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The Clergy Wellness Commission
Our History of Wellness
In recent decades,
a series of scandals and crises involving clergy of this Diocese and other
Dioceses, as well as other religious institutions, have greatly troubled
the religious world. Some of these scandals involved sex, others money,
but the problems became significant enough that they could no longer be
ignored. As a result of the scandals in the Diocese of California, Bishop
William E. Swing, with approval from Diocesan Convention, established
the Sexual Ethics Task Force for the Diocese of California.
In their final report,
entitled Diocesan Police and Complaint Procedure Regarding Clergy Sexual
Misconduct, the Sexual Ethics Task Force found that education and
prevention were needed to help clergy avoid and cope with the stress that
often preceded incidents of abuse. Focusing on prevention, the Task Force
encouraged the creation of a Clergy Wellness Commission to support the
needs of clergy and their families in parish congregations.
In 1991, the Rev.
Philip Tierney, then Rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Menlo Park,
sponsored a resolution calling for the creation of such a commission.
The California Diocesan Convention voted unanimously to establish the
Clergy Wellness Commission. In January 1992, Bishop Swing convened the
first Clergy Wellness Commission of the Diocese of California, co-chaired
by the Rev. James Jelinek (now the Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota) and
the Rev. Pamela Lee Cranston.
In 1996 and 1997,
the CWC published the booklet: Clergy Wellness and Mutual Ministry
with basic guidelines and theology for clergy wellness and mutual ministry.
At the Diocesan Convention of October 1997, a resolution was passed reaffirming
the work of the Clergy Wellness Commission and strongly encouraged all
the parishes and missions in this Diocese to study and reflect upon these
guidelines and use them as each congregation deemed appropriate.
The Clergy Wellness
Commission (CWC) is currently chaired by the Rev. Pamela Lee Cranston
and has 18 members. While the CWC is concerned about all people in ministry,
the initial Diocesan mandate asked the CWC to focus its attention first
on parochial clergy (priests and deacons) and their families.
The Clergy Wellness Commission meets every other month, on the 4th Thursday
of the month from 12 pm - 1:30 pm at:
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
114 Montecito Ave.
Oakland, CA 94610-455
(510)834-4314
Clergy Wellness
and Mutual Ministry is available by calling the Clergy Wellness Commission
at (415) 673-5015.
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History | Mission
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© The Clergy Wellness Commission, 1996-2008 |
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