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Clergy of color face unprecedented mental health challenges

Rev. Dante Quick, exits the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens after preaching during a church service on Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Somerset, N.J. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Rev. Dante Quick, receives a present with the picture of former President Barack Obama after preaching during a church service at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens on Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Somerset, N.J. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Rev. Dante Quick, speaks with worshipers after preaching during a church service at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens on Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Somerset, N.J. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Rev. Dante Quick, preaches during a church service at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens on Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Somerset, N.J. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Rev. Dante Quick, greets people as he preaches during a church service at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens on Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Somerset, N.J. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Rev. Dante Quick, applies oil for healing to a woman as he preaches during a church service at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens on Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Somerset, N.J. In Black, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Latino and other communities of color, the church is the sacred village that binds people of faith to their roots, history and traditions. It is natural for congregants to reach out to faith leaders for comfort in times of crisis. But these overwhelming duties, which most pastors are ill-equipped to handle, have led to exhaustion and burnout raising questions about how clergy members can better care for their own mental well-being while helping congregants. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Rev. Dante Quick, preaches during a church service at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens on Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Somerset, N.J. Quick says he copes by taking time for “joy seeking” activities – like a nice restaurant meal, an Anita Baker concert, or joining his mother in watching her favorite TV show. He also now has a personal phone and a church phone “so I can put one down from time to time.” (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Rev. Dante Quick, preaches during a church service at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens on Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Somerset, N.J. Quick said Black clergy face various stressors. But social justice advocacy “brings its own stress,” he said. “Preaching about George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the (psychological) trauma that we have to try to shepherd people of color through requires an intense amount of empathy that wears on one’s spirit.” (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Rev. Dante Quick, preaches during a church service at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens on Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Somerset, N.J. Quick has made Black mental health an area of focus for his Baptist congregation. He has also attended to his own mental health needs and advises his congregants and seminarians to do the same. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Pastor Juliet Liu of Life on the Vine church closes Sunday services with the sign of the cross on May 22, 2022, in Long Grove, IL. (AP Photo/Mark Black) Pastor Juliet Liu of Life on the Vine church speaks with a parishioner prior to services in Long Grove, Ill., on Sunday, May 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Black) Parishioner Pam Sutherland, left, gives Pastor Juliet Liu a hug prior to services at Life on the Vine church in Long Grove, Ill., on Sunday, May 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Black) Pastor Juliet Liu of Life on the Vine church speaks during a congregational meeting in Long Grove, Ill., on Sunday, May 22, 2022. In Black, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Latino and other communities of color, the church is the sacred village that binds people of faith to their roots, history and traditions. It is natural for congregants to reach out to faith leaders for comfort in times of crisis. But these overwhelming duties, which most pastors are ill-equipped to handle, have led to exhaustion and burnout raising questions about how clergy members can better care for their own mental well-being while helping congregants. (AP Photo/Mark Black) Pastor Juliet Liu of Life on the Vine church speaks during a congregational meeting in Long Grove, Ill., on Sunday, May 22, 2022. “Earlier, I thought it was my responsibility to change people’s minds on how racism connects to the gospel. Now I realize I’m not responsible for how white people in my church understand and respond to racial justice. I simply cannot do that work for them.” (AP Photo/Mark Black) Pastor Juliet Liu of Life on the Vine church speaks during a congregational meeting in Long Grove, Ill., on Sunday, May 22, 2022. “For me, it’s not just the pandemic, but also the conversations about race and the anti-Asian hate – it’s all been really rough,” said Liu, whose is of Taiwanese and Vietnamese descent. Her congregation is predominantly white and about 20% Asian American. (AP Photo/Mark Black) Pastor Juliet Liu of Life on the Vine church leads a church service in Long Grove, Ill., on Sunday, May 22, 2022. “As a pastor and as a woman of color, I’ve paid a high emotional price to have conversations with congregants about race,” she said. “None of those conversations feel neutral to me because of who I am.” (AP Photo/Mark Black) Pastor Juliet Liu of Life on the Vine church speaks during a congregational meeting in Long Grove, Ill., on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The strain of having discussions about race and racism led to burnout for Liu, who co-leads Life on the Vine church, a Christian congregation. She is getting ready to start a six-month sabbatical in July. Liu says she is not sure if she will return to ministry. (AP Photo/Mark Black)