As some of you no doubt know, I was away this past week. I was at a CREDO conference in North Carolina with 22 other priests between the ages of 37 and 54 years old. CREDO conferences are offered to clergy through the Church Pension Fund, and are designed to allow priests to address their health and wellness in a concentrated and deliberate manner, typically grouping clergy by age group. Research shows that clergy have an extremely high level of burnout, and are more likely than those in most other vocations to experience health issues, depression, and a number of other ailments. CREDO is geared towards helping offset those realities. And it tends to work; so much so that the Presbyterians and Church of Christ have adopted and adapted the model for use with their own churches in recent years. It is a wonderful side benefit of our Pension Fund. The Pension Fund covers 90% of the cost for the conference and travel for the priests who attend. CREDO asks the participant to do a fair amount of pre-work around four areas of wellness: physical, financial, vocational, and spiritual. This included getting a physical exam complete with blood work, compiling a personal financial statement and summary of net worth with details on debt (if any), retirement and savings resources, budgets, etc. I asked for and received feedback from 10 parishioners and staff members, who rated various aspects of my ministry and vocation; the responses were compiled and shared with me during the week. Once at the conference, there were modules around each of these areas, as well as one on one consultation with experts (Doctors, CPAs, diocesan staffers, etc.). There was even more work done at the conference, as well, but it was interspersed with regular worship, time for introspection and discernment, and quiet. Surprisingly, for a seven day conference that went from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm daily, it was a refreshing and renewing experience. This was my second CREDO conference. Clergy are invited to attend CREDO I conference 3-5 years after ordination, and about every 7 years after that, although that transitions to every 10 years beginning next year. The theme for CREDO II is, “Living with Integrity”. Its goal is to help us make sure our life, ministry, health, etc., is done in congruence with our core values, so that we can feel that our lives are lives of integrity. We looked at experiences in our lives that have shaped us and looked for places where we could connect the dots between the various components of being (physical, spiritual, etc.). At the end of the week, what we had worked towards was a Rule of Life that captures what we want and need to do in order to live fully into who God has called each of us to be. I will not share my Rule of Life with you here. It is much too personal. But I will say that it was an immensely helpful

experience, much more so than my first CREDO. It was hard to pull away for a week at a busy time of year, to go without cell phone coverage for a week, and to be away from my family. It was, by the way, decidedly easy to unplug from the political news cycle! I am grateful to the staff and wardens who made it possible for me to get away, and to the Church for the Pension Fund that offers this conference. I did not go to this conference from a place of crisis, personal or otherwise, although it is not uncommon among participants. But, I was tired, not just from post-Matthew stress and catch up, but just in general. CREDO came at the perfect time, even if not the most convenient. I think most of you know that wellness and wholeness is an important part of my teaching. It is lifelong work and helps us all to align our lives with God’s intentions. I hope that you, too, can find the time and space to be introspective and attend to your needs, be they physical, spiritual, financial, vocational, or any other sort. If I can be helpful to you in that process, I stand ready and willing. I still have hopes to offer another Living Compass session, which does a lot of the these things. Thank you for all that you do, and may God bless us all in ways we don’t deserve.

Tom+

Holy God, be in my mind that I might let go of all that diminishes the movement of Your Spirit within me. Discerning God, be in my eyes, that I might see You in the midst of all the busyness that fills my life. Loving God, be in my heart, to those I love, to those with whom I share ministry and to the whole human family. Gracious God, be in that grace-filled silence that lies deep within me, that I might live in Christ as Christ lives in me. Amen.   CREDO Prayer