Oh yeah...I can be "off the clock"

One of the primary things that completely caused me to burn out as a clergyman at my last parish was the fact that I was never "off the clock." Even on weekends, I was never really "off the clock." Clergy never get weekends. They occasionally get a day off, but when one lives in a rectory right next to the church building, you either live where you work, or work where you live. In either case, people know where they can find you, and you cannot escape.

Something always came up when normal people would be "off the clock," whether it was last minute obsessing about a sermon, or (more likely), a parishioner calling to want something done or fixed. They always expected it to be done right then and to their satisfaction. Occasionally, this was legitimate, if someone was in the hospital and needed the priest to come by or something like that. I was always more than happy to call on people in the hospital or do some sacramental function. I was a priest; that was what I did.

However, 9 times out of 10, it was usually something that could either wait until Sunday morning or the next regular office day. When it wasn't done or at least done to the parishioner's satisfaction, there was, frankly, hell to pay either right then or at (usually) some future point. So avoid that, I would usually just attempt to do whatever they wanted within reason. I usually rationalized this to myself by saying, "Putting out a brush fire now saves two days of fighting a full blown forest fire later in the week."

I learned, a little too late in the game, that more often than not, crashing my "off the clock hours" was just a power play by some parishioners to try to push me around because they thought they could get away with it. They assumed I was on salary, which meant I served them. While it is true that clergy are called to be servants, parishioners are likewise called to be servants. I found parishioners seldom remembered that part.

Everyone likes to claim servant ministry  but few really want to be treated as a servant. They would much rather be the master and expect clergy to be like Mr. Carson on Downton Abbey, where all they have to do is ring their little bell and the clergy servant appears in coattails to serve up a 7-course meal of pastoral delights. But then, I don't have to worry about this any more.

I'm off the clock.

Bobo did it...

We (or rather I) have a custom in our house when our (my) daughter asks a extremely obvious question about someone like, "Who did that?" or "Who ate the cake?" Usually the answer is either my daughter herself or else someone else in the immediate household.

To irritate my daughter, I will usually respond with, "Bobo!" or "Bobo did it!" I do not know who Bobo is, as it was just a silly name I picked at random one time, and the name just stuck as a one word answer to silly questions. I guess that is until this morning when I happened upon who Bobo is.

It is my daughter's birthday this week, and I was randomly looking up saint days on the site Angels and Saints, which is a good resource. Apparently my daughter's birthday by sheer happenstance (or perhaps the Divine sense of humor) apparently shares a minor feast day with...you guessed it...Saint Bobo.

No, I am not making this up. Read about St. Bobo here. He is apparently the patron saint of cattle. You can't make this stuff up.

St. Bobo of the Bovine.

I guess I know why my daughter likes milk and cheese so much.

It was Bobo.

Thought for the Day

"We must, each of us, be willing to sacrifice our own will, even at a heavy cost. There is no need to sacrifice one’s health or money or to undergo privations, penances, or extraordinary fasts. The sacrifice that is needed is the sacrifice of the will. Each of us must be equally prepared to preach or to cook, to teach or to sweep, to catechize or to pray, to supervise or to obey. Such an attitude shall obtain God’s blessing on us because then we shall be true, faithful disciples and servants. As Samuel said to Saul, “Does the Lord desire holocausts and victims and not rather that the Voice the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices and to hearken rather than to offer the fat of rams.” We are therefore to hearken and generously follow our superior’s voice, for he represents God and the call of duty. Thus we shall achieve the purpose of our vocation, earn many merits, and save our own souls and those of others."

-Don Bosco

Real Weekends

Having been ordained clergy for so many years, I am in the middle of my first real weekend in years. Two consecutive days off...in a row...all in the same week. It's like a mini-vacation. Every week!

I don't think most people who have never been clergy or have never been related to clergy really understand the sacrifices that most clergy make. They think the clergy person shows up on Sunday and preaches and whatever and the rest of the week they sit in their office with their feet up. Usually, giving up their Sunday is on top of 40 to 50+ hours spent in the regular week.

By the same token, I don't think clergy realize how screwed up their life is on a weekly scheduling basis. They might get one day off on Monday or Friday. They might get Saturday off, though that is rare in its entirety. Certainly, they work weird evening hours on top of having to work regular office hours in the day.

Be sure to take your Sabbath. It is important.

Back in Action

I am back in action on the blog, now that I am beginning my new life in a new town, with a new house, and a new job. We have decided to move back to Nebraska to be closer to family. So far, it has been a blessing. It was time for a change.