There’s widespread awareness of the need to promote the well-being of those on the front lines supporting community health. Understandably, these conversations typically focus on emergency department doctors and nurses, first responders, youth mental health providers, and other medical professionals in high-stress roles. 

Few of us think about how faith leaders are right there working alongside them. In times of individual, household, and community crises, faith leaders are on call in hospitals and shelters. They come to our homes, and they open up their own – sometimes to provide strength for healing, sometimes to console, sometimes to provide direction. Regardless of our faith, they can offer reassurance and perspective. 

Their role driving critical relief and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene has reminded us all that we shouldn’t think too narrowly about the services they provide. Faith leaders help people not just with spiritual wounds, but with physical ones, too. Because service to those in need is a fundamental tenet in most faith traditions, faith-based organizations are indispensable partners in the work to promote community health and well-being. In towns across the state, faith leaders have been organizing food drives and orchestrating volunteer efforts to help fellow North Carolinians whose lives have been disrupted by the storm. In the western counties where Helene hit hardest, they were (and still are) on the ground wielding chainsaws, clearing debris, gathering resources for people in need, and supporting families who’ve lost homes or loved ones. Pastor David led the charge to raise more than $32,000 and hundreds of volunteer hours to help neighbors rebuild following the storm – and that’s just the work of one faith leader. Extensive reporting by the New York Times and other outlets has spotlighted the many responsibilities the faith community has taken on to help our state heal from the wreckage.

Offering daily comfort to individuals at their most vulnerable is emotionally and physically taxing work, to say the least. Like other frontline workers, faith leaders are also susceptible to burnout, and that can take a toll on their long-term capacity to serve.

I started thinking about the parallels between health care professionals and faith leaders after reading Dr. Clark Gaither’s book, Reignite. Gaither, currently serving as medical director for the North Carolina Physicians Health Program, shares his personal story of the burnout he experienced as a family physician and offers no-nonsense strategies on how professionals – in all fields, not just medicine – can get re-energized by their work.

Faith-based organizations share Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina's (Blue Cross NC) vision of a healthier North Carolina, and I help lead efforts to enhance our collaborations with them. So, it’s not too surprising that Dr. Gaither’s writing began to inform my perspective.

Research on pastor burnout in Protestant churches shows job satisfaction plunged 20% between 2015 and 2022. In that same time period, the percentage of Protestant pastors experiencing burnout soared 400%; 4 in 10 are now at high risk. In September 2022, nearly half reported that they had seriously considered quitting the ministry in the past year. 

This study doesn’t even address similar challenges among imams, rabbis, priests, and other faith leaders, all of whom are vital to the communities they serve. An Associated Press article on clergy burnout cites research showing that 1 in 3 leaders of Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Islam, and Christianity – experience traumatic stress. At the height of the pandemic, thought leaders for the Institute for Jewish Spirituality shared concerns about how the added emotional and professional stresses could drive rabbis away from congregational life. The Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research published a primer on how “compassion fatigue” can leave “once active members of the community slowly withdrawing, not just from their volunteerism, but from all community activities.”

Just recently, Blue Cross NC sponsored an NC Chamber Business Summit on Mental Health, where a leader from Corporate Chaplains of America joined several other panelists to talk about the challenges of navigating mental health in the workplace. His presence reflected how this is a growing professional concern – one whose impact will ripple outward, affecting communities across the state.

If even a fraction of faith leaders leaves the profession, North Carolina stands to lose a lot of boots-on-the-ground expertise on food security, well-being, child care services, and other community health challenges at the local level. Research conducted by Partners for Sacred Places has measured the economic and civic value faith-based organizations bring to rural communities, and the findings illustrate the variety of ways compassion fatigue could have a significant impact, especially in smaller towns. 

That’s why the Blue Cross NC Faith-Based Initiatives team has started building out a multi-pronged strategy to support these leaders and the work they do.

Last year, Blue Cross NC hosted our first Clergy Self-Care Day, bringing together roughly 30 leaders from different faiths and communities across Durham, Johnston, and Wake counties. After a few moments of interfaith prayer and reflection, the programming offered a variety of resources to support mind and body:

• Guidance on preventing and treating burnout – presented by Dr. Gaither himself!
• Mindfulness training, led by a certified integrative health and wellness coach.
• Discussion and dialogue about shared experiences with eight co-authors of the book Suffering While Serving.
• Body composition analysis and chair massages to remind participants of the importance of monitoring physical health.
• Bingo to provide fun and promote social connection. Hosted by representatives from our nearby Blue Cross NC Center, the games highlighted the sort of community programming – and opportunities for connection – we offer in these community spaces throughout the year.

Far from being a one-off event, this “day of renewal” reflects our broader commitment to growing our support. We’re already planning our second installment, and other activities throughout the year enhance the impact and raise the visibility of the work faith leaders do to promote health and well-being in their communities:

• We partner with them on social isolation mitigation programming, which we deliver during those occasions when people naturally gather at faith-based organizations, such as lunches, dinners, and theological study / discussion groups.
• To help reduce the community health impact of substance use disorders, we – in collaboration with public health officials – provide harm reduction supplies and educational materials to faith-based organizations.
• In partnership with Soul Shop for Black Churches, and in collaboration with public health officials, we trained faith leaders in suicide prevention skills. This initial cohort – strategically chosen to represent seven different areas in the state with limited access to mental health care – are now certified to lead workshops addressing suicide and mental health stigma.

These and other initiatives will empower and energize faith leaders to tackle today’s challenges and help communities in new ways.

Faith leaders serve us, our loved ones, and our communities in ways that are far more varied than many of us acknowledge. Unfolding in public and private spaces alike, their work really knows no boundaries. They must be ready to adapt to situations on the fly. They heal both soul and body. 

And sometimes they need our help to succeed.

If you’ve been affected and need help – or if you’re looking for an opportunity to contribute – here’s a partial list of faith-based organizations we’ve collaborated with at different points in time, which are doing excellent work on the ground:

• First United Methodist Church Waynesville (Haywood County)
• Reconciliation House (Yancey County)
• Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (Buncombe County)
• Just Love (formerly End Overdose in Watauga County)
• North Carolina Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
• Samaritan’s Purse (National)