Well...now there's a weekend for you. I received a call on Thursday morning that one of our members passed away (she lived in assisted living and it was somewhat expected). The family wanted the funeral ASAP...Monday, to be precise. The only surviving daughter was a prime example of "Harried Person." You know what I mean. Harried Person is always slowly running their fingers through their hair, trying to piece together what they should do next...and what they usually do next is spend fifteen minutes trying to convey to you how truly harried they really are. Harried Person simply projects busyness to the point that you feel guilty asking them to do anything. Well...Harried Person really wanted the funeral on Monday. And really, I can't blame her (kids with jobs, etc.)...but what it ended up doing was spiraling most of the family (not to mention the pastor) into a tailspin of planning, stress, and delay. If it tells you anything, I typed up the bulletin Sunday night. And so yesterday, for the majority of the family, wasn't as much a celebration or remembrance as it was a big sigh of relief.
The result? I am now running on fumes. After a Session Retreat that absorbed much of the previous weekend and now this weekend spent working...I am feeling it. Add to that the general "Oh my gosh...I'm really going to be preaching every Sunday for the rest of my life" feelings that happen when I try to write right now...and, well, I'm just dog tired. I'm hoping that this weekend can provide some rest...because next weekend I'm headed to the Nebraska Panhandle for a two-day Presbytery meeting on Friday and Saturday.
I have heard that this happens to pastors, teachers, and the like in their first years. That their passion for the job gives them adrenaline for the first few months...but when they "run out" and things become a bit more"normal," then they adjust. The problem, "they" say, is the adjusting from "Wow! This is new...I'm excited!" to "Wow! God is working...even in these things I do every week! And I'm still excited in a less-energy-consuming-much-more-even-keel-way!".
All I know is that I'm seriously considering replacing the sermon with hymn sing on Sunday.
Just kidding...Julie's going to preach.
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4 comments:
Not to mention that we pastors have still not recovered from Christmas.
I told someone the other day that, while I thought that January would be a little easier, I've realized that pastors really don't get a Christmas break until February.
When a friend and colleague mentioned leaving their church for the "secular" world I immediately asked if they'd be my parish associate.
"All you have to do is preach once a month. That's it. I promise!"
As your former RA and CPM Moderator, I must tell you to "take time to care for yourself." But that would be hypocritical nonsense coming from me. Are you finding blogging to be a release, or is it adding to the strain?
Get theyself a Commissioned Lay Pastor, my friend!
Acutally, the blogging has been a release. Writing for no reason appears to be a good thing. I miss talking with friends (like yourself)...and this, paired with reading other blogs, seems to scratch that itch a bit.
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