From Weary to Wholehearted

questions, answers, anchors, and gravity

Welcome to all of our lovely new subscribers to the Blue Room!

I was in North Carolina this week, leading some wonderful Methodists in a day of learning, then a couple days of retreat with some clergywomen friends.

Given the fullness of the week, I invited author-pastor colleague Callie Swanlund to share about her vital new book, From Weary to Wholehearted: A Restorative Resource for Overcoming Clergy Burnout. We’ll get to that in a minute, but first:

My event in North Carolina was a wonderful day talking ministry and improvisation and the skills required to navigate the unexpected. The last hour was a brisk introduction to design thinking. It was speedy enough that I wanted to share some additional context on the topic. Here’s the link to the first of three posts about managing change I wrote a couple years ago.

And now… let’s meet the wonderful Callie!

Callie Swanlund is an Episcopal priest, retreat leader, spiritual companion, and coach who helps others know their belovedness and find their Spark. Her new book, From Weary to Wholehearted, is a restorative resource for overcoming ministry burnout. Callie is a creative minister and leads individuals and groups in the work of Dr. Brené Brown as a Certified Daring Way Facilitator. Her How2charist: Digital Instructed Eucharist film has reached Christians and curious individuals around the world, and her Wholehearted Wisdom movement invites others into deeper reflection and connection across social media. She lives in Philadelphia with her co-dreaming partner Jeremy, their two tween/teen children, and a rescue pup named Rufus. Join her on social media @callieswanlund or callieswanlund.com

Take it away Callie!

1. What inspired you to write this book?

In fall of 2020, my dear friend Heidi Carrington Heath and I gathered to talk about how to heap nourishment upon our sibling faith leaders (specifically clergy women) who were struggling. We created a series of seasonal quiet days over Zoom for folks to come together and be filled up, and most importantly, know they weren’t alone. We called these our “love letters.” As a priest, companion (hybrid of vocational coach and spiritual director), and retreat leader, I’ve witnessed how much of a crisis we’re having in terms of burnout and overwhelm. During Epiphany last year, the Holy Spirit made it abundantly clear that it was time to write the book I had within me, and while I started writing a proposal for another book and another publisher, my current publisher reached out and asked, “Would you want to write a book for weary faith leaders?” It was an easy yes, a Holy Spirit-inspired moment, and has become my love letter.

2. What will people gain by reading this book that they won’t get elsewhere?

Burnout is unfortunately a prevalent reality for many in outward-facing vocations like clergy, educators, medical care providers, and mental health professionals, so there is an abundance of resources out there. And yet, I wanted to create a resource that invited an embodied experience. Something that readers didn't simply consume, but an experience and even a gathering space. From Weary to Wholehearted does this with personal stories, reflection questions for your own self-tending and for sharing with others, bit-sized tools for flourishing, and prayers after each section. I want people to read it and feel refreshed for the journey ahead, and most of all, to know they are beloved.

3. What story/section of the book means the most to you?

There’s a turning point in the middle of the book, which I think of as peering into the tomb: asking ourselves “just how dire is it?” It feels so important and so heartbreaking to ask this question of myself and my readers. Here’s an excerpt: 

I was in second grade when family friends visited Germany and brought back a piece of the recently crumbled Berlin Wall. I took the rock to school for show and tell, feeling excited by this piece of history that I didn’t even fully understand. But after showing it off to my class, it ended up like many second-grade possessions: taking up residence in the bottom of my backpack. When I found it, weeks later, the Ziplock bag contained not one but multiple pieces of crumbled rock. I was so sure that I would get in trouble for being careless that I tried to hide the evidence, carefully super-gluing the pieces back together.

There have been many times in my life when I thought it was up to me to cover up the brokenness. I tried for years to curate happiness. Divorced parents, a toxic job, a failed marriage, a dead parent. I carried the hard stuff all alone. I held my own brokenness and the brokenness of others.

Over time, I’ve learned to follow my own truth. I’ve begun to believe in my belovedness. I’ve worked hard to draw boundaries and practice brave conversations. Thousands of people look to me as one who models vulnerability and authenticity. I preach a gospel predicated on brokenness and call it beautiful.

More than once, I’ve had to ask myself, “Why am I still trying to glue a piece of the Berlin Wall back together?”

4. What’s a challenge (personal or professional) you had to overcome to get this book written or published?

Ha! Learning the ins and outs of the publishing world (what am I allowed to quote? who has final say on edits and changes? do I say yes to every podcast invite?) was absolutely a new arena for me, sometimes exciting and sometimes frustrating. Walking a beloved through their own burnout in a very acute way while writing a book on burnout made the book feel even more necessary and relevant. And finding ways to carve out uninterrupted space away from my family—whose bids for connection I will always say yes to—required short solo trips away.

5. What’s saving your life lately? 

I launched a book called From Weary to Wholehearted while feeling very weary. At the heart of my book is a SPARK Practice—nurture my Soma, engage in Preparation, make space for Awe, claim Retreat, ground myself in Kinship—and it’s been so helpful to anchor myself in these tools, especially Awe. Saving my life: the joy and laughter my tween/teen kids invoke, a circle of beloveds who draw nearer when things get tough (including the one who sends daily heart emojis with no expected response because a beloved did the same for her in a hard season), regular trips to the sauna where I literally cannot multitask and always leave feeling lighter, live music that stirs my soul, and the Holy Spirit lighting fires all around me.

And now I (MaryAnn) would love to know what’s saving your life!

~

What I’m Up To

In addition to our every-Friday newsletter, I also have two additional opportunities for supporting subscribers to connect. Next week I’m hosting a “book talk” about the book I’m writing, Tuesday May 28 at noon EDT. Last month’s conversation was really rich, and also really helpful to me personally.

Steady on.