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There has been a growing trend among Australian Anglican dioceses to move from the traditional six-day work week for clergy to a five-day work week. The dioceses of Grafton and the Riverina recently moved to this model, following the dioceses of Newcastle and Bathurst. We asked Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder to write about the Bathurst experience. Bathurst made this change in 2023.
We have always made clear to our new clergy that their stipend is not a salary for ‘services rendered’, but rather an allowance so they don’t have to work for a living. Set free from that burden, they are able to adopt that particular lifestyle which is ministry—that is, giving of themselves to shepherding their sheep and seeking the lost.
You might conclude, therefore, that the answer to the question, ‘how many days should a minister have off?’ is ‘none’, because they don’t have any days ‘on’! Every day is a day set free from ‘work’, so they can immerse themselves in ministry. How they organise their time, care for their families, see to chores, ensure adequate rest, and so on, is entirely in their hands, and we trust them.
While this is beautiful in theory, the risk is that clergy never feel free to disengage from the intensity and pressures of ministry to enjoy time with their family or simply to mow the lawns and clean the gutters, because they feel they must always be on duty or on call.
So, in the past, one in seven days ‘off’ seemed to make good Biblical sense. It said to the minister, ‘we don’t expect you to be available 24/7 nor engaged in the rigours of ministry every minute of every day’ and ‘you need to rest to stay fresh’. It said to the congregation, ‘please give your clergy some space’ and ‘time for recreation and family’.
And yet the danger of recommending just one day of rest for clergy is that that one day is very quickly taken up with the many tasks of living—such as kids, kids’ sport, getting the car serviced or registered, chores around the house, attending to finances, getting to the doctor or dentist.
As inferred in its title, the ‘Stipends and Welfare Committee’ has been charged with not only looking at levels of stipend and allowances but with clergy welfare. They wanted to make sure that, especially with young clergy families joining us, the weight of expectation was not so demanding as to be crushing.
In 2023, we didn’t have a lot of capacity to lift stipend levels to match those of Sydney or Canberra-Goulburn Dioceses, but we could address the welfare of our clergy families by indicating that, by providing a stipend, we expect them to work hard in the Lord and among his people, but 5/7 days of their best is all that we reasonably expect. We want them to feel free on two days (or equivalent), to call their time their own; to relax, rest and refresh, and attend to personal and family matters without counting hours. So, we took the significant step of moving from a six-day to a five-day expectation for full-time clergy. There was no change to stipend or allowances, this arose not from an attempt to save money but instead a deep desire to ensure the well-being of those who lead our churches.
Most clergy don’t count hours. They go above and beyond—serving at night, responding to pastoral crises, and preparing sermons on their days ‘off’. And they do this not begrudgingly, but gladly, knowing that gospel ministry rarely fits into tidy schedules.
Yet under the six-day model, there was often an unspoken burden: the sense that taking any more than a day off a week was somehow selfish or indulgent. We wanted to change that. We wanted clergy to feel released, not guilty; joyful in service, not driven by pressure. It’s not about clergy doing less, but about doing ministry with better rhythm and greater health.
The early feedback has been encouraging. Clergy are reporting a better rhythm, more meaningful time with family, and renewed energy for ministry.[1] They no longer feel they must apologise for rest. Instead, they are free to give themselves wholeheartedly to their five days of service—and to receive the gift of rest on the other two.
Let’s consider an example of the difference this change can make—both in how it looks and how it feels. Minister Bill always took Fridays off with his wife, Julie. While there were some jobs around the house to get done, for the most part, they went for a walk, grabbed a coffee out and watched a movie together before school pick-up time. Bill and Julie were already fortunate to be able to take a weekday off together, this is not always the case with a clergy spouse.
But under the old model, Bill felt bad about going to Saturday sport with the kids, and often worked late into Saturday night to make up for the time ‘lost’ that morning. Now, under the new model, Bill sees Friday and Saturday as a great gift. In school holidays they can get away for a ‘weekend’. And if he does still need to get the PowerPoint done for Sunday, or a final polish on his sermon, he does so, not to make up for lost time, but because it’s a joyful part of making sure everything will go well for Sunday.
Ministry is sustainable only when there is space for rest, reflection, and family. This model makes this clear and is now part of our culture (We think it is an attractive point of difference for those considering service in the central west!). We know this change doesn’t solve every challenge. But it’s a significant step. It signals to our clergy that we value their well-being, that we care for their families, and that we’re committed to seeing gospel ministry sustained—not just for now, but for years to come.
The Rt Rev Mark Calder is theBishop of the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst, covering central and western NSW.
[1] See also this article in The Melbourne Anglican to which I contributed.
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