![]() I can't tell you how many pastors leave ministry or even commit suicide or die in the pulpit. WESLEY: So the congregation was very open and accepting, and I think they saw the long-term benefit of giving breaks and rest as opposed to burning a pastor out. But strangely, the message resonated with so many members who wished they were in a position to take that kind of time off and rest as well. WESLEY: So, you know, I was afraid to share. ![]() What happens if they're all right without me? What if they find out, yeah, you know, we really don't need this guy? If I'm gone, what happens if the church doesn't survive without me? What happens if membership goes down? And let's be honest, what happens if people stop giving and then the budget's affected and then we've got to start laying off? I was the scared one, thinking to myself one of two things would happen. WESLEY: You know, I think they were more willing than I was. Well, how did your congregation react when you first said, hey, I need some time off? And I began to wonder, why is this becoming so hard when it was so natural? And why am I not enjoying it anymore? And that just began a journey of self-reflection of kind of realizing I don't feel as close to the God I talk about as I want to be.ĬHANG: Yeah. Shift the movements around and cross my fingers and pray that no one would hear something they already heard that sermon writing would start on Tuesday and by Saturday, I still had nothing on the page. I reached the point where, sadly, Ailsa, I was picking up old sermons and trying to find a way to give them new titles and. And in the sermonic field, as a pastor, there's a lot of creativity required of you. One was starting to lose that joy and that energy for something that I loved. There are a few signature moments that let me know something was a little bit off. WESLEY: Well, I think it began probably a year before announcing the sabbatical. So may I ask, when did you start to feel this distance? Like, what did that feel like? And as we just heard, you said that you felt so distant from God that one of the greatest mistakes of pastoring is to think that because you work for God, you are close to God. You know, you've been preaching for 30 years. Glad to be on with you all.ĬHANG: Well, we're really glad to have you on. Reverend Wesley joins us now to tell us about what the last year has been like for him. And I need you to know, secondly, I feel very distant from God.ĬHANG: Little did Reverend Wesley know he had accidentally scheduled his sabbatical to start just as a global pandemic was picking up steam. This ain't nothing but intermission, baby. Well, Reverend Howard-John Wesley is the senior pastor of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va. At some point, we all need a break or a sabbatical, you know, time to recharge our batteries, maybe think about a different way to approach life. Please be respectful of owner privacy.No profession is immune from burnout. Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. The congregation dates to 1803, when it held meetings in the homes of its members or along the banks of the Potomac River. A hospital during the Civil War, the Alfred Street Baptist Church building has been in continuous use for religious purposes since 1855. Its library was one of the first open to African Americans. The church’s educational branch was organized by 1820 to provide religious and secular instruction for both children and adult African Americans, despite legal restrictions on such activities. Its 1880s façade is reminiscent of the Romanesque Revival, and it is highly likely that black craftsmen designed and built it. ![]() The church is home to the oldest African American congregation in the city of Alexandria and one of the oldest in the Washington area. ![]()
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