Spiritual Well Being

What does it mean to be a healthy person? A healthy congregation? A healthy nation? The pastors of the Synod were invited to a half-day event recently to hear about the program of the ELCA to support health and wellness among members and leaders of the ELCA.

The numbers and statistics for clergy and rostered leaders in the ELCA aren’t particularly encouraging; as a group we are beset by an increasing array of troubling commonalties: depression, inactivity (and the accompanying reality of being overweight), isolation, and a general malaise of burn out conditions, now known among those who study these things, as “critical exhaustion”.

Whew, I got depressed just hearing about us! Sadly enough, the statistics suggest that we are only a little bit more of all these things than much of the general public. So, now that we’re all in this together, the big question is, “what does it mean to be healthy together?” I invite you to check out the web site, www.elcaforwellness.org, where a number of resources are being provided for all of us to do a bit of a health check, the Wellness Wheel (center) is one of those resources.

As the body of Christ, we have the privilege of being joined together forever connected to one another by the love of God. We also have the gracious God given task of caring for one another, and for the world around us. As you plan your Fall schedule of activities and begin to establish the rhythms that will punctuate your life in upcoming weeks and months, I encourage you take a look at the wholeness wheel below … how’s your balance? Are there signs of life and growth in each of the areas? Is there one area that needs watering more than the others? Have you ever thought about the fact that whole Body of Christ needs each member to be healthy in order for the Body to be healthy?

The wellness program reminds us that we are the center of the wheel — each of us is a new creation through baptism and a member of the body of Christ. Spiritual health surrounds, contains and supports us through faith and our relationship with God. Within the wheel are the individual aspects of wellness — physical, emotional, social/interpersonal, vocational and intellectual. To be whole means to keep these aspects in balance by intentionally nurturing and attending to each. If one area is neglected the whole will be out of balance.

The wheel can be a simple tool to help us think about the health of our relationships, congregation, our community and our nation. This Fall I’m taking to heart several of the suggestions that I heard last week. The one I was most struck by was the recommendation that a piece of time be “scheduled” each month for unscheduled time. Sounds a bit silly but with our fast and furious calendaring sometimes this vital element of spiritual and emotional rejuvenation gets lost in the busyness of our days. Our spirits and psyches need Sabbath time, which is not filled with plans or pressure.

I encourage you to take 5 minutes now, to think about setting the pace, patterns and priorities of your time for you, for your family life, for your overall spiritual well being. In Christ, we have the chance to be made new. Let’s find space to do that together! What’s one healthy choice you can make to strengthen the Body of Christ today?

Walking with you, in love, renewed by the covenant of our baptism,

Pastor Janet