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Kevin McGrane Sr.'s avatar

Amen. Any 12 Step program starts with admitting the problem, and the problem of clergy burnout is a dying church. If we truly are a resurrection people, then what does our resurrection look like?

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Fr. Cathie Caimano's avatar

Amen, amen! I think one of the best things we can do as clergy - and one of the hardest! - is to refuse to keep upholding the institution as it dies. by which I mean - we should the work we're called to as priests, but no more.

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Reinventing Christianity's avatar

TRUTH.

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Michael P Plekon's avatar

Wherever all the people of God are engaged in ministry together, laity and clergy , you see perhaps a smaller local church or faith community. You don't see institutional death because what you see are women and men committed to Jesus and each other AND the neighborhood, the sister and brothers around them. You see faith at work, in love. All life, no death there.

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Fr. Cathie Caimano's avatar

i want to see those places. i see very few today.

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Michael P Plekon's avatar

St. James, Danbury CT and St. Barnabas, Borrego Springs CA. You could also throw in St Philip's, Garrison NY and St Mary's, Ramona CA, among others.

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Fr. Cathie Caimano's avatar

here’s my experience - we start to get at what really needs to be changed in the system, then we back away from it by saying it’s not really happening to us.

i have no doubt there are wonderful, faithful communities within the institutional church. Yet that does not make them immune to the kind of institutional death/resurrection we are going through.

it’s happening to all of us.

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