Had a sacred visit with Dixie Weiler today. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Collections for North Carolina relief can be brought to Fitzpatrick Hardware, Plowman Collision, or C&C Trucking, (all the businesses are located on US 23 South). All the collected items will be transported to people in need.   Ther trucks will depart on Friday, October 11th at 7:30 A.M.  Everything from baby products to dogfood are needed.  Please do what you can to support our nation and please begin with prayer.

Bishop Satterlee sent this message out to the various churches in the NWLM synod.  I wanted to share it with you, the people of God at St. Paul.   The ideas, vision and wisdom shared within this article will inspire insights into Pastoral leadership.
October is Pastor (Rostered Minister) Appreciation Month. One definition of appreciate is “understand (a situation) fully; recognize the full implications of.” I recently heard that many pastors are still finding, even fighting, their way back from being declared “non-essential workers” during the COVID-19 pandemic when they could not visit the sick, console the dying, and commend the dead to the mercy of our God. I realized that, as a bishop and former professor, my experience of the pandemic was different. I do not fully appreciate all that our pastors experienced. I know that, in the aftermath of the pandemic, I put several pastors on administrative leave for the sake of their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. I know of pastors who resigned their calls and are exploring vocations other than pastoral ministry by which to serve God and neighbor. But I do not have firsthand experience of serving a congregation during the pandemic. So I did some learning.
This year for Pastor Appreciation month, I share some of what I learned in the hope that we might more fully appreciate what our pastors experienced during the pandemic and the implications of that time they continue to deal with. [i] Perhaps we are at enough of a distance from the pandemic that church councils and mutual ministry committees could invite their pastor to share their experiences of the pandemic and listen with appreciation.

Challenge and Opportunity
The COVID-19 pandemic presented pastors with both unique challenges and unique opprtunities. As bishops and governments issued stay-at-home orders and limited large gatherings to try to thwart the spread of the virus, church activities were specifically targeted for closure because evidence of viral spread from church-led events began to surface as early as March 2020. The leadership demands of the clergy began to include organizing online worship, Bible study, and other activities, interpreting and enforcing  suggested or mandated health protocols, and adapting traditional face-to-face interactions. Pastors took on additional management duties common to non-profit leaders—strategic planning, budgeting, financial development, and supervision of staff. Pastors also provided counseling support for communities facing heightened stress, depression, conflict, illness, and death. As they carried on their work, the pandemic required pastors to make tremendous changes in their roles, routines, and the manner in which they carried out their ministry.
Studies on job demands have frequently found that the most taxing requirements include workload, emotional labor, and organizational change, all of which underlay the pandemic-related tasks pastors faced. Pastors described feeling overwhelmed and incompetent in the initial days of the pandemic but also reported some positive opportunities for reflection and creativity. By 2022, pastors were experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety due to the pandemic and associated lockdowns. Pastors reported feeling overwhelmed by the sudden changes to their work and struggling to support their congregations, all while dealing with personal challenges.

Compassion Fatigue
While most pastors consider the opportunities to interact with people in some of their most difficult times the most rewarding part of their vocation, the exposure to the suffering and stress of the pandemic resulted in “compassion fatigue.” Compassion fatigue is a specific type of stress characterized by the combination of burnout and secondary traumatic stress.  
While all professions are susceptible to burnout, helping professions are unique to the overlapping effects of both burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Burnout develops over time and results in emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced work adequacy. Secondary Traumatic Stress can develop more suddenly and is similar to post-traumatic stress syndrome, as care workers absorb the emotion of those they care for. Manifestations may include hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts, and emotional numbness.

Administrative Stress
Administrative tasks produce stress when multiple work demands are at odds, especially when parishioners have competing expectations, when required duties are not supported with necessary resources or reinforced by congregational leaders, when lines of authority are ambiguous and unclear, and when goals are inconsistent or even in conflict. During the pandemic, pastors were faced with unprecedented demands and competing expectations in a climate of uncertainty and ambiguity. With the disruption in traditional roles and responsibilities, pastors described challenges to their identity and control as leaders and distress from not being able to discharge their normal duties.

Conflict
In addition to unsettled role identity, pastors also faced conflict within and beyond their congregations. Health officials consistently identified in-person worship as spreaders of the virus, but there was controversy over the restrictions on such gatherings and how protocols should be implemented. Adherence to health protocols and trust in official guidance were divergent globally, and pastors often mediated these disparities in their leadership roles.

Perceived Support
On the other hand, research on job resources consistently demonstrates the level of perceived support as important to well-being. Perceived support from various sources, including families, colleagues, professional training, judicatory personnel, and their congregations, is a significant contributor to positive affect for the clergy during the pandemic. While congregants can be sources of stress for pastors, they can also offer support that facilitates well-being.

Ongoing Implications
COVID-19 continues to return to church. We regularly hear of pastors who lead worship on Sunday and test positive on Monday. Negotiating public health concerns is ongoing.
Many of our people do not return to church. The pandemic accelerated the trend of people choosing not to belong to organizations. As a result, many congregations are at much greater risk of not being sustainable than they were prior to the pandemic. Pastors both feel and are held responsible for this situation, even though this reality is beyond their control. At the same time, people who experienced major loss of a pastor relationship during the pandemic desire pastors to devote their time to visitation at one-to-one interactions. Pastors are uncertain how to simultaneously tend the gathered flock and stabilize the congregation.
Many pastors have not relinquished or been relieved of the additional administrative responsibilities they took on during the pandemic. In fact, pastors and congregations may have lost track of who does and should do what. This might be the appropriate time for an audit and appraisal of appropriate responsibilities and assignments.
Appreciating the toll of stressful tasks and roles can allow leaders to be strategic and intentional in meaningfully allocating pastoral and congregational resources. While the pandemic introduced some unique circumstances, crises are not uncommon and could have similar demands. Appreciating pastoral ministry during the pandemic might better prepare congregation and pastor to stand together in responding to whatever is coming next.

With added appreciation,
The Rev. Craig Alan Satterlee, Ph.D., Bishop

[i] This article is informed by Amy L. Benton and Angela P. Girdley, “Clergy and Compassionate Leadership: A Tightrope of Fatigue and Satisfaction During COVID-19,” published online July 5, 2023.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10345792/

Had a sacred visit with Eugene Brooks today in the hospital. Please keep him in your prayers.

Had a sacred visit with Evelyn Green today in the hospital.  Please keep her in your prayers.

Had a sacred visit with Eugene Brooks today in the hospital. Please keep him in your prayers.

Had a sacred visit with Bill Kimball and Margaret Kirby tonight at Medilodge.  Please keep them in your prayers.

Had a sacred visit with Gerald Johnson and Bob Mills tonight at Medilodge.  Please keep them in your prayers.

Shared a sacred moment with Harriet Burke tonight. Please keep her in prayer.

The Trust and Endowment Fund gathered this evening to consider support for our community, our nation, our world and the ELCA. Their leadership is vital, I ask that you keep these servant leaders in your prayers.

Welcome to Mike Collins as a member of St. Paul.   He joined our congregation today.  Thanks to our Church Council leaders who made this event more memorable.  Please continue to pray for him and his family.

Welcome to Luke Hudson as a member of St. Paul.   Luke was Baptized today in the 10:30 service.  Thanks to our Church Council leaders who made this event more memorable.  Please continue to pray for him and his family.

The worship on the beach was a joyful expression of hope.   Thanks to everyone who came out for the worship and fellowship throughout the year.