Wits’ End: Church COVID-19 Survey Results

*This was originally posted on RevGalsBlogPals on August 14, 2020. How comfortable would you be coming to in-person worship? Very comfortable. (33%) Fairly comfortable. (34%) Not at all comfortable. (33%) Comments: “Covid isn’t real and God will protect us from it.” “If we don’t meet in person next week I’m finding another church that really…

Wits’ End: Coping in a Time of Crisis

Dear Clergy Colleagues, It’s rough out there! Between a worldwide pandemic, the attempted overthrow of democracy in the United States, and the projected beer and Spam shortages, 2021 isn’t looking much better than 2020. In the current reality, our jobs are incredibly difficult—emotionally, spiritually, and practically. So here are some helpful things to keep in…

Prayer After a Long Week: Mothering God

Source of Life,Creative Force,Bearer of BurdensWho longs to gather us under your strong, feathery wings:We are tired of being the parent, the pastor,The figure-outer, the fixer.We grow weary of the weight we carry.We are exhausted from being the one in charge.Except, of course, we’re not in charge,Because if we were, things would not be such…

Thoughts from a Virtual Church Visitor: Welcoming and Gathering

So far on my mini-May-sabbatical I’ve engaged with about twenty different church worship services: emailed services, live-streamed services, pre-recorded services, Zoom services. Lots of them have been Mennonite, but I’ve also hung out with some Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, and non-denominational folks. In my first post about this experience, I suggested some ways to…

Reflecting on My Ordination

Ten years ago today, I was ordained as a pastor in Mennonite Church USA. It’s an odd kind of anniversary—one that feels like it should be celebrated somehow, but one for which there are no set celebration models. So I’ve spent my day being a pastor—answering email, writing a sermon, making phone calls, visiting a…

What do You Do?

“So, Joanna, what do you do?” My comfort level with this question depends on the context. In this case, I was at a neighborhood get-together with several new neighbors I didn’t know very well. The 79-year-old man asking the question is active in a local conservative independent evangelical church. The 60ish-year-old man also listening in…