We all know people cannot be put into neat little boxes and neither can Wiccan Clergy. Each just like every other human being are unique. I am going to share with you some gifts or concentrations some of them find themselves working we call them "Missions" of "Life Callings". Sometimes you just "fall into them" many people "just know", many find their occupational life and Clergy life overlapping (for example people with Psychology degrees that specialize in counseling). Either way Wiccan Clergy find that they know they are doing what they do not for a "title" or for "fame or fortune" but because they feel "happiest" being Clergy. That is the payment, it is like the Gods wired them differently they only feel "true bliss" working for the community and the Gods.
1. Wiccan Clergy as Healers.
Many Wiccan Clergy specialize in a form of healing technique. They are people that always are able to figure out what is "really wrong" with you and balance your energy using either Stones, crystal skulls, Reiki, Massage techniques, Aromatherapy, Acupuncture or Acupressure. There are also healers that are Wiccan clergy that specialize in Herbs and make tinctures, tonics, teas, poultices, are holistic, and grow, produce, handpick, and know which herb you need or should use. Wiccan clergy and healing seems to go hand in hand for people who are called to help others usually start off studying healing techniques of one kind or another. Their gift is that of a calm touch, cooling spirit, heavenly voice, and aura that shines like the moon. They give and give and give until they are tuckered out at times; and they usually teach students all the time to continue and pass on their gift and love of healing.
2. Wiccan Clergy as Counselors
These are the people that are always listening to other people's problems. Marriage counseling, Friendship issues, Love issues, Self identity crisis, Job/Occupation questions these and just someone to listen to them about their lives is what is needed. Clergy that specialize in this area are really good at listening and directing people to the answer or solution that truthfully lies inside of them and somewhere outside of them. They ask the "right questions" never telling the querent what to do or what to say they let the person doing the talking hear themselves say what they really need to do. These people have a gift, it is not just spiritual listening it is patience and wisdom. These people find themselves hard pressed to find time for themselves if they are really good at their job. However, it is expected of most Clergy that they have "counseling sessions" for those who need it; and it should be noted that like any job some Clergy are really better at this than others. In this world that we live in listening, good listening is an underrated skill.
3. Wiccan Clergy as Teachers
These are the Clergy that just "light up" when teaching complex principles to people of all walks of life. They can explain how to do put a washer in a sink to a person from China that speaks no English and manage to communicate exquisitely. To learn from these Teachers is a true gift for they can always take complex issues and explain them in whatever way they have to for each individual person to understand. They have a way for poking and prodding people to accomplish alot and do it in a method that makes the student proud of themselves. For truthfully, that is what this type of Clergy is good at motivation, inspiration, and education. They may never be the name mentioned on every persons lips at a Pagan Festival but they are the proudest Elder in the circle when they see their students do well, and are constantly animated and happy in the presence of knowledge of any kind. They can learn from anyone even an ant, then they instantly want to share what they learned with you!
You usually find these Clergy like to write blogs, articles, teach workshops, and are surrounded by people at the Festivals for they have knowledge about all kinds of subjects and can match every learning style. All Wiccan Clergy teach to some degree or another, many by just walking their talk. But Wiccan Clergy who are Teachers; communicate,enunciate, and inspire the future generations. Many Wiccan Clergy on this path feel they are "teaching Teachers to Teach" thus their legacy is an unusual one.
4. Wiccan Clergy as Ritual Facilitators
These Clergy are really good at planning Main rituals and writing rituals. They can plan in their heads what every person should say, what everything should look like, and leave just enough room in the ritual for wiggling because they know and understand that God and Goddess can never truly be completely planned out. They make rituals look easy, and feel fun and before you know it you are singing their chants in the shower or stating their mantras on the way to work. Not all Wiccan Clergy love writing rituals or even facilitating them; many find they serve so many people that one of the ways they feed their souls is through standing in the circle and having others lead.
Wiccan Clergy who "dispense the sacraments" of the Gods are truly unique for you will see them muttering even as they set up a circle, and their heads cocking at odd angles as if they are poised and listening to a presence you cannot see. These are those that feed our souls every moon, every Sabbat they are the Priest and Priestess that remind us of Ancient times....and we hear the God and Goddess resonate through them from time to time. Ritual Clergy always plan their circles for others, never for themselves, or for just one person; they have the perspective of a Hawk and always trust the Gods.
