Hollering for Change: Self-care and the “ministry of rest”

Sept. 20, 2023 | SEVERNA PARK, Md. (UM News)

The Rev. Dr. Tori Butler (right) speaks with the Rev. Martha Orphe who contracted sarcoidosis from breathing contaminated air while cleaning out dozens of churches after Hurricane Katrina. Zoom video courtesy of the Rev. Butler via YouTube.

Hollering for Change is the name of a series of commentaries by The Rev. Dr. Tori Butler for United Methodist News. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

In this episode of “Hollering for Change,” the Rev. Martha Orphe, a United Methodist clergywoman on incapacity leave from the Louisiana Conference, shares with Rev. Dr. Tori Butler how prioritizing her ministry over her wellbeing led to a serious health condition. Orphe contracted sarcoidosis from breathing contaminated air while cleaning out dozens of churches after Hurricane Katrina.

Read related report on the Black Clergywomen of The United Methodist Church caucus gathering in Washington July 31-Aug. 2, Attendees of Black clergywomen’s event encouraged to ‘Be You’

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Sunrise behind the cross at Belin Memorial United Luke 24:5 Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. Austin Bond Photography. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News. Austin Bond Photography. Taken January 5, 2017. See more cross photos at www.facebook.com/AustinBondPhotography. Please email Austin at austinebond@yahoo.com to use photo, and send him a link or copy of the final project that features his credited photo.

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Download art for Lent and Easter from United Methodist to share on social media.

Social Concerns

Cheryl Lowe (left) and Andrea Gauldin-Rubio, both United Methodists, hold their signs based on Scripture and the teachings of John Wesley at the Hands Off! rally on April 5 outside the courthouse in Waynesville, North Carolina. They were among many United Methodists who used their lunchtime during the nearby Peace Conference to attend the nonviolent rally decrying government overreach. Lowe is a member of Mt. Pleasant United Methodist in McLeansville, N.C., and Gauldin-Rubio is the director of Christian education at Bunker Hill United Methodist Church in Kernersville, N.C. Photo by Heather Hahn, UM News.

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The John Henry Ensemble, led by the Rev. John Henry on trombone (left), plays a jazz concert on the evening of April 5 during the Peace Conference in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Henry, a United Methodist pastor and director of the music program at A&T University in Greensboro, N.C., also sang and played trombone during the conference’s worship service. Photo by Crystal Caviness, United Methodist Communications.

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A United Methodist Peace Conference drew some 200 clergy and laity to discuss breaking down national divisions. Some joined a Hands Off! rally that drew a cross-section of people.

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