Scot – In the United Methodist Church, for full-time appointments, the policy is 30 days of vacation/year with an expectation of 4 Sundays away for vacation as part of those 30 days.
Personally, I take one day off per week for renewal unless there’s a unique need that needs my attention. To help with this, I’ve established a lay hospital visitation team to care for most hospital needs or unexpected surgeries on my “day off.” This has worked quite well.
On another note, I loved your book on “Praying With the Church!” Thanks for this. This will be a good resource for my congregation in helping them tap into the daily office.

When I came to my present appointment one of the leaders asked me what day of the week I would be taking off. I knew God was in this appointment right then and there. In fact, I’ve never served a church that did not insist that I take time off for vacations and days off during the week. The UMC encourages a month including four Sundays (as Robert notes in his comment)and time off for continuing education. Let
me say this too: I was encouraged to take time off even before I got married and was single. I think churches have learned that a rested pastor who takes time to renew his/her body, mind, & soul is much better that one who is tired and worn out. My wife and I also want
“real” vacations with the children: life is too short, we want some good memories.

I moved from a non-profit management setting back into pastoral ministry a little more than two years ago. My present church is financially dependent on an on-site business, of which I am CEO, so the demands on my time are a little more varied than a typical parish minister. I have little hospital work here–it’s an expat church, and most of the retirement aged members go back to the US–so in some ways the time burden evens out. A regular day off is not possible, but I do take most of my generous vacation time (5 weeks) all at once for a visit back to the States. During the year I take some shorter trips as comp time for the days off I don’t take, and so far that’s working pretty well. Just got back from Normandy a few days ago (pics available at the weblink). My prayer is that this wacky system will a) keep me sane in the present post, and b) won’t be repeated in my next church!

As a church planter there were no specific policies on days off/vaction time in place, so we set those up.
-4 weeks of vacation (this does not include a trip to visit my family in which I am still working on my computer, etc.)
-12 Sundays off from teaching in our services (4 of those sundays I’m on vacation anyway, another 4 I like to worship with other church communities, and the other 4 I volunteer in the kid’s ministry).
-I take at least one day off (Mondays) and sometimes an additional day (Saturday).
I have learned that “balance” is a virtually an impossible task, so if I am going to error in investing too much time somewhere I want to error on the side of my family. I have to continually fight against an “it’s up to me” mentality when it comes to ministry. When I run around trying to “do, do, do” because I think that is what will make this new church grow, I not only get worn out quickly, but I fail to realize the most important thing: It is God who is doing this work.

Wow, in my Methodist church I’ve never seen a pastor take a month of vacation.
In my corporate life, a month of vacation was almost unheard of. In the rat race I was in, if your job can run without you for one month, then it can probably run without you the other eleven. And while you’re on vacation you had better be checking that email and taking calls when someone tracks you down.
I think the two are roughly equal. Pastors are on call 24×7 and (big surprise to me!) the politics are much rougher than in the business world. But the pressure for results and sheer fear for your job is so much greater in corporations. I’ve seen managers crying, others almost ready to have heart attacks.
Unfortunately, in this country we worship the dog-eat-dog rich-get-richer unrestrained free market. God and neighbor be d****ed, I’ve got money to make and workers to make it for me.

Not enough. 2 weeks and 2 Sundays.

Time off has been very tricky for me, as we live in intentional community. I have space, but it is rarely completely isolated. I generally get half a weekday off (with most Saturdays off). As for vacation, the biggest challenge is finances. At this stage I do not get paid for pastoring and my other job is full-time missionary in our inner city. In the 15 years as a missionary, I have only really been able to take two vacations that were truly away from people.
I know this needs to change, but the means seems to be the biggest barrier at this stage.
Peace,
Jamie

There is an old saying: If the pastor is a good preacher s/he has earned at least four weeks away. If the pastor is not a good preacher, then the congregation has earned it. Either way, take at least four weeks off!

I always tell them “I’m going fishing. Flyfishing. Immersing myself in rivers.” It sounds so holy it leaves them speechless.
And soooo much better than, “Hey. YOU get time off, what’s the problem?”
I am so tired of “Vacation Guilt.” As if God can’t manage without me. Although some parishioners. . .

