12/26/2023 0 Comments Who started pastor appreciation month![]() As in-person church resumes, some say the burden of going it alone will not ease up. The soul-draining loneliness that ministers have admitted to as part of their call was magnified during the time of sheltering in place. Church leaders have been in the middle of the push-pull of the polarizing pandemic, working hard to make ethical decisions about worship and all in-person gatherings: to mask or not to mask, to sing or not to sing, to have coffee hour or not. For the church not yet embracing technology - either by choice or by circumstances due to a lack of resources - and for churches that are embracing technology but are confused with what a hybrid ministry will look like once the pandemic dust settles, the percentage of ministers leaving the church just might grow.īut it’s not only technology that has been a stressor. While tension and unrealistic expectations have always been inherent to ministry, they are likely to increase as churches continue to develop a hybrid model that not only makes sense in their context, but one that is sustainable, with the equipment and tech experts to oversee digital ministry.Īccording to presbyters, if a church doesn’t go hybrid, it will die. ![]() “It also made the congregation figure out how they were going to move forward,” she said. Kinney left the church she had previously served during the pandemic, citing that it forced her to confront the reality that she needed to move on. Karen Kinney of Christ Presbyterian Church of the Slate Belt in Bangor, Pennsylvania. “I think I felt some resentment that folks really didn’t see that toll, but I know I am very good at hiding what I am feeling,” said the Rev. Too many have gone it alone, and it is taking its toll. A recent Barna study revealed that 29% of pastors have seriously considered doing just that: leaving full-time ministry. “Some thought COVID-19 was a joke or a political ploy, and there was no COVID-19 here,” he said.Īs the church slowly enters the postpandemic era, pastors are exhausted and burnt out to the point that leaving the ministry altogether is tempting. Several of his church members with COVID-19 sought prayers but didn’t want the congregation to know they had it. ![]() “Turbulent” is how one New Jersey minister, who wished to remain anonymous, describes the past year and a half. Recently, a pastor confessed, “My congregation doesn’t see me as human.” That’s not a strange comment considering the year clergy have had - having to work harder and adapting to the challenges of being the church in a pandemic that entangled many in a wired and wireless world. After a COVID-19 year, appreciation is valued by Sherry Blackman | Presbyterians Today ![]()
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