Clergy Appreciation, Church Mental Health Summit and Advent Offerings →

You may have heard that October is Clergy Appreciation Month. I know that none of us serve Jesus and his church for the appreciation, accolades, or affirmations we might receive.

I also know, though, how meaningful it is when appreciation is offered, and how much encouragement and stamina we receive, with just a phone call or email of affirmation. It can give so much energy and gratification to know that our efforts to be vessels of God’s grace, challenge, and comfort are landing somewhere, somehow, with someone. So, I hope that you know that your leadership and ministry are appreciated and valued by your community of faith and the wider church, not just this month, but year-round.

And, I offer my own thanks to you, for your leadership in Christ’s church, in all the ways you offer it! My friend and colleague, the Rev. Karen Millard of Lynn Valley United Church, offered these words of gratitude in a group this week, and gave her permission for me to share it with you:

Thank you
for the early Sunday mornings & the late Wednesday nights
for the seeds you plant & disciples you nurture.

Thank you
for the sermons you preach & the prayers you lift up
for the wise counsel & the words of encouragement.

Thank you
for creating services even when you are tired
for inspiring hope and promise even when you doubt.

Thank you
for sitting at the bedside of the ill and dying
for celebrating baptisms and mourning deaths.

Thank you
for caring for others when you need care yourself
for offering light when it feels like the world is overwhelmingly dark.

Thank you
for folding bulletins and creating power points
for showing love to people you’d rather walk away from.

Thank you
for hours of emails and administration
for building projects.

Thank you
for setting up chairs and tables and doing dishes
for listening to your congregation even when you don’t feel heard.

Thank you
for the sacrifice and service
for all the love you give and show and offer.

I give thanks to God for you, for the ways you allow God to work in and through you, and bear witness to the gospel in your words, actions and living.

You may also know, that this Friday, October 10 is World Mental Health Day. Many of us in church leadership know that mental health is vital to human flourishing, but don’t always know how to help others who are struggling. This is late notice, but you may be interested in the Church Mental Health Summit, happening online on Friday (and free). How do we show up for others, when we’re running on empty? How do we equip our communities of faith, when we’re still learning too? How do we turn good intentions, into practical care that makes a difference? You can find more information here: Church Mental Health Summit | Free Online Event for Ministry Leaders

I’ll be taking part so I’ll let you know what speakers and resources I find most helpful!

We also have three ways to support and nurture you during Advent- free resources for small groups and worship by Prayer Bench, a special online Advent worship service with our new Moderator, and a weekly online clergy group with Janice MacLean. Find details for all of these offerings here.
 

Thanksgiving blessings,

Michelle

Leading in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times →

I just learned a new term to me, to describe the state of the world, and the challenge of leadership within it, right now: VUCA: What VUCA Really Means for You.
 

VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, and it might resonate with you as you consider the context of the community and world in which you lead. I know many of you who are ministry personnel were searching your hearts and the scriptures, looking for a good and faithful word to share last Sunday in response to the ongoing political violence in the United States, for example. I also know that some of you had worship attenders walk out, when they didn’t hear the message they wanted to, or thought they would hear.

Please know that you have been, and continue to be, in my prayers, as you seek to lead faithfully and courageously. It is not easy, and, you are not alone.

One thing that is essential for our survival and even thriving as church leaders, is supportive community. So LeaderShift has designed some learning and support groups and events for clergy, to help sustain you and encourage you right now. Details in full post here. 
 

Deep blessings to you, and with gratitude for your leadership,

Michelle

Known and Unknown

Welcome to September! I hope you are entering this fall with energy, creativity, and a deep sense of being accompanied, by the God who is always faithful.

Last week I was blessed to take part in the "Known and Unknown: Leadership in a Liminal Time" conference, hosted by Vancouver School of Theology.

The word "liminal" refers to the boundary, or the threshold, of something new. That state or space of being in-between what was and what will or may be, with all the discomfort that can hold. 

Yet as uncomfortable as liminal space and time can be, it can also be rich with possibility. The time and state of ambiguity offers an invitation for reflection, prayer, attention, and intention - if we can resist the compulsion to rush through to the other side.

What is known at the beginning of this church year? We know we're in year C of the Revised Common Lectionary (or Year 4 - John, if you're using the Narrative Lectionary). We know the high holy days on our liturgical and national calendar: Orange Shirt Day, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Sunday, Advent and Christmas, and beyond. We know the dates of Board/Council meetings, Bible Study, and choir practice.

And what is unknown? An awful lot more, it seems. Whether it's the future of our earth's climate, Canadian or American politics, or the economy (tariffs!). Or the future of our communities of faith, and the United Church of Canada as a whole. There is so much that is unknown, that the meagre details of what we do know, don't seem to make much of an impact.

One of the conference's keynote speakers, Dr Sarah Drummond of Andover Newton Seminary/Yale Divinity School, drew upon a scene from the recent Marvel movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, to explore liminality.

(Spoiler ahead!) At one point in the film, the Four are in a spacecraft, and a heavily pregnant Sue Storm (played by Vanessa Kirby) goes into labour. However, since they are in space, there is zero gravity, so Sue has nothing to push against, in her contractions. So her husband Reed Richards (played by Pedro Pascal), uses straps to tether her to her seat, so she can labour effectively.

Sarah Drummond suggests that the work of leadership in a liminal time, might just feel like giving birth in zero-gravity - free floating in the unknown, without anything to push against, or pull toward.

What can tether us, as church leaders, and as followers of Jesus Christ, in this time, where so much is unknown? What can we strap ourselves to, as we "labour unto glory, until God's kingdom comes"?

The answer is the one BIG thing we know, that big and deep and beautiful and wise and challenging and comforting thing - and that is the gospel. The good news that the world as it is, is not how God would have it be. That Christ is risen, and gives us life that is worth living, in the here and now. That Creator is still creating, and inviting us to take part. "How firm a foundation", indeed!

If you are a leader, looking for ways to be more strongly tethered to the gospel, and to the beloved community of other leaders, do I have some opportunities for you…Calendar — LeaderSHIFT UCCan

Faithfully,

Michelle