Pastoral Care
By Haley Bankey
Tragically, active shooter preparedness is something all residents of the United States would benefit to learn about. In Gentle as a Dove, Wise as a Serpent, Haley Bankey shares resources to help you navigate the difficult co…
By Frank Wade
The April 2013 events in Boston and West, Texas have again attuned our minds to the reality of crises in our lives. When crises occur, people often turn instinctively to the church, in the same way a stumbling person reaches …
By Gary Gleason
"Why should we spend a year trying to get a new minister? I could fill this job in about a week!" the vestry member proclaimed. "Yes," I replied, "but it's not a good idea."
By Will Thompson
Nuts and bolts issues are more effectively and efficiently addressed when vestries focus first on key questions having to do with discernment and key values.
By David Farrand
As we begin a new year, perhaps you are trying to decide, once again, what resolutions might bring you health and peace. One goal might be to close the planning gap. Or, put another way, this may be the year to finally addres…
By Chilton Knudsen
Congregations often include people impacted by addiction and codependency.
By Robert Certain
Every day, in airports across the nation, men and women in uniform are applauded for their military service. What a pleasant difference from my war.
By Diana B. Henriques
On September 11th, as my husband Larry and I were finishing breakfast, we heard a plane go over our house – too low and too loud for the usual air traffic approaching Newark Airport, 20 minutes away. We looked at each other i…
By Valerie Bailey Fischer
As they tried to shake my hand, the father turned to me and quietly said, “see you in five years.” That was almost two years ago and I have not seen them since.
By Mike Ehmer
Our responses to change and transition in congregational life vary because our understanding of them is influenced by our experiences and individual temperament.
By ECF and Pattie Christensen
This article readers to the church-wide lay employee pension system.
By Greg Syler
With his own job about to change, Greg Syler explores what the role of a rector is from perceived expectations to the church-wide Canons.
By Santi Rodriguez
Mental illness in comunidades latinas is not something that is openly discussed. In Shared Anxieties, Santi Rodriguez talks to us about mental illness – often seen as taboo or a stigma in comunidades Latinas – and how importa…
By Nancy James and Ann Turner
Growing out of the popularity of the annual diocesan church administrators and treasurers’ conference, Nancy James and Ann Turner share a roadmap for how they setup networking events for administrators and treasurers in their…
By Juan Carabaña
Juan Carabaña shares how practicing discipleship often means meeting others in difficult places of pain and need.
By Susan Erdey
Susie Erdey explains why pledge transparency can only be beneficial to the life of both individual members and the parish as a whole.
By J. William Harkins, Ph.D., LMFT
J. William Harkins details different approaches to building resilience in the face of hardship.
By Rebecca Roberts
How can we connect with God during these stressful times? In Seven Ways to Nourish Your Spirit and Soul, Rebecca Roberts lists practical and simple habits we can cultivate to find the strength to persevere even in the most di…
By Charis Bhagianathan
Our stories this month are about communities and individuals being and experiencing blessings, sharing their grief and continuing to look to hope during this time.
By Angelo Wildgoose
Human interaction is such a significant part of our life together, particularly as the Body of Christ. In Pastoring in a Pandemic, Angelo Wildgoose shares a heartbreaking story of an old couple in his parish, the pain at not …