“We’ve been talking behind your back.” (Sabbath is a thing)

A much needed coup d’etat

After the busiest Lent and Holy Week I have experienced in a long while I got a call on Easter Sunday afternoon from a member of our congregation’s Digital Devotions group. The individual began by saying, “we have been talking behind your back…”

Normally that is a dangerous phrase, but in this case it was not. The person went on to say that an impromptu meeting of the devotional group, which included several elders, was very grateful for all the effort that I had been putting in over the past several weeks and they suggested that I needed to take a few days of rest. They were unilaterally cancelling scheduled devotions for the next few days and told me to relax. They said thank you for pouring myself out and that it was time to allow God to refill my soul for a while.

This coup d’etat of compassion was much appreciated. Although I knew that I was running on fumes and had planned to sleep in as much as possible this week, to have others affirm that they had seen the work that I was putting in was extremely gratifying. Although I am not in ministry for the adulation, it is helpful every now and then to know that things are making a difference. This is especially true in this moment where face to face contact is absent. Sometimes it feels like all of this work is being done in a void. It’s hard to know what works and what does not.

The other thing that helps is the fact that they took it upon themselves to make it possible for me to stand down. The leaders of the church were directly asking me to take care of myself. I am incredibly grateful that I am surrounded by a body of faithful believers so committed to keeping me aware of my own limitations.

Refilling my cup

After posting a video explaining why I would be out of touch for a few days, I spent the most of the week catching up on some of the things that I have been putting off. I spent some time in prayer, puttered around the garden, got some exercise in, caught up on sleep, played around with the flight simulator, and cuddled with my cats.

This week was far more restorative than I had expected, and extremely necessary. The elders made a good call when they suggested I stand down for a few days. The truth of the matter is that I was way more tired than I realized.

Reemerging from my cocoon

By Thursday I began to emerge from my temporary retreat, put in some Air Force Reserve hours and began worship preparations. Ever since we moved our services entirely online, I have been reaching out to the people of the congregation to record videos for part of the liturgy.

It has been wonderful getting to see everyone’s creativity and different approaches. This week brought us the youngest scripture reader we have had in a long time. The members of the church were incredibly impressed by how well he did, especially given some of the difficult words in the text.

Overall, I am happy with the way the church has adapted over the past few weeks. It has not been easy, but the congregation is rising to the occasion. We are connecting with each other and continuing our ministry in lots of different ways. 

We are still serving the community of Dexter. This week it was announced that we were able to give away $3,600 to the Stoddard County Gospel Mission Food Pantry. Next Sunday we are going to contribute to the Dexter Ministerial Alliance Emergency Fund. While our church is not going to be able to help everyone who has been hurt economically by this outbreak, it is important that we do what we can to mitigate some of the effects.

Getting a bit of wind therapy

On Sunday afternoon I gave myself a bit of a treat and used my motorcycle for my weekly shopping trip. It was the first time I’d been on two wheels since the epidemic began. While I recognize quarantine is the right thing to do, like so many other people I am tired of being cooped up and was going a little stir crazy.

Even a few miles of wind therapy helped a lot. I came back home more relaxed than I have been in a long time. It was the perfect end to a much needed week of rest and recuperation.