To weary clergy:
Thank you for engaging in ministry in ways none of us have been trained for.I don’t think any of us took a course in seminary on Pastoring in a Time of Pandemic, but here we are.Thank you 4using the lessons you were taught to inform how you move through this time

2/x Thank you for the hours and hours and hours you have spent learning some skills, recognizing how out of date others are, and doing incredibly hard work navigating these uncharted waters.

3/x Thank you for the ways you have availed yourselves of these resources so you can be the best you can be as you minister in this moment.

4/x Thank you for your deep love of the people God has sent you to serve. In this season, that task has become particularly heartbreaking. My heart simply hurts all the time these days.

4/x But this is what pastoral love does—we love our people so fully that their hopes, dreams, frustrations, trials, pains, injustices, are felt deeply. Thank you for daring to love so fully.

5/x Thank you for standing up and speaking out on the sin of racism, in our church, our community and world. You have dared to provide a prophetic witness at a time it is most needed, and you have done so because you are connected pastorally to the human family.

6/x I know this is a difficult season, and it is going to get even harder. I have seen your exhaustion, frustration, depression, and I want you to know you are not alone. We will get through this as long as we walk together through this wilderness time

7/x To weary clergy:
Thank you.