5. Wiccan Clergy perform Rites of Passages
Rites of Passages are births, deaths, weddings, divorces, engagements, awakenings, graduations, birthdays, woman or men rites and deaths. Depending on your tradition depends on what you call all of these things here in the Mid south we have Women rites that are : Maidenings, Motherings, Cronings and we celebrate when women reach Menstruation or Menopause. The Men's rites are Rovings, Fatherings, and Sageings and we celebrate when men reach 13 and call it a "manning" ceremony. I have heard of groups celebrating 21st birthdays since they are legal age to drink then also. Baby Blessings/Wiccanings are done differently here depending on the tradition. Who created the tradition is usually an elder you never met (but whose ritual you are using because that is just the way it is done down here); or if you are lucky you studied under (I had that privilege) as you grow as Clergy if you find this is an area you like then you add on and alter the RITE of Passage your teacher gave you.
If you were not lucky enough to be handed a RITE of Passage someone else already wrote you can call another Clergy and they will share it with you or you can just "figure it out through trial and error" that is how the Ancestors did it! I have been to some of the most touching Rites of Passages and the Clergy facilitating it had just "figured it out" and were very good at it. I measure out how good a person is at Rites of Passages by how they say the words, how meaningful they are, and by the magick they use to have it become a mystery. Truthfully this is what Rites of Passages are they are a mystery and a celebration tied together with a beautiful bow of love! Wiccan Clergy that specialize in this area say they find themselves in cycles like the Planet we live on. Handfastings at one time in their life, Wiccanings or Baby blessings at another time in their life, Crossing overs, Funerals and Memorial services at another time in their life, doing Maidening and Rovings usually when they are younger, Motherings and Fatherings when they are middles aged, and finally getting the honor of doing Sageings and Cronings as they are Elders in the Community. Either way Rites of Passages are a necessity in our Community and without these traditions our fabric would fall apart. This is a skill very many of us take for granted; but none of us want to do without.
6. Wiccan Clergy :Prison Ministry
The Clergy that serve in this capacity have a generous heart and giving spirit they serve those that are incarcerated. They usually spend alot of money out of their own pockets in expenses to travel to the Prison that they have chosen to serve, buy books to add to the library there, teach classes for free, offer counseling for those that need it. However, anyone I have met that serves in this capacity is definitely different than most of the other Clergy I meet. They are glowing, and transformed in a way that few can understand. Clergy that help with this ministry thinking it is a "one time" thing usually find themselves finding out they really want to do more; then the next thing they know they are serving the people in the Prison also. The need for Wiccan Clergy in this ministry is great; and the people that are there appreciate the service and the love so freely given. If you had to pick one area to support more with time it should be this one. Just think of all the various groups, and ages that have needs in this and spiritual wants in this "tough time" in their lives. Clergy that serve in this capacity are definitely called and their staff is usually them and one other (their mate, Highpriest or Highpriestess).
7. Wiccan Clergy as Interfaith ambassadors
Many Wiccan Clergy just concentrate on trying to fan out and participate in as many interfaith dinners, lunches, business meetings, panels, workshops, talks at colleges, and are always finding a way to share, blend, and mix with Religions Spiritual Leaders of other faiths. This is an important and very tough job because it takes a really special personality gift; that of sincerity, and social aptitude. You must be eloquent and down to earth, well educated, but not cocky, serious, but not too serious, and let insults roll of your back...you cannot take it too seriously. People in this world even Religious leaders of others walks of life do not know that much about Wicca even in the 21st century and so you have to make sure you are not "thin skinned" if this is one of the ministries you find that you are called to serve. Yet, we as Wiccans do not proselytize; so we find ourselves in a strange situation. How do we share our faith without trying to manipulate and convert others? Clergy that have this specialty do it and do it well ( think Selena Fox).
Clergy that serve in this capacity realize that they have to visit School boards, and City halls, and get to know and socialize with judges, lawyers, and city officials. They want to be on radio interviews and pray publicly before a city hall meeting. They understand that they more they can "get out there" and share what they believe with the pubic in a sacred way the more likely we are to have Joe Pagan and Jane Wiccan not persecuted for being a little different. These Clergy dream of a day, when opening a prayer with Lord and Lady will not be even blinked at. They serve in the public so that those who still have to live in "the closet" do not have to "stay in the closet" because of persecution. In short, they are sacrificing their private life for the good of the WHOLE community.
