Hello ,
In times of crisis and collapse, even more than we need lengthy reflective essays, we need
practical and immediate reminders about strategies that hold long-term consequences.
We need reminders of wisdom. We need a hope that is lasting and deeply rooted in community and spirituality, not mere optimism.
We need the shared wisdom of many ministers and faith leaders. We need virtual and actual sticky notes about navigating crisis posted around us to keep us on course, to keep the basics of leadership and care in focus.
So I am here this morning to encourage you and offer some sticky notes on navigating the present crisis as a faith leader.
People are looking for leaders right now. They want to respond, to feel
like they are part of something. People want to speak collectively to the abuses of power landing daily. And we cannot stand alone against the tide of a collapsing democracy. We each need to do our parts. And we need leaders like you, , who have courage to call us together. We need focus to cut through the multiple actions that are “flooding the zone” of our lives and endangering many of us and the people we love.
So here are five sticky notes of encouragement.
- Keep making beloved community
My congregation wrote a purpose statement about seven years ago. It helps guide our community and our collective action. One line says we will “make sanctuary for one another, with special concern for those who are marginalized.” This was a hard-won statement that keeps valuable wisdom alive, and it is so important for the current moment. We all need sanctuary. People who are targets of systems and people in power, need
particular care, support, and protection. Whether you are making physical or relational sanctuary, listening is a key to making that work. And listening is especially important with people whose social location puts them on a target list.
By continuing to create community, I mean, eating and laughing together. Worshiping together with meaningful words and rituals, leaving aside the rote or hollow ones. Singing and praying together and sharing stories brings together our experiences, our concerns, our values, and our voices.
When we are woven together in beloved community our power to make collective change is stronger.
- Notice who is missing and reach out
Humans have advanced powers of noticing not just what is present, but also what (or who) is missing. We can look in the fridge and see "no eggs.” We can change the situation by going to a store and (with a small personal loan) buying some eggs. This capacity is related to our cognitive powers of imagination and telling future stories.
We need to use this power
to notice who is missing in our congregations and faith communities. Now is a good time to change that situation by reaching out to missing folx. It might not be just the occasional participants but it also could be the people we think of as regulars and leaders who are presently missing.
When people know they are seen, missed when absent, and loved, they become vital parts of the beloved community. When everyone is stressed and stretched, it is very challenging to look beyond our own overwhelm. However, when we take time for this kind of connection it strengthens all of us.
- Discern where God is calling you to act
How is God calling your community of faith, church or the organization where you serve to act in response to the changes we are witnessing? The vast majority of faith communities make decisions related to public protest slowly and deliberately — if they make them at all.
Now is a time, however, to ask: How will we organize? Strategize? Protest? Educate? Not all of you lead churches where this kind of action is the ‘go-to.’ Discerning what is right and how to act as a congregation will be as important as ever. In “purple churches” this could feel impossible. Nevertheless, the effects of a collapsing democracy and social fabric will impact every
congregation. So asking these questions is
imperative right now.
Continuing to follow your congregation’s mission and purpose may be the conclusion. For some of you, the way to lead will be for you pastorally to support the actions of individual members through coming alongside them in prayer and discernment. For other congregations, it may be a matter of educating your community. Or perhaps the work will be to pray for each other in the tasks that God is calling individuals to do.
Whatever the outcome, I encourage you to let discernment be a priority this season.
- Utilize rituals of your faith
Both words and silence are needed. The cataphatic and the apophatic ways can help us be the people of God in prayer and action. We have many
rituals of our faith
and
tradition that are underutilized. Use their power to invite people into the work - both gatherings for worship and times of public protest. Rituals help us make meaningful space for lament, connection, and creation of beloved community.
On Sunday everyone in my congregation was invited first to hear laments from the book of Psalms. Then one of our pastors — in the middle of her sermon — invited us to compose a lament. This was a powerful way to experience being seen and heard by God in the depths of my pain and frustration.
- Make space for vocational loss and grief as well as identity threat and grief
One major source of overwhelm in the present moment is job loss, threatened and actual. Some threats have been stepped back but many losses of jobs (employment) and vocations (purpose) are coming. There will be unanticipated ripple effects.
Another source of threat and loss is in the erasures that are taking place on websites, with deportation sweeps, in potential new laws and policies, and in the
self-policing of organizations out of fear. The erasures add to the vulnerability of already marginalized people, especially immigrants, women, Black and Brown people, lgbtiqa+ folks, and people with disabilities. Have you checked in with these folks who are part of your faith community?
When losses strike at one’s identity and one’s vocation, they take a profound toll. They take the chaos and overwhelm of undermining democracy into a deeply personal place.
Grief work means acknowledging loss and honoring it. As a part of our care for our communities, we need to attend collectively and with pastoral care to people who are experiencing vocational grief and identity grief.
The work of leading a faith community is complex and multifaceted work. I am praying
for you, . I hope you will grab onto each other, your sense of calling, every possible moment of joyful defiance, and rest.
