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Lectionary texts for the coming Sunday can be found here .
"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
It is Spring, and many ministry candidates are looking toward internships and first calls. One of them offers the following question:
I will be moving into a solo pastorate call in the near future...first call. During my internship, my supervisor gave me a quick "formula" for daily planning:
-divide the day into three segments...morning, afternoon, evening
-work only two units each day
-if you have evening meetings etc...then compensate with not coming in till after lunch or take the afternoon off
Are there other tidbits of knowledge on how to navigate the daily tasks so that I do have time for myself?
Your editor can remember when the 3 blocks a day/21 blocks a week was a novel concept…and is feeling old this morning! Here’s what two of our sisters suggest with regard to time/self- management in the parish setting.
rector in
The three-unit day has been a mainstay of non-profit orgs for many years. We use it in this parish for our staff. If one works three units in one day, then a unit of comp time is taken at another time. The problem in a parish is that a pastor's work is not always that clean and segmented. We also don't punch a time clock. I would hesitate to make the three-unit format any part of a pastor's contract or even conversation with the parish. It can be too easily read in a literal sense and result in some unfortunate perceptions on the part of the parish (e.g., "her time off is more important than the needs of the parish"). The reality of this is not the issue; the perceptions of parishioners is their reality and that's what must be managed.
I'd suggest a pastor's Sabbath -- a 24 hour period each week that keeps the pastor away from the church. Don't answer the phone (that's why God made answering machines and voice mail), make sure the printed calendar says Pastor's Sabbath, and be otherwise unavailable. By using the word Sabbath instead of 'Day Off", there is a seriousness attached to this 24-hour period that will cause anyone to think twice before interrupting the pastor. Also encourage the office staff and lay leadership to support the pastor's need for this Sabbath. If you can't take the identified day as a Sabbath for some reason (like a funeral), make sure you identify a substitute Sabbath within a few days.
Limit yourself to no more than two evening meetings. This assumes you don't have to be at every meeting that takes place in the parish. Lay leaders are usually quite capable of running meetings with the presence of the clergy. But enable good communications by connecting with the leadership before and after meetings. No one likes surprises and the laity usually feel better if they have the support of the clergy when they're running meetings without the presence of clergy. (That's a bad sentence but I think you'll get the idea.)
The church will eat you alive if you let it - filling every minute. I like the 3 work periods in a day and a 5 day week as a mental guide. I know many (most?) only take one day off but if you have in your mind that there are 21 work periods of a 7 day week and 15 in a 5 day week (what most people work) -- you can keep track to see if you are over-functioning. One day off should be a sacred day which can't be a Sunday. I like Mondays off as usually that gives me at least a day and a half (if you can count your Sunday nap as a day off). That sacred day should not be used for anything other than rest and renewal (whatever form that takes for you) except for dire emergencies - and must have a substitute day lest you burn up in the fires of your enthusiasm.
I echo "rector" and Ann's suggestions. Be sure that the Sabbath or sacred day you choose is not a day whose evening has meetings you need to attend. Do not settle for less than a 24-hour period each week, and once a month make it a 36-hour period. When a funeral or other crisis must interrupt your Sabbath, find another day very soon for it. And be sure to use your vacation time. Schedule it and use it!
Start these habits from day you begin the call. You will be tempted to say that, after a few months of getting familiar with everyone and everything, you'll set your Sabbath in place. Don't wait that long. You don't need to make a big deal about it or your calendaring of your blocks of time off. Simply label your time off in your calendar, and if someone wants to schedule a meeting or time with you, you can say, "I'm not available then; would this date and time work?"
Readers...please use the comment function to add your own suggestions.
May you live today and every day in God's amazing grace+
revhoney
by Wil Gafney. It's the book for the RGBP Big Event in April, but even if you are not going to be in Scottsdale, you can play along, because it's also April's BookPals selection. Start reading now and mark your calendars for Monday, April 27th! 
This Sunday's lessons can be found here .
111213My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Song of Solomon 2:10-13
flickrfoto
Lectionary texts for this coming Sunday can be found here .All beautiful the march of days, as seasons come and go;
The Hand that shaped the rose hath wrought the crystal of the snow;
Hath sent the hoary frost of heav'n, the flowing waters sealed,
And laid a silent loveliness on hill and wood and field.
