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NEW YORK -- Despite promotion from church groups, radio stations and Christian retail stores, Clergy Appreciation Day on Oct. 13 is likely to pass quietly, according to The New York Times.

"Sometimes the public forgets that ministers are people, too," said the Rev. H.B. London Jr., vice president of pastoral ministries at Focus on the Family. The Christian organization promotes an entire Clergy Appreciation Month, while emphasizing the second weekend of October.

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"In many congregations, each individual thinks of the clergy person as their own private clergy: ‘Whenever I need my pastor, rabbi or priest, I expect them to be there, regardless of what other issues they may be facing with other congregants or in their own lives,'" London said. "The pressures that come with the assignment are 24/7."

In 2000, Focus on the Family asked people to thank their pastors. In 2001, it asked people to join their pastors; this year's message asks people to pray.

The Rev. Bob Cook, Rocky Mountain district superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Colorado Springs, Colo., said most clergy members hesitated to distribute appreciation materials he made available.

"Ninety-nine percent of the ministers I know will run away from tooting their own horn," Cook said. "It's best if it comes from the congregation. We don't see Jesus saying, ‘OK folks, it's October, time to appreciate me.'"

Observance of Clergy Appreciation Day began in 1992 when Jerry Frear Jr., founder of Under His Wing Ministries in Williamsport, Pa., thought if secretaries could have their own day, clergy members should, too. He began lobbying state legislatures and now seeks a presidential proclamation.

Retailers are ready. DaySpring, a Hallmark subsidiary and leading supplier of Christian greeting cards, offers nearly 120 clergy appreciation cards, up from about 30 when it first began the line in 1995. Hallmark introduced its own line of cards this year, according to The Times.