[The Care for Clergy in Difficult Calls Writing Project press release] The Episcopal Women’s Caucus and the Network of Episcopal Clergy Association have formed a partnership to develop The Care for Clergy in Difficult Calls Writing Project.

Conjointly, we have asked a series of individuals in and outside the Episcopal Church to share their view in order to identify the systemic issues involved in challenging calls. This project developed following  a watershed moment when in January 2014 the Diocese of Newark passed a resolution seeking that their bishop appoint a task force to explore dignity of work issues (relating to workplace bullying) in relation to clergy.

The first essay “Confronting Clergy-Congregational Conflict,” by Donald V. Romanik, president of the Episcopal Church Foundation, is here.

Our project was to ask a host of writers to address the challenge of challenging calls and the issue of workplace bullying. While the view in the first essay is the author’s own and we acknowledge that no one essay will be able to identify all the issues involved, our hope is that in and through the collection of pieces we might support what has begun locally in the Diocese of Newark and more importantly, further the conversation in the wider Episcopal Church.