Ministry and Stress: Listening to Anglican Clergy in Wales

Abstract

This study set out to examine the experiences of stress in ministry among a sample of Anglican clergy serving in Wales. Building on recent quantitative studies of work-related psychological health among Anglican clergy in England, the study employed mainly qualitative methods to illustrate eight issues: the clergy’s overall assessment of their present health, their understanding of the characteristics of stress, their assessment of the levels of symptoms of stress within their own lives, their identification of the causes of stress within their experience of ministry, the people on whom they call for support in times of stress, their strategy for and styles of recreation, their assessment of the pastoral care provision available to clergy, and their views on enhancing initial clergy training to equip clergy to cope with stress. Data provided by 73 clergy (10 female and 63 male) portray a group of professionally engaged men and women who are well aware of the stress-related dynamics of their vocation, who are displaying classic signs of work-overload, and who are critical of and resistant to strategies that may confuse the pastoral care of stressed clergy with the accepted management role of the Church’s hierarchy of bishops and archdeacons.