and clergy will feel seen and known. For those of you who are not pastors but perhaps are part of a faith community or congregation, we hope these conversations will be enlightening and give you a greater understanding and empathy for the leaders in your community, and prompt questions as to how we can support these faithful leaders. 

Each episode, we’re asking our guest to highlight an organization that is doing good work. This week, Dr. Jessica Young Brown is shining a light on Pathways 2 Promise, https://www.pathways2promise.org/ , whose mission is to collaborate with faith, spiritual, and non-spiritual communities to share resources that assess, educate and effect change to welcome, support, engage and include persons with mental illnesses and those who care for them.

Welcome to Season 2 of Transforming Engagement, The Podcast. In this series of episodes, we’re discussing the pressing topic of clergy burnout. With increasing demands on their roles, unrelenting stress, and inadequate support, studies show that one in three pastors is at risk of burnout.

How can we provide better support, training, and care to our clergy to equip and encourage them to stay in their calling? 

In this season, we’re talking with current and former pastors, counselors, authors, and advocates. We’re digging in to learn more about the risk factors that contribute to burnout and how pastors and congregations can recognize the warning signs. We’ll also discuss practical strategies for clergy self-care and ways that congregations can better support the clergy that support them. 

As we continue our conversation about embodying community, we spoke with Coté Soerens, neighborhood pastor from the South Park neighborhood in Seattle, about what it means to belong to a neighborhood, the role of listening and prayer, and unexpected ways to encounter God.

In this conversation about embodied community with Jimmy McGee, CEO and President of Impact Movement, Inc., we dig into the ways in which technology, the pandemic, and a generational shift are affecting the way we socialize with our communities. From sitting around a pot of gumbo in New Orleans with cousins to connecting over Zoom, join us as we consider how the elements of an embodiment are evolving.

We connected with psychiatrist and author Curt Thompson, MD, on a Zoom call as we were all navigating the Omicron surge. As we talked about what an embodied community means, we could not escape the context of the COVID19 pandemic. This conversation is full of longing to be in the physical presence of one another, the challenges that arise as we begin to re-enter into community with others, and how we can approach the next season with open ears and hearts, ready to listen and engage with one another.

Listen as the founders, Kate Rae Davis, MDiv and Dr. J. Derek McNeil, discuss the need for healing in our communities and why we need to transform the ways in which we engage one another to experience true healing. We invite you to join us as we embark on this journey together.