A few thoughts about “volunteering”
Terry, John and Pam at the Ministry Fair in February
In 2024, it’s not news that many churches in Canada are dealing with demographic challenges. Church attendance is no longer a social expectation; congregations are greying and shrinking. A huge cohort of women who, in the mid-twentieth century, mostly stayed home and filled their free time with volunteer work, are now in the workforce. Programs, events, and activities that were central to the experience of prior generations are now much harder to pull off. On top of all this, the COVID-19 pandemic threw community life into upheaval for multiple years, and caused many people to rethink how they were spending their time.
Hence, some of our long-term committed folks have found themselves having to choose between working long hours and tiring themselves out, or possibly seeing beloved community events no longer take place.
Here at All Saints’, some members have brought into our conversations concepts that they’ve seen being discussed in the popular press, often phrased as “volunteer exhaustion” or “volunteer burnout”. If this is something you’re feeling in yourself, or concerned about in others, please know that the parish leadership is very much aware of the problem and does not want any of our beloved people in a state of exhaustion due to church activities!
However, that doesn’t mean that there will never be another announcement asking people to volunteer to do things! For now, at least, All Saints’ is growing, and there are a lot of things we want to do. One of the reasons you hear requests for volunteers is because we want to let the new folks know the ways they can get involved. This is a big part of why we did the “Ministry Fair” in February.
We don’t want people to burn out, and I will always support someone who tells me they have to drop commitments for whatever reason. Ultimately, though, it’s up to folks themselves to set and hold boundaries about what they will and won’t commit to. If we can’t find enough volunteers for an event, maybe that’s an event that we need to take a break from, or let go entirely.
One way of coping with incipient or existing burnout is to take a sabbatical for a number of weeks or months, something a number of parish members have done in recent years, and come back refreshed with renewed energy for ministry.
When you are asked to take on a new volunteer commitment, whether one-time or long term, there are several questions you can ask yourself to help discern whether to accept. How important is it to you that this event or ministry take place? Do your particular gifts and skills fit with what’s needed? Do you get along well with the people you’d be serving with? Would you find the work spiritually refreshing even if it’s physically tiring? Reflecting on these and similar questions can help you decide what volunteer commitments are the best use of your time and energy.
I am tremendously impressed by the dedication and commitment of so many members of this congregation. During my ten years in the Diocese of New Hampshire, I heard Bishop Gene Robinson preach many ordination sermons, and one of the things he said in almost every one of them was, “As a priest, you will get paid to serve alongside people who are working harder and better than you are, on top of their day jobs, for no pay.” I am grateful for every hour of time that so many people give to All Saints’, and I want us all to structure that service for the long term, so that this parish can be thriving for many years to come!
In God’s peace,
Grace+
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