Conference Agenda

Abstract

Research notes that 43% of Protestant pastors in the US considered leaving full-time ministry in the year prior to the 2022 study (Barna, 2022). The Seventh-day Adventist Church administrators noted this trend and commissioned a study of SDA clergy who left full-time pastoral ministry. This presentation focuses on the research question: When pastors withdraw from full-time ministry, what do these former pastors recall as conditions that led to that outcome?

Methodology

Researchers interviewed 14 participants in person, via Zoom, or phone conference, using an interview guide to direct the conversations. The interviews lasted from 40 minutes to 2 ½ hours. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. The analysis followed the conventions of qualitative coding using thematic analysis and the constant comparative method.

Findings

Study participants shared a number of factors that influenced their decisions to leave pastoral ministry. The themes that emerged included: (1) having ongoing challenges with church members, (2) encountering difficulties with Conference leadership or organizational structure, (3) feeling constrained by traditional approaches to ministry, (4) sensing a lack of caring from administration and church members, (5) having spiritual doubts and doctrinal differences, and (6) lacking the training needed to do their jobs well.

References: https://www.barna.com/research/pastors-quitting-ministry/

Intensive industrial agriculture has been shown to contribute significantly to climate change. Agriculture is also one of the most vulnerable sectors when it comes to the consequences of climate change. Existing research shows poor mental health outcomes amongst industrial farmers, highlighting the burdens of isolation, adverse weather conditions, work stress, and economic insecurity. Outside the industrial agricultural paradigm are growing attempts from agroecological farmers to build healing relationships with the environment and farm sustainably. To date, there has been limited qualitative research into agroecological farmers’ experiences. This study explores what it is like to farm agroecologically. The methodology is Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Analysis of five participants’ semi-structured interviews suggests the following experiential themes: 1) Land work as the right thing to do; 2) The psychological impact of land work; 3) An emotional relationship with the land; 4) The land as a site of connection. The study highlights the emotional intensity of farming agroecologically, in a close and caring relationship with the land. It seeks to inform clinical practice with farmers, highlighting the challenges, as well as therapeutic benefits of land work. It offers implications beyond clinical practice, expanding individualist notions of mental health, towards more ecological and collectivist conceptualisations.

The experience of nature supports mental well-being, however, access to nature is not equal for everyone. Blind and partially sighted (BPS) people are seriously hindered from visiting greenspaces. Since BPS people are more prone to stress, access to nature might be a critical factor in improving their mental well-being—the question is: how and to what extent? In collaboration with the Blind and Partially Sighted Association in Csongrád-Csanád County, we launched "InVisible Green," a co-creative participatory research project to explore: 1) how BPS people experience nature, 2) how nature contributes to their subjective well-being, and 3) what can be done to improve access to nature for them? In the 1.5-year-long process, we conducted 17 semi-structured interviews with BPS people on their experiences in or with nature and organized focus groups on experiencing nature and its benefits for mental well-being. Also, we participated in different outdoor activities as participant observers. Analysis of the interviews, focus groups, field notes, and research diaries reveals nature’s essential role in providing a judgement-free, accepting context in a harsh social matrix. The restorative effect of nature experiences is profound, but it is also highly dependent on the quality of the social interactions that accompany such experiences.