October is Clergy Appreciation Month
To mark Clergy Appreciation Month, we feature an outreach program by the Parish of Shediac, which, over several years, has rented and then gifted the use of a summer cottage to a clergy family in the diocese.
The recipient has the use of a waterfront cottage on Shediac Bay for one week. Such a cottage rental could easily go for $2,000, out of reach for most clergy.
“If it can be of value, then we want it to be a blessing,” said the Ven. Brent Ham, rector of the parish. “That’s the intention. It’s a gift from the Parish of Shediac to go to clergy who can use it and appreciate it.”
And it comes with no obligations, and no expectation of the clergy taking a service in the Parish.
“There’s no strings attached,” he said. “It’s for us to give to a clergy family for relaxation and rejuvenation.”
The cottage sits on land leased from the Parish, and has something of a history with the Parish. Located at 78 Chandler Road, Shediac Cape, it has three bedrooms and a large deck, and is just down the lane from St. Martin in-the-Woods Anglican Church.
It was built in 1951 for the Rev. Canon Sydenham Lindsay and his wife, Millicent. Sydenham served in Quebec, but Millicent’s great-grandfather, William Hanington, was a founder of Shediac.
This year’s recipient was the Rev. Mike Caines and his family from the Parish of the Nerepis & St. John.
Earlier this year, Mike was checking email when the bishop’s update arrived. In it was the offer of the Shediac cottage.
“I felt it was time-sensitive,” said Mike. “Normally I would check with Anna first, but…”
So the Caines family was given the week at the cottage, which worked out to be a very needed and unexpected blessing for Mike.
A beloved deacon in his parish, the Rev. Eleanor Dryden, had died tragically after an accident, and the funeral was the following week.
“We were there at the cottage in between,” said Mike. “It gave me a chance to plan and to grieve. It helped to get away to plan the biggest funeral I’ve ever had to do.”
Eastern New Brunswick was not very familiar to Mike, so the family had fun exploring the Moncton Zoo, the beach and the town of Shediac. They ate lobster and Mike had what he described as “the best mocha of my life” at a café ironically named Eleanor’s.
“We’re very grateful to the Parish of Shediac,” said Mike. “It’s very generous of them. It can’t get any better than access to a waterfront cottage for free.”
Helpful tips on how to mark Clergy Appreciation Month
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
Whether it was Hallmark or some other entity that invented Clergy Appreciation Month, it’s still a great idea. Who doesn’t like to be appreciated?
There is good reason to appreciate our clergy. Let’s not forget that they are gifts from God to the church (Ephesians 4:11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers…). Their career is not just a job, not merely a role, it is a calling from God that permeates every part of their lives.
As such, that “career” can and does take over. That makes appreciation all the more vital to their wellbeing.
How can we show appreciation? Here are some suggestions from Cheryl Ann Beals and the Baptists of Atlantic Canada
• Ask your pastor – Did you get your Sabbath/days off this week?
• Encourage your pastor to take care of physical health by exercising and going for walks.
• Expect and encourage the pastor to take his/her full allotment of vacation time each year and to not return from vacation to perform funerals, etc. whenever possible. Help the pastor arrange for pastoral care coverage while he/she is on vacation.
• Encourage your pastor in their self-care and soul-care.
• Avoid scheduling church meetings or activities requiring the pastor’s presence more than two nights a week.
• Your pastor is a spiritual leader and needs time to be with God.
• Remember important milestones and dates in the life of your pastor and family.
• Remember that the way we treat our spiritual leaders reflects on our love and obedience to God.
• Celebrate Pastor Appreciation Month – Pick a Sunday in October and thank them publicly!
Photo captions
Photos 1, 2 and 3 show images of the cottage and surrounding area on Shediac Bay. Mike Caines photos
4. A selection of greeting cards for clergy, taken at a Target store in San Diego. McKnight photo