8. Wiccan Clergy as Hospital Chaplains
They go and visit the elderly in the nursing homes, they sit with the sick they are always in the hospice. They visit those in the hospital and sit by their beds even when they are sleeping. They walk the halls and make sure that people know they are not alone; they give love and counseling to strangers and the relatives of those in the hospital. They lead hospital staff in prayer. They give the last 'rite of passage" to one of our faith; or the last "rite of passage" to someone of another faith because their family member asked them too or because they were childhood friends.
They are there at a time in your life when you really need someone to care for you and love you. Sometimes they bring magazines, flowers, candy, stuffed animals, junk food or just a joke. Either way these Clergy have a special calling they are those that are there for you when you are in a dark time in your life. Their gift is healing, and giving and as the number of Wiccans increase the need for those who are legal Clergy to visit them in the hospital increases.. Serving on the staff of a hospital for all the people in the hospital is a real possibility now for our faith now that we too have become legally ordained; and have received the proper licensing and training in this area. Some states require a special licensing to serve on a hospital staff, some do not but either way jobs in this area are even on the internet and in newspapers aplenty and are a distinct possibility for Clergy of our faith.
9. Wiccan clergy as Church founders and Leaders
Here where I live in the Mid south almost all of the Clergy here have to do a little of all of the above and still keep a roof over their communities head that they helped bring together. Thus you find they are usually learning about non profit stuff, the legalities of Wicca, the legalities of religious rights and freedoms, keeping up to date on Tax laws, filing paperwork, looking for ways to raise funds for their community, and still keeping appointments for counseling, leading rituals, teaching classes, helping in an outside ministry of some sort (Prison, Homeless shelter, Gay and Lesbian and Transgender community, etc). They are always getting phone calls from radio stations and new stations around Halloween our Samhain and hardly ever getting coverage when they donate to the local food bank.
They serve a community of around 50 people on average, and have a roll of around 300 or 400 people that are members on their books. Like all churches they are supported by an active 5 percent of the congregants and yet they love all the people in their community equally and for different reasons. These Clergy serve for a future they will never see but know in their hearts they are securing for the future generations and so they strive and constantly give for buildings, land, property for the children coming up just like any parent of grandparent does for their offspring. Wiccan Clergy that serve as Church founders are held up to a standard like any Church founder an unrealistic one at times but you knew this when you took your oath to serve and you agreed to the community and your Gods that "your time was not your time anymore but always theirs". It is with joy they serve, but they can get worn out since they wear so "many hats" this is why it is so important that they get time "off" and "mini vacations" and they always are praying for "New Clergy" to come up in the ranks.
If you look at all the many jobs that are required of our Modern Day Wiccan Clergy, then you understand why the "burnout" rate is so high and why it is so important we train more to work in this capacity! There are more people to serve than there are Clergy to serve them.
How do you know which one of these types of Clergy you will be? Well you don't at first of course! I think you first have some of these qualities when you "hear the call" of Clergy and you start from there. Personally, I also feel as a community we need to be patient with new Clergy we measure them up to an Elder that has been doing the job a long time or weigh them up the a "stereotype" created by the media of Clergy that walk a different path than us. If we do not support our new Clergy then they will 'quit" before they discover what their "true gift" is. They need the time, love and support just like ministers of any other faith to find themselves and I feel that this cannot be emphasized enough. Wiccan Clergy are called, and are not paid at all for what they do they just feel a need to serve....and that is a wonderful thing!
1. Wiccan Clergy as Healers.
Many Wiccan Clergy specialize in a form of healing technique. They are people that always are able to figure out what is "really wrong" with you and balance your energy using either Stones, crystal skulls, Reiki, Massage techniques, Aromatherapy, Acupuncture or Acupressure. There are also healers that are Wiccan clergy that specialize in Herbs and make tinctures, tonics, teas, poultices, are holistic, and grow, produce, handpick, and know which herb you need or should use. Wiccan clergy and healing seems to go hand in hand for people who are called to help others usually start off studying healing techniques of one kind or another. Their gift is that of a calm touch, cooling spirit, heavenly voice, and aura that shines like the moon. They give and give and give until they are tuckered out at times; and they usually teach students all the time to continue and pass on their gift and love of healing.
