The Selah Stress Management trial found practices powerful enough to reduce stress symptoms during emotionally charged times.
In 2021, burnout was on the rise for United Methodist Church clergy. The Duke Clergy Health Initiative found that 21% of clergy scored as having high levels of emotional exhaustion. When stress is high, pastors don’t have creative energy for what really matters, like responding to crises and building new ministries.
In the Selah trial, we rigorously tested three stress-reduction practices: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), the Daily Examen, and Stress Proofing. The results showed significant declines in stress symptoms in all three practices. However, MBSR was the only intervention to create statistically significant improvements in Heart Rate Variability (HRV), the measure of the body’s ability to recover in moments of stress, at three months.
Our research indicates that these three practices are scalable, low-cost interventions that help pastors manage the challenges of ministry and alleviate symptoms of stress and anxiety. In addition, both the Daily Examen and MBSR participants reported a deeper sense of spiritual well-being in their ministry—providing them with the bandwidth for what is important.
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SELAH PRACTICES THAT SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH
Loving Kindness Meditation
Loving Kindness Meditation—a component of MBSR—is a therapeutic technique designed to help us meet the strong feelings we have about ourselves and others with compassion. By repeating specific words of loving kindness to ourselves, loved ones, strangers, and even enemies, we ground ourselves in the holy present and embrace "what is" without judgment.
“Often the expectation for clergy is that we are the calm in the center of the storm. Learning practices that help me connect with the calm center and de-stress has been invaluable. I have been sharing them with people in my parish so that they too can better deal with our chaotic world.”
Amy Rio, WNCC UMC pastor