BRUNSWICK — For hundreds of years, hospitals, schools, orphanages, soup kitchens and food pantries, among myriad other ministries, have been meeting society’s needs. Oftentimes those organizations can trace their roots to a church or faith assembly.

And many, if not most of those outreaches, began as somebody’s calling to serve others above self. It’s a common calling even today among people of faith. Some minister as laymen, while others become clergy as a full-time vocation.

But regardless of whether a minister or faith leader spends his days welding ships or teaching schoolchildren, and studies his Bible in the evenings preparing for Sunday’s sermon, or the preacher wears the collar full-time and leads all aspects of the church, the calling is a sacred one that can often lead to burnout as he or she seeks to minister to the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of the flock.

Each October, congregations throughout the nation take time to recognize the important work done by pastors and the sacrifices made by pastoral families.

Within the 20 communities in The Times Record’s circulation area, there are 130 houses of worship. Not all operate in the same manner, or have the same leadership structure, but virtually all have some person or persons tasked with leading the congregants and teaching the tenets of the particular faith.

Clergy Appreciation Month is designed with those individuals in mind.

According to Christian para-church ministry Focus on the Family, “Clergy Appreciation Month is a special time that congregations set aside each year to honor their pastors and pastoral families for the hard work, sacrificial dedication and multiple blessings provided by these special people.” Though often celebrated in October, it “is also important to remember that appreciation, affirmation and prayer support of our spiritual leaders is appropriate throughout the entire year.”

Some congregations will celebrate their clergy in a public way as a whole — perhaps through a gift during a Sunday morning service, a dinner in their honor or even a newspaper announcement like the one found below — while others may opt to leave it up to individuals to express their appreciation in a more low-key, intimate manner. Whatever the method, the efforts of each leader of a local faith community should be recognized.

As a Christian, I see a minister’s calling as one from God, for a specific purpose. And generally speaking, somebody answering God’s call to ministry will be in a position to accomplish much community good.

But there are others of good will who may not share my particular beliefs in God the Father, Jesus Christ his Son and the Holy Spirit. They may lead Hindu, Buddhist or Baha’i communities. Jewish and Muslim leaders work to share the tenets of their faith and strengthen their communities, too. By far, the majority of faith leaders are, simply put, working to make the world a better place. They may not all agree with each other on spiritual matters, and may not even see eye-toeye on many things at all. However, generally speaking, each seeks to help improve those around them.

And so it’s in that vein that I would encourage all people of faith — it doesn’t matter if you refer to your leader as pastor, father, rabbi, bhikku, rinpoche, reader, elder, brother, sister, rector, guru, imam, priest or priestess — to take some time this October and recognize his or her efforts and sacrifices on behalf of others.

God instructed his people to do just that in the Bible. “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching” (1 Timothy 5:17).

“The nature of the service provided by pastors and their families is unique. God has entrusted to them one of the most precious of assignments — the spiritual wellbeing of his flock,” states the Focus on the Family website.

“Pastors and their families live under incredible pressures. Their lives are played out in a fishbowl, with the entire congregation and community watching their every move. They are expected to have ideal families, to be perfect people, to always be available, to never be down and to have all the answers we need to keep our own lives stable and moving forward. Those are unrealistic expectations to place on anyone, yet most of us are disappointed when a pastor becomes overwhelmed, seems depressed, lets us down or completely burns out.”

So take time this week to help counter the negative erosion in our spiritual leaders’ lives by giving back some positive affirmation.

DARYL MADORE is deputy managing editor of The Times Record and editor of the Worship page. He can be reached at dmadore@timesrecord.com.