2. Wiccan Clergy as Counselors
These are the people that are always listening to other people's problems. Marriage counseling, Friendship issues, Love issues, Self identity crisis, Job/Occupation questions these and just someone to listen to them about their lives is what is needed. Clergy that specialize in this area are really good at listening and directing people to the answer or solution that truthfully lies inside of them and somewhere outside of them. They ask the "right questions" never telling the querent what to do or what to say they let the person doing the talking hear themselves say what they really need to do. These people have a gift, it is not just spiritual listening it is patience and wisdom. These people find themselves hard pressed to find time for themselves if they are really good at their job. However, it is expected of most Clergy that they have "counseling sessions" for those who need it; and it should be noted that like any job some Clergy are really better at this than others. In this world that we live in listening, good listening is an underrated skill.
3. Wiccan Clergy as Teachers
These are the Clergy that just "light up" when teaching complex principles to people of all walks of life. They can explain how to do put a washer in a sink to a person from China that speaks no English and manage to communicate exquisitely. To learn from these Teachers is a true gift for they can always take complex issues and explain them in whatever way they have to for each individual person to understand. They have a way for poking and prodding people to accomplish alot and do it in a method that makes the student proud of themselves. For truthfully, that is what this type of Clergy is good at motivation, inspiration, and education. They may never be the name mentioned on every persons lips at a Pagan Festival but they are the proudest Elder in the circle when they see their students do well, and are constantly animated and happy in the presence of knowledge of any kind. They can learn from anyone even an ant, then they instantly want to share what they learned with you!
You usually find these Clergy like to write blogs, articles, teach workshops, and are surrounded by people at the Festivals for they have knowledge about all kinds of subjects and can match every learning style. All Wiccan Clergy teach to some degree or another, many by just walking their talk. But Wiccan Clergy who are Teachers; communicate,enunciate, and inspire the future generations. Many Wiccan Clergy on this path feel they are "teaching Teachers to Teach" thus their legacy is an unusual one.
4. Wiccan Clergy as Ritual Facilitators
These Clergy are really good at planning Main rituals and writing rituals. They can plan in their heads what every person should say, what everything should look like, and leave just enough room in the ritual for wiggling because they know and understand that God and Goddess can never truly be completely planned out. They make rituals look easy, and feel fun and before you know it you are singing their chants in the shower or stating their mantras on the way to work. Not all Wiccan Clergy love writing rituals or even facilitating them; many find they serve so many people that one of the ways they feed their souls is through standing in the circle and having others lead.
Wiccan Clergy who "dispense the sacraments" of the Gods are truly unique for you will see them muttering even as they set up a circle, and their heads cocking at odd angles as if they are poised and listening to a presence you cannot see. These are those that feed our souls every moon, every Sabbat they are the Priest and Priestess that remind us of Ancient times....and we hear the God and Goddess resonate through them from time to time. Ritual Clergy always plan their circles for others, never for themselves, or for just one person; they have the perspective of a Hawk and always trust the Gods.
5. Wiccan Clergy perform Rites of Passages
Rites of Passages are births, deaths, weddings, divorces, engagements, awakenings, graduations, birthdays, woman or men rites and deaths. Depending on your tradition depends on what you call all of these things here in the Mid south we have Women rites that are : Maidenings, Motherings, Cronings and we celebrate when women reach Menstruation or Menopause. The Men's rites are Rovings, Fatherings, and Sageings and we celebrate when men reach 13 and call it a "manning" ceremony. I have heard of groups celebrating 21st birthdays since they are legal age to drink then also. Baby Blessings/Wiccanings are done differently here depending on the tradition. Who created the tradition is usually an elder you never met (but whose ritual you are using because that is just the way it is done down here); or if you are lucky you studied under (I had that privilege) as you grow as Clergy if you find this is an area you like then you add on and alter the RITE of Passage your teacher gave you.
