November 25, 2020

Adriane Bilous Shares Six Resources for Peace and Calm During the Holidays

Every month ECFVP offers resources on a theme. This month we've asked ECF's own Dr. Adriane Bilous to choose resources from Vital Practices to highlight. Please find her choices below. Please share this email with new members of your vestry and extend an invitation to subscribe to ECF Vital Practices to receive Vestry Papers and this monthly digest.

For this month’s digest, I wanted to share resources that might come in handy this season. With the recent election, upcoming holidays and the continuing pandemic, I hope they help bring you peace and calm.

In Healthy Uncertainty, Jeremiah Sierra briefly asks readers to consider the balance between need to control and letting go of the uncertainties in parish life.

Worry and Heart briefly discusses the powerful hold that worry can have on our bodies and ministries. How many of us feel like we haven’t had a good night’s sleep since January? Author Anna Olson advises that “I pay attention to what has the power to keep me awake at night.”

Recuperar, Continuar y Expandir (“Becoming, Continuing, Expanding”) This article is available in both English and Spanish. A great article that focuses on group work around the question “What is the nature of the situation we find ourselves in?” As vestries and parish committees work on plans for 2021 amidst a pandemic, author Nancy Davidge offers wise words on how groups can find calm and strength in the very process of change.

Un artículo que se centra en el trabajo en equipo enfocándose en la pregunta ¿Por qué estamos en esta situación? Mientras que las juntas parroquiales y los comités parroquiales crean planes para 2021 en medio de una pandemia, la autora Nancy Davidge ofrece sabias palabras sobre cómo los equipos pueden encontrar la calma y la fuerza en el proceso del cambio y la incertidumbre.

I would be remiss if an article on stewardship during a pandemic was not included in this list of resources to deal and counter anxiety during these times. But asking for money during a pandemic seems gauche, right? Author Leslie Pendleton discusses these realities in her article Antidote to Anxiety (About Raising $) – asking readers to delve into deeper conversations about the sources for this anxiety and offering several antidotes to consider when having these conversations.

Liderazgo efectivo en épocas de cambios y ansiedad (“Leadership in Times of Change”) This article is available in both English and Spanish. Robin Hammeal-Urban introduces readers to the concept of change and asks readers to do the emotional work that accompanies the work of change and transition in parish life. At this time in our history, there is great change and great stress. Hammeal-Urban offers honest and useable tips to encourage leaders to pay attention to the emotional health of their parishes and use emotional resources wisely and with heart.

Liderazgo efectivo en épocas de cambios y ansiedad Robin Hammeal-Urban les presenta a los lectores el concepto del cambio y les pide que hagan el trabajo emocional que acompaña al trabajo de cambio y transición en la vida parroquial. En este momento de nuestra historia, sentimos ansiedad por los cambios en nuestras iglesias y un gran estrés en general. Hammeal-Urban ofrece consejos honestos y útiles para animar a los líderes a prestar atención a la salud emocional de sus parroquias y a utilizar los recursos emocionales con sabiduría y corazón.

Fragments on Fragments is a series of reflections by the Right Reverend Jonathan Clark, Bishop of Croydon, Church of England. The series is available on The Episcopal Café website. Here is my personal favorite, Fragments on Fragments: Being Human in a Pandemic. a reflection on knowing oneself (or perhaps doing the work to find oneself) during times of great upheaval and anxiety. An introduction to the entire series can be found here. Make sure you read Bishop Clark’s words on using the Japanese practice of kintsugi to form his reflections.