As a pastor I am expected to take four weeks off. I have not taken them all at once, but spread them out through the year. This is in part because there are not four weeks together that I could take and not have it effect the life of the church. It is not that I am indispensible (though many of my colleagues would like tot hink they are). It is that i have accepted some responibilities that would conflict to much for all that time to happen at once.
Why do clergy think they are exempt from Sabbath? We WORK on Sundays, it is not a day of rest. So thinking we have to work all the other days is an arrogant self-deceit. We need rest, too. Vacations are a part of that rest. Unless we get mental as well as physical rest, our spiritual selves will become exhausted quickly, to no one’s benefit.
Take the time, let your congregation learn they do not have to rely only on you. We are all called to ministry, and this is a way to help the folks learn how to answer their call.

In addition to my weekly sabbath (generally Fridays), I get three weeks vacation and three weeks study time off annually. We close the church from Christmas until the first Sunday of January and this does not count against my vacation time. Additionally, I take between 2-4 and 2-3 day personal working retreats a year — sometimes working on sermons or vision or evaluation… other times simply prayer and solitude. I also generally only preach 25-30 weekends a year. We have a teaching team now and I would never go back!
In short, I have a great ministry situation and a Board and members that get it!

Note to self, become clergy in UMC (lol).
I get two weeks vacation and 2 weekends along with Friday as my regular off day. I am a youth minister and so if I work a Saturday then I get Monday off unless it is the summer.
I usually take one real vacation and the other time off is seeing family or staying at home. I think everyone needs one week to take a real vacation you may take the family along. Many times our parents join us on trips. You can take great vacations if you can go during the off seasons to keep cost down.
I encourage new guys to negotiating time off for holidays, days off, time for holidays (most ministers don’t live near family), professional development, etc.

Joseph #5,
I too get 4 weeks, though I don’t take them consecutively. However, I’m not sure I understood what you meant when you said it is assumed that any job that you can be away from for a month can do fine without you the other 11.
Your comment reminded me of something I heard once that always stuck with me: There are three things you can do that no one else can do for you (in everything else, you can be replaced) 1. No one can have your relationship with God for you. 2. No one else can have your relationship with your spouse for you 3. No one else can be the parent of your children.
To think that we are or should be irreplaceable is not healthy, imho.

Brian,
We need balance – and I am not advocating an overboard response. But ask an engineer at one of the auto companies these days – or many other worker for that matter – about the wisdom of being viewed as “replaceable.” To be easily replaceable can rapidly come to mean unemployed.

My pastor/spouse goes on the National Pastor’s Conference Retreats (a group that extends to meeting over the course of 2 years), and this has been great for him–and us. I get the benefit of him having had his time away for reflection by the time he goes on vacation with me! Our church has now come to support these times for him to get away. They realize he gets recharged in a fresh way from these. So, they treat it as some of his “conference time.”

RJS,
I agree…we need balance. But! I never said anything about *easily* replaceable. Also, I should’ve emphasized this in my last post…it is probably difficult or impossible in most jobs to take four consecutive weeks off and I don’t mean to minimize the difficulty of many of our jobs. However, I do stand by my statement that thinking of ourselves as “irreplaceable” is unhealthy. (And un-true.)
When we recognize that we are replaceable it can help us keep our priorities straight- including the priority to do our jobs so well so as to NOT be replaced and doing so without working to the point of tears or a heart attack. (I’m referring again to what Joseph wrote.)

Time off, vacation, etc. is very important. Taking a day off each week is very important. Doing this is an investment in your own health, your family and your church.
I have been with one congregation for almost sixteen years. I believe that taking time off, getting away, vacation, etc. has been an investment. I have more to give, more to offer, etc. when I take care of my body/mind/emotions. I do the church no favor when all I have to offer is an exhausted self who does not take time off.
Having said this I realize this is going to be easier in some churches than in others. Some churches have had very poor models to look to (the minister who for whatever reason just refuses to take time off).
Ministry can be very, very stressful. Troubled marriages, conflicted relationships, being with people near death, funerals, etc. can take their toll after awhile. Time away can allow a person to do this kind of work with energy over a long period of time.

This has been a helpful discussion for me to engage. Re: Joseph’s comment: When we move back to the US I would not expect to take 4+ weeks of vacation all at once, but in this position it makes sense. I get one set of home-visit air tickets per year provided by my church (I’m from Los Angeles, but am the pastor of the American Church in London). Many of our congregation are on similar arrangements, and our attendance is dramatically reduced during August. Being gone during that time–and consistently present during the rest of the year–actually works pretty well for us right now. As I’ve read through the other comments I’m aware of how strange my situation is in comparison to a typical pastorate. Thanks for letting me dip in!