If you were not lucky enough to be handed a RITE of Passage someone else already wrote you can call another Clergy and they will share it with you or you can just "figure it out through trial and error" that is how the Ancestors did it! I have been to some of the most touching Rites of Passages and the Clergy facilitating it had just "figured it out" and were very good at it. I measure out how good a person is at Rites of Passages by how they say the words, how meaningful they are, and by the magick they use to have it become a mystery. Truthfully this is what Rites of Passages are they are a mystery and a celebration tied together with a beautiful bow of love! Wiccan Clergy that specialize in this area say they find themselves in cycles like the Planet we live on. Handfastings at one time in their life, Wiccanings or Baby blessings at another time in their life, Crossing overs, Funerals and Memorial services at another time in their life, doing Maidening and Rovings usually when they are younger, Motherings and Fatherings when they are middles aged, and finally getting the honor of doing Sageings and Cronings as they are Elders in the Community. Either way Rites of Passages are a necessity in our Community and without these traditions our fabric would fall apart. This is a skill very many of us take for granted; but none of us want to do without.
6. Wiccan Clergy :Prison Ministry
The Clergy that serve in this capacity have a generous heart and giving spirit they serve those that are incarcerated. They usually spend alot of money out of their own pockets in expenses to travel to the Prison that they have chosen to serve, buy books to add to the library there, teach classes for free, offer counseling for those that need it. However, anyone I have met that serves in this capacity is definitely different than most of the other Clergy I meet. They are glowing, and transformed in a way that few can understand. Clergy that help with this ministry thinking it is a "one time" thing usually find themselves finding out they really want to do more; then the next thing they know they are serving the people in the Prison also. The need for Wiccan Clergy in this ministry is great; and the people that are there appreciate the service and the love so freely given. If you had to pick one area to support more with time it should be this one. Just think of all the various groups, and ages that have needs in this and spiritual wants in this "tough time" in their lives. Clergy that serve in this capacity are definitely called and their staff is usually them and one other (their mate, Highpriest or Highpriestess).
7. Wiccan Clergy as Interfaith ambassadors
Many Wiccan Clergy just concentrate on trying to fan out and participate in as many interfaith dinners, lunches, business meetings, panels, workshops, talks at colleges, and are always finding a way to share, blend, and mix with Religions Spiritual Leaders of other faiths. This is an important and very tough job because it takes a really special personality gift; that of sincerity, and social aptitude. You must be eloquent and down to earth, well educated, but not cocky, serious, but not too serious, and let insults roll of your back...you cannot take it too seriously. People in this world even Religious leaders of others walks of life do not know that much about Wicca even in the 21st century and so you have to make sure you are not "thin skinned" if this is one of the ministries you find that you are called to serve. Yet, we as Wiccans do not proselytize; so we find ourselves in a strange situation. How do we share our faith without trying to manipulate and convert others? Clergy that have this specialty do it and do it well ( think Selena Fox).
Clergy that serve in this capacity realize that they have to visit School boards, and City halls, and get to know and socialize with judges, lawyers, and city officials. They want to be on radio interviews and pray publicly before a city hall meeting. They understand that they more they can "get out there" and share what they believe with the pubic in a sacred way the more likely we are to have Joe Pagan and Jane Wiccan not persecuted for being a little different. These Clergy dream of a day, when opening a prayer with Lord and Lady will not be even blinked at. They serve in the public so that those who still have to live in "the closet" do not have to "stay in the closet" because of persecution. In short, they are sacrificing their private life for the good of the WHOLE community.
8. Wiccan Clergy as Hospital Chaplains
They go and visit the elderly in the nursing homes, they sit with the sick they are always in the hospice. They visit those in the hospital and sit by their beds even when they are sleeping. They walk the halls and make sure that people know they are not alone; they give love and counseling to strangers and the relatives of those in the hospital. They lead hospital staff in prayer. They give the last 'rite of passage" to one of our faith; or the last "rite of passage" to someone of another faith because their family member asked them too or because they were childhood friends.
