How is Your September?
/September is already nearly over. I’m guessing that many of us are experiencing a mix of emotions about these days that normally represent getting back into routines and a new start to the year.
Maybe you’ve had a rally day for Sunday school and faces you haven’t seen in a long time came back and your volunteer base is healthy and there is energy and enthusiasm for what lies ahead. I would guess that few of us have had that experience. Instead, for many our numbers haven’t grown and perhaps have even declined since before the summer. The volunteer base has shrunk and is stretched thin and anxiety is percolating about how we will offer programs and care for our people when so few are doing so much. Add to this events around us - the stabbings in Saskatchewan, the death of Queen Elizabeth II - a rock and example of faith and service that seems to be declining, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and hurricanes, famines and earthquakes. For many it’s been a tough slog mentally, spiritually and otherwise. Several people around me have said that if they actually got a holiday over the summer, they didn’t come back ready or refreshed but instead came back tired.
If you read my post last week, you know I really didn’t get a ‘holiday’ but rather a different pace as I attended to family concerns. So I understand returning to work without a re-set or feeling rejuvenated. In ministry we can feel that we should have energy and enthusiasm, and if we don’t we can experience guilt. We can also feel the burden of increasing congregational numbers - attracting people back to the pews or off the street. As attendance plateaus or even decreases in many churches, despite our hope of returning to pre-pandemic numbers, what will turn this around, or our own malaise about it?
I’m going to suggest a few things, which I acknowledge can be tough when anxiety among our congregations is high:
Give yourself permission to just be rather than do. Take time to unplug, to listen to great music, to nap, to read that book you always wanted to read, to listen to an inspiring podcast, to walk and really be present to what is around you, to do something you enjoy that you haven’t made time for in a long time
We have all journeyed through trauma over the last two years and we are tentatively decompressing. We need to remind ourselves that we aren’t the Messiah, and that we don’t have to be on 24/7. That’s God’s job. We need to remember Sabbath and the grace God offers us through rest and handing over the stresses to our Creator who is more than capable of managing them. Don’t neglect the gifts of taking this time for yourself and with God and setting boundaries around your availability.
Voice your own concerns carefully and to listen deeply to the fears held by those around you. Don’t dismiss or down-play people’s feelings in favour of willing them into optimism. We need to start where our reality is, but then remind people that our reality includes Jesus, the One who suffered for us and overcame death and promises resurrection. We get to voice that God will make that happen in our lives and in our congregations in some way. There is always hope no matter how bleak things seem. God’s plans are good, even if they aren’t what we expected or wished.
Lean into your sisters and brothers in faith, whether spiritual mentors, leaders in your congregation or colleagues and friends who can speak courage to you and who you can encourage as well. We were not meant to do this alone and when we share our struggles and concerns we often learn that we are experiencing common issues. We don’t need to feel ashamed about where we’re at, but we do need to be honest about it and then think about how to move through it so we don’t get stuck and be in prayer seeking God’s guidance. Our companions on the journey can help us do that.
I pray that as September ends, we can let go and let God, whether the kick-off to this new season went as expected or not, whether folks are missing from the pews or not, whether we are tired or hyped or in between. God holds it all and holds us and the plans God has are beyond our understanding.
Like the Queen who dedicated her life to humble service, we continue to walk in faith. Sometimes our steps are slow and small, but we continue to walk. We pause to refuel every once in a while and then get moving again. Because God is good and the people we are called to love are precious and so are we.