Do priests and ministers work full time?

Ministers don’t work only one hour a week. Mine has a service 3 times a week. Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening. Plus he has a radio show on Monday evening. He works full time getting the sermons ready, visiting the ill, counseling people on marriage issues and other things. He also performs funeral services.

It is a full time job, and much more than forty hours a week. Committee meetings, choir practices, funerals, baptisms, children’s lessons. They get involved in a lot more than just a sermon and Sunday mass.

The pastor of my former church was my step-uncle.

Church was Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday evening. Before-work prayer meeting on Tuesday mornings was usually him. He didn’t attend youth group meeting on Friday evening or worship practice on Thursday night.

Sunday morning sermon was a curriculum sent to him from the UPCI home offices. He made up whatever for Sunday night, often something related to current events or church standards. Wednesday was alternately Bible study from another curriculum or another current events lesson.

He often invited other members of the church to do “guest sermons” on Sunday or Wednesday nights. My husband did so a few times, before we were dating.

I spent more time at the church than the pastor did, if I’m totally honest.

After hubby and I left the church (we were doing very well those days, and Hubby’s tithes alone were a decent source of income) Phillip had to sell his house and take a real job, as a counselor at some naturopath’s “doctor’s office”. Found another way to get paid to bullshit people.

From FAQ about priesthood :

What does a priest do all day?

Ask ten different priests about their schedule, and you will receive ten different answers! Like most professionals, how a priest spends his day ‘at work’ is not necessarily a standard answer. Because priests are individuals with distinct talents and interests, a day can look different for any priest, even those that live in the same rectory!

That being said, there are also some similarities and a ‘typical’ schedule to a parish priest’s day. For most priests ministering in a parish, the average day might look something like this:

Monday – Friday (a priest will have a day off during the week)

6–8 am Rise and prepare for the celebration of morning Mass. Many priests will include in their morning preparation their time of personal prayer, which becomes the foundation for their day.

8–10 am Typically a priest will celebrate Mass between these morning hours. There are also some parishes that celebrate an evening daily Mass one or two days of the week.

10 am-12 noon If there is a funeral, this would be the usual time to celebrate the Mass for the deceased and their grieving family. A priest might also utilize this time for office work or preparation for his bulletin article, homily preparation, staff development, building issues, visiting the parish school, visit parishioners or perform other ministries within the parish.

12 noon-1 pm Everyone needs to eat, so this also true for the parish priest! A little fuel for the body will give him the energy he needs for the remainder of his day. This might also be a time for rest, exercise, or prayer.

1–4 pm Many people look to their parish priest for assistance and spiritual guidance. During this time, a priest may have several appointments from members of his parish, for reasons ranging from spiritual direction, staff issues, building issues, school issues, Archdiocesan issues, marriage counseling…if you can think of a need, a priest will be called upon to offer his help.

4–7 pm It can be rather difficult to work on a homily while in the office, so many priests will take advantage of this time to return to the rectory to work on those areas of his ministry which require more privacy and fewer interruptions. He may also use this as a time for prayer, meetings, exercise, or rest. Dinner will be on his agenda as well!

7–10 pm Depending on the day, this is the time when a priest in a parish meets with his parishioners for the many scheduled meetings which take place. Examples of a parishes monthly meetings would be Parish Council, Worship/Education/Christian Service/Administration Commissions, School Committee, and any variety of parish organization meetings as well. This would also be a very busy time for a priest to again meet with parishioners, engaged couples, and others.

10 pm-? After a long day of working ‘in the vineyard’, a priest will find his way back to his rectory for some personal time and then to bed for a night of hopefully restful sleep.

One of his last prayers before his evening comes to a close, comes from Night Prayer in the Liturgy of Hours: “Protect us Lord as we stay awake, watch over us as we sleep, that awake we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace.” Amen!

Dear me no, they need time off to pursue their hobbies like gardening, flower pressing & child molesting ;-}

It depends on their position. A solo pastor of a church works 70 hours a week and is always on call. A part-time minister of a small congregation of 35 would need to supplement his salary. Why do you ask?

Come on now, get real. Do really you think covering up for pedophiles in the Vatican, or conning old ladies in rural areas out of their money as a televangelist, is easy part time work?