Things they didn’t teach in seminary: pandemic ministry

Looking back on the busiest week of my ministerial career

The last week has been a whirlwind. Quite simply, this is the busiest I have been in years. The coronavirus has arrived in southeast Missouri and I am leading a church struggling to make sense of what is going on, as well as how to successfully respond.

For most of the week I have been working from home with Lily. We are both in the midst of reinventing both of our workplaces. The college will be online for the remainder of the semester and the church will be functioning electronically for the foreseeable future. In the midst of all that, I was attempting to care for the people of the church through a combination of social media, email, text and telephone.

Overall we both managed to keep our head above water, but we are rapidly discovering that everything is so much more complicated online. People that we are used to working alongside are working from their homes. We are reliant on technology that may not work, or that we are still in the process of mastering. We are having to completely overhaul all of our habits and routines at the very same time. Everyone we know is in precisely the same boat and the truth of the matter is that it is proving to be utterly exhausting for all concerned.

The sheer logistical effort required by students, parents, businesses, educators, and society as a whole is made more complicated by the fact that the globe has been going through this unexpected and overwhelmingly traumatic episode. Our church is attempting to help people make sense of what is happening and to give them the spiritual strength to navigate their way through it. We have created an online devotional schedule and organized volunteers to help those who might be affected by the fallout from the epidemic. It has been a challenge, but I think that a provisional system is starting to come together.

Reinventing the church while finding a way forward

In the end we have been working on this through a few different fronts. We are working on a greatly increased social media presence. We streamed worship for the first time in the history of our congregation and had a pretty good response even with the rudimentary technology we are operating with. We are also putting a lot of emphasis on the elders reaching out to the members of their shepherding families.

Finally, we are coordinating a group of volunteers who are going to head up the effort to reach out to the community in response to any needs that might arise as a result of the infection. So far, the community has been handling the crisis pretty well and there is a system to ensure that kids get meals during the break. Even if nothing big comes up, it is good to know that we have a team lined up and ready to go.

One of the things that has made this last week so challenging is that there is really no template for this. There was no Pandemic 101 class in seminary. All of our efforts and plans are inherently improvisational. The situation has changed many times throughout this outbreak and I am certain that it is going to evolve some more in the weeks ahead. 

Looking back, I am the most grateful for the number of people in our congregation who have come forward to help out. People have shared their musical, speaking, organizational, technological, and care giving talents in ways that are absolutely inspiring to watch. People are reaching out to each other and demonstrating what it means to be the body of Christ. It is my prayer that this time will pass quickly and we will be able to rebuild stronger on the other side.

Dear God,

I do not know how to do this. None of us do. We are learning as we go. We are still trying to figure out what we are supposed to be doing and how to best care for ourselves and others. This is truly uncharted territory for most of us.

Please be with all the members of our church, whether they are able to come together in person or join us electronically. Give us the wisdom that we need to carry out your will for our lives and for our community. Help us to serve you by loving our neighbors.

Thank you for all the people who have helped this church reinvent itself in just one week. Thank you for their wisdom, patience, and flexibility. Be patient with us as we figure this out and remind us to be patient with each other and ourselves. Help us to continue to bring the grace of Christ to the community of Dexter.

Amen.