Priests and Presvyteres Attend to Their Own Marriages: Clergy Couples Attend Inaugural Wellness Retreat

May 29, 2007

His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos (center) is surrounded by the Priests and Presvyteres from the Metropolis of San Francisco who participated in this inaugural Clergy Couples' Wellness Retreat.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Twenty-seven clergy couples from throughout the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco met May 6 - 8, 2007 at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California for a first-of-its-kind Clergy Couples' Wellness Retreat.  The retreat was offered under the auspices of the newly established Metropolis of San Francisco Family Wellness Center, which is part of the vision shared by His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos at his enthronement in April 2005.  The mission of the Family Wellness Center also includes programming specifically designed for clergy and their families, including: continuing education for clergy, clergy marriage enrichment programs, and ministering to the children of clergy.  These programs are being designed to strengthen clergy marriages and families so they can better serve the needs of their parishes. 

Before a priest can attend to the needs of his parishioners, he must first attend to the needs of his marriage.  According to the retreat's organizing committee, the purpose of the retreat was to be a refresher course in making marriage a priority. "As clergy are responsible for fostering loving relationships within the parish community, so must attention be directed toward nurturing healthy marriages in each and every clergy family," stated organizing committee member Presvytera Donna Pappas who, along with her husband, Fr. James Pappas leads the Orthodox Marriage Encounter ministry. The retreat was also a time for priests and presvyteres to share needed time together as a couple. 

The retreat was led by Dr. Steven Muse, Director of the Pastoral Counselor Training Program at the Pastoral Institute in Columbus, Georgia.   A psychologist and Orthodox Christian, Dr. Muse is also a specialist in ministering to clergy in crisis.

The Theme of Dr. Muse's presentation was "Marriage as a Spiritual Path: a Way in the World."  He presented marriage as a way of encountering Christ, a vehicle of salvation, and a protection against the evils and temptations we face in the world.  Presentation topics included "Eucharist: A Marriage of Heaven and Earth," clergy in crisis, clergy burnout and prevention, divorce trends and cautions, addiction, sleep deprivation and other challenges and opportunities of being a married couple and servants of Christ.  

Dr. Muse also led couples in challenging and thought-provoking exercises that included teaching couples about listening, promoting intimacy, and relating joy to meeting the world's needs.  There was even an activity that taught couples how to argue in ways that build up marriage rather than those that tend to tear it down. 

Metroplitan Gerasimos was in attendance at this retreat, spending time in fellowship and engaging his clergy in conversations on issues that clergy families face today. 

The retreat was organized by Fr. Demetrios Earl Cantos, Chancellor of the Metropolis; Fr. James and Presvytera Donna Pappas - St.George, Fresno, CA; Fr. Theodore Dorrance - St. John the Baptist, Beaverton, OR;  Fr. John Hondros - St. John the Baptist, Las Vegas, NV; Presvytera Eleftheria Dogias - Sts. Constantine and Helen, Honolulu, HI; and Presvytera Pat Tsagalakis - Holy Apostles, Shoreline, WA.