The 'Good Old Days' and the Unpaid Labor of Women

Most of what we consider 'The Good Old Days' of the American Church relied heavily on the unpaid labor of women.

The American Church was able to get away with it for as long as it did because women had so few options for vocations and financial independence.

Even though most families with children now need at least two incomes to cover basic living expenses, churches frequently bemoan how families aren't as involved and parents don't volunteer as much as in the days when a single income could support a family with children.

The branches of the White American Church which frequently seem to be most 'thriving' in family participation are often those which shame women for working outside the home, and/ or for having interests and hobbies outside their families and church groups.

Meanwhile, 50 years after U.S. women won basic financial civil rights, even moderate mainline churches are often still reticent to pay women church professionals equally to their male counterparts--as pastors or otherwise. Many congregations still feel that a woman pastor is not a 'real' pastor and should not be hired for a full-time role unless a male candidate is not available.

Never Give Up

 "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever give up."

(Winston Churchill)

Sometimes I get discouraged

at the things I haven't accomplished yet;

at the to-do list that hardly seems to budge;

at all the writing projects yet to be published;

the music compositions yet to be polished;

the artwork I can't quite find time

to get back to the studio to finish;

the state of my house on any given day;

the never-ending dishes and laundry;

the clothes in need of mending;

the car repairs beyond my budget;

the stack of bills needing to be paid;

the long search for a full-time call

that will allow me to use my gifts,

feed my family, and also

to spend time with them;

the dreams and aspirations

on the back burner

for now.

It would be easy to look at my life and say,

'I am not a success.'

And yet,

Everything I've accomplished,

especially these last eight years:

Everything I've written,

Every community project I've done,

Every bit of progress I have made,

I did without an office of my own;

I did without even a laptop to myself;

I did without a secretary;

I did as a solo parent of 4;

I did living in or near poverty;

I did juggling multiple jobs;

I did living in low-income housing;

I did working overnights on call;

I did during a damn pandemic.

Given all that,

On the whole,

All things considered,

Things could be better;

But,

Perhaps I'm not

doing all that badly.

I know I'm doing

the best I can for now,

and yet

I look forward

to the day

when I am not held back

by so many obstacles

that shouldn't need

to be there at all.

Here's to All the Clergy Mamas

Here's to all the Clergy Mamas

who not only
planned, preached, and led
Lent, Holy Week, and Easter

but also, more than likely,
planned and prepared
all the holiday celebrations
at home, too:

the Easter dinner and
the Easter outfits and
the Easter egg hunts and
the Easter baskets and
the Easter bunny 'magic'
(like moms usually do)

and,
who likely still did all
the cooking, cleaning and parenting
the laundry and dishes
the shopping and scheduling
and maybe even
tending a sick child or two
(like they usually do)

throughout these long days
of Lent, Holy Week, and Easter

it's quite similar,
after all,
no matter the season
or the holiday

It's well known by now
that Clergy Women
can do anything and everything
that Clergy Men can do

even at half their pay
even with half the respect
even when needing
to be their own secretaries
even with the full weight
of the housework at home, too.

The world seems to get a bit better
with each generation
a bit more equitable
and surely some notable exceptions
here and there,
as some will boast;
but on the whole,
we're not there yet...

So here's to the Clergy Mamas
who do all that they do

Christ has died, Christ is risen
once again and every year

And may you, Clergy Mamas,
when the holiday frenzy is over
find a moment
of rest.

(c)2024 Le Anne Clausen de Montes

Rev. Le Anne Clausen de Montes is a pastor, parent, poet, and creator of Clergy Mamas International and Clergy Parents of Children with Special Needs. She has served congregations in the PC(USA), UCC, ELCA and UMC and is active in ecumenical and interfaith cooperation through the Iowa Faith Leadership Network and Center for Faith and Peacemaking. Prior to seminary and parenting, she was an international human rights worker who helped to investigate the Abu Ghraib scandal; trained hundreds of international volunteers for human rights documentation and reporting and nonviolent direct intervention; and was an assistant program developer for the first Arabic-speaking women's crisis center in the Middle East. During seminary, she was a Prisoner of Conscience in a maximum-security federal facility for her nonviolent protest of the use of torture. She continues to be active in multiple efforts to promote equity and inclusion at home in the North Iowa area of the United States.

Why Is There a Clergy Shortage?

 Why Is There a Clergy Shortage?

In the past 50 years (1974-2024) of your congregation:

Add up all the complete (12 months) years your congregation had a full time woman pastor:

(If your congregation employed more than one ordained woman pastor full time at the same time, count both, for full years of service only.

Add up all the complete years your congregation employed an LGBTQIA+ pastor full time:

Add up all the complete years your congregation employed a full time Clergyperson of Color:

Add up all the complete years your congregation employed a full time pastor with one or more disabilities:

Add up all the complete years your congregation employed a pastor full time whose first language was something other than English:

Add these numbers together and subtract from 50.

For years and years, God sent plenty of faithful servants, but they were turned away and rejected. Many who were called to serve a congregation were pushed out a short time later.

And now there are so few left.