![\"\"](\"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Clergy-Appreciation-Pic-2.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nTry, for a moment, to put on the shoes of your Pastor\u2014yes, today, in the year 2020!\u00a0 Here we go:<\/p>\n
In the first quarter of the year, your congregation is coming to your place of worship.\u00a0 Families are attending joyfully.\u00a0 People are hugging, shaking hands, and singing and laughing.\u00a0 They are volunteering and serving others with lots of smiles and conversation.\u00a0 Some are absent due to the flu or illness; however, most things are going as scheduled and life in the sanctuary is harmonious.<\/p>\n
Mid-March, things begin to drastically change.\u00a0 Businesses and Churches across the country are closing due to COVID-19.\u00a0 You and your staff are faced with the difficult decision of halting in-person services.\u00a0 Now life in the sanctuary is non-existent and not allowed.\u00a0 You are scrambling to get the worship services online so your congregants can stay connected.\u00a0 You are being criticized for the decisions you make.\u00a0 To please some people will mean that you disappoint and even anger others.\u00a0 The offerings are down and the expenses continue.\u00a0 You are faced with the tough decisions regarding salaries for staff and living expenses of your own.\u00a0 You are finally fortunate enough to live in a part of the country that is able to assemble again, but things look very different\u2014mask wearing required, excessive sanitation required, low attendance due to fear, etc. This is not even to mention the racial tension and the presidential election with strong opposing opinions that are part of this tumultuous time.\u00a0 Not only are you trying to manage your own feelings and the needs of your family, but you have the responsibility to shepherd the people God has entrusted in your care.\u00a0 Do you feel overwhelmed?<\/p>\n
October is Pastor Appreciation Month.\u00a0 Your Pastor is valuable and worth appreciating every year, but especially in 2020!\u00a0 As a family, keep him or her and their family in your daily prayers.\u00a0 Now is a great time to teach your children to pray for them. Have each member of your family write a note or letter expressing gratitude.\u00a0 Younger children can create pictures to give.\u00a0 If your church is in-person now, tell the Pastor of your appreciation.\u00a0 Pray about specific ways you can bless your Pastor.\u00a0 God has placed them in their role of leadership and authority.\u00a0 Treat them with the honor and respect that He would expect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Try, for a moment, to put on the shoes of your Pastor\u2014yes, today, in the year 2020!\u00a0 Here we go: In the first quarter of the year, your congregation is coming to your place of worship.\u00a0 Families are attending joyfully.\u00a0 People are hugging, shaking hands, and singing and laughing.\u00a0 They are volunteering and serving others<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2799,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797\/revisions\/2799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}