December 22, 2020

Pray for Your Priest

Feeling inadequate.

Stressed.

Exhausted.

Many folks feel all of the above during the holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. Sadly, these are the terms many clergy persons use to describe themselves during the entire season of pandemic.

An article about this subject got my attention. Written by David Paulsen and published by the Episcopal News Service, it describes the stress, fatigue and instability that weigh down many a parish priest these days. Read the full article here.

Here are three ways to be a blessing to those called by God to serve you:

1. Pray for your priest, every day. Pray for all aspects and challenges of their ministry as well their family and personal life, and their mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being.

2. Write notes of thanks and encouragement to your priest. An email may be fine, but there are so many of those to sift through these days. Heartfelt personal notes stand out and are generally treasured. You never know what a positive impact this may have on the day the note is received.

3. As much as possible, continue your financial commitment to your parish. The financial stress during the pandemic is weighing heavily on clergy leadership.

Multiply your blessing impact by doing the same for all members of your church staff whether paid or volunteer. And don’t forget your Bishop and the diocesan staff.