Loading...
An exploration of the emotional demands made on clergy wives in the New Testament Church of God tradition in the UK
Gardner, Deanne
Gardner, Deanne
Advisors
Editors
Other Contributors
Affiliation
EPub Date
Publication Date
2019-09-30
Submitted Date
Collections
Files
Loading...
Thesis
Adobe PDF, 2.67 MB
Other Titles
Abstract
In the context of this research, a ‘clergy wife’ is defined as the wife of a clergyman. The role
of clergy wives in the New Testament Church of God (NTCG) involves substantial emotional
demands. Emotional demands are aspects of a job, or role, that require continual emotional
effort. Clergy wives in the NTCG tradition offer congregants emotional support and spiritual
guidance. Each clergy wife is one part of a two-person career in which the wife is inducted
into her husband’s career, even though she is not employed in her own right by the
organisation. Whilst the emotional demands and their impact on male clergy are welldocumented in research, almost no research has been conducted on the emotional
demands made on clergy wives within the NTCG tradition in the UK, and on the support that
they may need to enable them to conduct their role effectively and survive its impact
emotionally.
This qualitative study seeks to explore the lived experiences of wives whose husbands
currently serve, or have served, as pastors in the NTCG, in order to identify their current
support systems and discover what further support they may need. Semi-structured
interviews were conducted with participants (n=14). The data were analysed using
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The data reveal that wives experienced many
emotional demands as a result of the implicit nature of the position of being a pastor’s wife.
Emotional demands arose from: the role and difficulties; exposure to the personal suffering
of others; and exposure to experiencing a high level of distress over a prolonged period. The
research discusses the impact of emotional demands upon pastors’ wives and the necessity
for developing a greater awareness of the needs of this group within the counselling,
supervision and pastoral care community. Current support systems are discussed, and
further support systems are recommended to enhance better pastoral care of pastors’
wives within the NTCG tradition in the UK.
Citation
Gardner, D. (2019). An exploration of the emotional demands made on clergy wives in the New Testament Church of God tradition in the UK (Doctoral dissertation). University of Chester, UK.
Publisher
University of Chester
Journal
Research Unit
DOI
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Thesis or dissertation
Language
en