They are there at a time in your life when you really need someone to care for you and love you. Sometimes they bring magazines, flowers, candy, stuffed animals, junk food or just a joke. Either way these Clergy have a special calling they are those that are there for you when you are in a dark time in your life. Their gift is healing, and giving and as the number of Wiccans increase the need for those who are legal Clergy to visit them in the hospital increases.. Serving on the staff of a hospital for all the people in the hospital is a real possibility now for our faith now that we too have become legally ordained; and have received the proper licensing and training in this area. Some states require a special licensing to serve on a hospital staff, some do not but either way jobs in this area are even on the internet and in newspapers aplenty and are a distinct possibility for Clergy of our faith.
9. Wiccan clergy as Church founders and Leaders
Here where I live in the Mid south almost all of the Clergy here have to do a little of all of the above and still keep a roof over their communities head that they helped bring together. Thus you find they are usually learning about non profit stuff, the legalities of Wicca, the legalities of religious rights and freedoms, keeping up to date on Tax laws, filing paperwork, looking for ways to raise funds for their community, and still keeping appointments for counseling, leading rituals, teaching classes, helping in an outside ministry of some sort (Prison, Homeless shelter, Gay and Lesbian and Transgender community, etc). They are always getting phone calls from radio stations and new stations around Halloween our Samhain and hardly ever getting coverage when they donate to the local food bank.
They serve a community of around 50 people on average, and have a roll of around 300 or 400 people that are members on their books. Like all churches they are supported by an active 5 percent of the congregants and yet they love all the people in their community equally and for different reasons. These Clergy serve for a future they will never see but know in their hearts they are securing for the future generations and so they strive and constantly give for buildings, land, property for the children coming up just like any parent of grandparent does for their offspring. Wiccan Clergy that serve as Church founders are held up to a standard like any Church founder an unrealistic one at times but you knew this when you took your oath to serve and you agreed to the community and your Gods that "your time was not your time anymore but always theirs". It is with joy they serve, but they can get worn out since they wear so "many hats" this is why it is so important that they get time "off" and "mini vacations" and they always are praying for "New Clergy" to come up in the ranks.
If you look at all the many jobs that are required of our Modern Day Wiccan Clergy, then you understand why the "burnout" rate is so high and why it is so important we train more to work in this capacity! There are more people to serve than there are Clergy to serve them.
How do you know which one of these types of Clergy you will be? Well you don't at first of course! I think you first have some of these qualities when you "hear the call" of Clergy and you start from there. Personally, I also feel as a community we need to be patient with new Clergy we measure them up to an Elder that has been doing the job a long time or weigh them up the a "stereotype" created by the media of Clergy that walk a different path than us. If we do not support our new Clergy then they will 'quit" before they discover what their "true gift" is. They need the time, love and support just like ministers of any other faith to find themselves and I feel that this cannot be emphasized enough. Wiccan Clergy are called, and are not paid at all for what they do they just feel a need to serve....and that is a wonderful thing!
I have also found that many Clergy start off with one role let us say healer, learn another one (counselor), then explore another option (rite of passage leader), and as the years pass and tick by they end up finding out they are able to balance these many different roles; or they are able to teach New Clergy how to find their gifts and so they delegate and train their Clergy to all serve different functions for the community. In a modern Wiccan Community this would be a wonderful way for it all to pan out; each of us getting to use the "gift" that we have and honing it to a fine precision. We are not there yet, but we will be very soon. As more and more Wiccan Seminaries (Woolstein Theological Seminary) and Universities (Cherry Hill Seminary) are starting to offer training online and in person (most legal Wiccan Churches serve in this capacity also) to people of our faith; it is only inevitable that our Clergy will be more and more proficient. We too will become "preachers, pastors, prophets, priests, and practitioners" of Spirit. (this is accredited to a lecture given by the Unitarian Universalists at their Graduation ceremony in 2009).
*********It should be noted that even as I write this I realize there are some roles I have forgotten or might have overlooked because the Pagan/Wiccan community is so large. Please share one of the many roles you see I have overlooked below if you would like. I feel this is a topic needing to be discussed and cataloged better for our future Clergy and for those who are just starting out on this path as Wiccan Clergy.
*********It should be noted that even as I write this I realize there are some roles I have forgotten or might have overlooked because the Pagan/Wiccan community is so large. Please share one of the many roles you see I have overlooked below if you would like. I feel this is a topic needing to be discussed and cataloged better for our future Clergy and for those who are just starting out on this path as Wiccan Clergy.
