Last Saturday, the Rev. Bartholomew Orr, senior pastor of Brown Missionary Baptist Church, preached at three funerals.

He’s preached at 56 funerals in 2023 alone.

On Tuesday, Orr, along with other pastors and an expert on mental health, spoke to a room of about 400 about the toll that pastoral leadership can take on a person, especially after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic caused increased isolation, death and fear.

“Think about what you’ve gone through all week long: Death, family issues. Take that and multiply it by 14,000, because as a pastor we carry that weight of just everybody on our shoulders,” Orr said.

Jessica Mays-Jones, Grace Counseling and Consulting, speaks as Pastor Bartholomew Orr, senior pastor at Brown Missionary Baptist Church, listens during a panel discussion on pastors’ mental health during the Pastors and Ministers Revival Luncheon at Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Southaven, Miss., on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.

Orr’s annual luncheon for pastors, held Tuesday, included a panel discussion about mental health concerns for pastors.

While pastoring has always been a challenging occupation, data shows the situation has grown even more difficult after the height of COVID-19.

In a survey of 345 pastors in 27 countries, Faithlife Corporation found in 2021 that 12% of those pastors had considered suicide in the past year. And, a 2022 survey from Lifeway Research found 18% of U.S. Protestant pastors deal with depression to some degree.

A look at historical data by Barna found that feelings of loneliness and isolation have increased among U.S. Protestant senior pastors since 2015 when 42% of pastors said they either frequently (14%) or sometimes (28%) felt this way. In 2023, 65% of pastors reported feelings of loneliness and isolation, with 18% admitting these feelings occur frequently, Barna found.

A panel discussion on pastors’ mental health is held during the Pastors and Ministers Revival Luncheon at Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Southaven, Miss., on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.

Jessica Mays-Jones, one of the panelists who works with Grace Counseling and Consulting, said the pandemic shined a light on things churches have before tried to “sweep under the rug.”

“We didn’t address mental health as much within the church,” she said.

But then both pastors and congregants went through “pandemic fatigue,” Orr said.

For Orr, rest includes traveling out of the country in order to fully disengage from work.

More: Shelby County Division of Corrections holds first ever faith-based conference inside jail

That self-care, finding “what fills your cup,” is important, Mays-Jones said, whether that is reading a book, going on vacation or spending time alone.

“You all are doing so much for so many people day in, day out,” she said. “We can’t pour from an empty cup. I’m here to tell you, self-care is not selfish.”

It’s especially important to get together with other pastors who understand those difficult experiences, Orr said, praying and socializing together.

Pastor Patrick Conrad, senior pastor at Compel Church, speaks during a panel discussion on pastors’ mental health during the Pastors and Ministers Revival Luncheon at Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Southaven, Miss., on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.

The Rev. Patrick Conrad, senior pastor of Compel Church, said he can’t imagine what Orr goes through considering the larger size of Orr’s congregation, which consists of thousands of people across two Southaven campuses.

At his church, they learned how to care for people’s spiritual, physical and mental needs differently when unable to meet in person during the pandemic. Some of what they learned has continued even though they can meet again in person, such as being part of a “church united” network and continuing to offer online services.

“It was just a way to show the community we’re not going anywhere. Even if you can’t attend church and church looks different when you do show up, the church, big C church, is still here,” Conrad said.Katherine Burgess covers government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: After COVID-19, Memphis-area pastors talk mental health challenges

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