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𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗲𝘄𝘀
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Dear Pastor, Church Staff, Musician, and Ministry Leader,

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲.

For over a year you have been learning how to keep your community together while keeping them safe. You’ve been dealing with the demands of getting back into the sanctuary while listening to the CDC and your own body’s needs.

And now you’re finally opening the sanctuary once again.
But you’re looking around wondering, “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺?”

Where are the hordes of people that sent emails, eager to get back to worship?
Where are the youth families that wanted normalcy in their children’s lives again?
Where are the crowds that one member came into your office to tell you about who were anxiously waiting for the decision to be made to open the doors again?

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲.

The pre-pandemic measurements we’re used to as ministry leaders are no longer valid.
The empty pews do not reflect the same things they used to.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.

Your efforts this past season – learning new technology, late nights of editing, navigating the heartaches that come with canceling wedding ceremonies or limiting funeral numbers, missing graduations and conferences, playing piano week after week to a tape recorder, and dealing with phone call after phone call of disappointment and loneliness - were not in vain.

“Where are they?” you ask.
They’re there.
They will find their way back.

But it will take time.
I repeat: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦-𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆.

Remember these things:
- Remember that we’ve just been through some of the lowest attended Sundays in a Church year – the week after Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
- Remember that it’s summer – the time of minimal programming, choir breaks, and few committee meetings. And that’s for a good reason.
- Remember that people are now excited to connect with loved ones in other cities again. That they’re getting to fly in planes and experience the world again that they’ve been so closed off from.
- Remember there are people who function in society by creating habits and systems for themselves who will have to recreate these habits and systems all over again and that takes a lot of effort and time when habits and systems have been broken.
- Remember that there are people still afraid, hidden the way they’ve learned to be hidden for the past 15 months, and aren’t sure how they’re going to learn to feel safe once again when being in community meant putting so much at risk.

The new pastoral normalcy will look like celebrating these travel milestones with your congregation members.
It will look like celebrating the hugs they get to experience and the views from high above the clouds they finally get to have.
It will look like “liking” a picture on Facebook of toes in the sand on the beach, posted on a Sunday.
It will look like finding new resources for those struggling mentally to find safety in the world again and a new awareness of the trauma people are facing with tasks as simple as walking out of the door.
It will look like loving on the people who do show up to sanctuary worship, and not letting their anxieties of the empty pews next to them get to you.
Though most of us haven’t been through a pandemic in our lifetime, you are the expert in what is truly being reflected by these numbers.
And most likely the fears that people are bringing to you are not it.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲.

𝘉𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦.
You were called to something extraordinary this past year.
You were called to something we couldn’t have been trained for.
You made it to the other side – whether you’re still in ministry or not.

Now your role is to navigate the fears and anxieties that come with trying to compare now with what the Church was before.
Navigate them back to what the Church is truly about and now what it needs to be after this new chapter.
You’re a gifted visionary.
You can preach the Gospel through everything you do, even if it’s being a calm and confident presence for those who don’t know what the future holds.

And I know you know how to love your people…
…through their fears about their community.
…through their yearning to grasp to normalcy again.
…through their unrealistic expectations.
When you look at it this way, is this something really new for ministry?
You’ve done this before in a different time.
I know you can do it now.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲.

The most important thing is to take care of yourself.
I get to say that because I know ministry leaders
and this is not usually on the top of their priorities,
so I make sure their health is at the top of mine.

My priorities are…
…to make sure you don’t immediately fill your calendar.
…to make sure that you don’t take on other people’s anxieties on top of your own.
…to make sure that you can take a breath long enough to enjoy worshipping in the sanctuary with your people again.
…to make sure YOU are taking time off without worrying how it will look to the people who didn’t see what you went through the past few months.
…to make sure you’re not evaluating yourself with pre-pandemic, unfair measurements.
…to make sure you take the time to feel God’s presence and call to you for ministry.
And if you’re in the place where you don’t feel that call anymore to make sure that you’ve created space to let that be okay.
…to make sure that if you do continue the call that you have support systems in place to help you through this new transition.

…𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲.

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