And I just had to do it, in order to include autumn for the southern hemisphere and spring for the northern! Joshua Bell along with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields plays Antonio Vivaldi's suite of Concerti Grossi, The Four Seasons.
Robert Schumann's Spring Symphony No. 1 in B flat major, Op. 38, is another seasonal romantic era classic; the CD I linked to is a fabulous (no surprise there) performance of all four Schumann symphonies by the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnanyi.
Some of us very recently sprung forward with our clocks and this is the musical musings for welcoming spring, so how better than with Igor Stravinsky's Sacre du printemps/Rite of Spring that was revolutionary and truly seminal when it debuted? I've opted for this one featuring Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.My song is love unknown,On YouTube I found a fine interpretation of Ralph Vaughn Williams organ setting of Rhosymedre.
My Savior's love to me;
Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be.
O who am I, that for my sake
My Lord should take frail flesh and die?
For us baptized, for us he bore...For us he prayed, for us he taught...for us he gave his dying breath; For us he rose from earth again...for us he sent his Spirit here...I love the intense brilliance of the reeds on the Agincourt Hymn played as a solo on the Reuter organ at St. Joseph Cathedral, Baton Rouge, LA.
Scored for rich, resonant double string orchestra, his Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is another Vaughn Williams piece related to this season. Amazon listed more than a dozen CDs, and I chose this one because I have a copy and also particularly love The Lark Ascending, the piece in the CD title. The tune is variously called "Third mode melody"" or "Tallis third mode"; as in many past hymnals, ELW 332 uses it for a Lenten perennial, "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say," while NCH 509 features it in "How Deep the Silence of the Soul" (also apropos of Lent) and under the Season of Epiphany heading, Thomas Troeger's "We Have the Strength to Lift and Bear," NCH 178.
Often sung as a round, William Billings' "When Jesus Wept" is NCH 192 and PH 312 and American composer William Schuman made "When Jesus Wept" the basis of the second movement of his New England Triptych. A recording of the entire Triptych and some music by Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Alan Hovhaness, Charles Ives and Walter Piston can be found on the CD An American Tapestry.
Stand up in a clear blue morning until you see what can beChristine McVie wrote "Don't Stop" that inaugurated Bill Clinton's first administration and the upbeat, energetic song made it into Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits
Alone in a cold day dawning, are you still free? Can you be?
When some cold tomorrow finds you, when some sad old dream reminds you
How the endless road unwinds you...
Stand up in a clear blue morning until you see what can be
Alone in a cold day dawning, are you still free? Can you be?
And that old gray wind is blowing and there's nothing left worth knowing
And it's time you should be going...
If you wake up and don't want to smile,Keep on practicing resurrection, everyone--and God still will surprise us with Easter!!!
If it takes just a little while,
Open your eyes and look at the day,
You'll see things in a different way.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Why not think about times to come,
And not about the things that you've done,
If your life was bad to you,
Just think what tomorrow will do.
Don't you look back,
Don't you look back...
Our regular poster, Sally, having been oppressed by Blogger today, I bring you a hasty Friday Five on the subject of pudding. If you are not a fan of pudding, then you will feel solidarity with Sally, except that you will be oppressed by pudding instead. ;-)
What do you do about receiving invitations from parishioners for dinner or other personal get-togethers? I have recently joined the staff at a congregation twice the size of my first church, and am receiving a lot of invitations for dinner, parties, and other events. This is very kind, and I do appreciate the hospitality. However, I can't help but feel that I am 'at work' whenever I'm at a parishioner's home. (They inevitably say something like, "Don't think of yourself as a pastor tonight! You're just a guest!" and that's a lovely thought, but it doesn't actually work.) I have a fair number of evening meetings, so my husband and I already have limited time together, and accepting too many dinner invitations is hard on both of us. But I don't want to be ungrateful or seem uninterested in getting to know people.My husband and I have only two week nights when we are both home. That means that we have an unbreakable rule that one of those two nights must be spent at home, barring dire emergencies or deaths. I have rearranged my schedule to fit somewhat with his, but I don’t know if you are able to do that.
I think that it is almost universally true that parishioners will not understand that there is never a time when a pastor can “forget you are a pastor and just be a guest.” Most people probably mean that kindly but there are those, sadly, who may not. That is one difference between a job and a calling. Being a pastor, IMO, is a 24/7 job. Even people who mean only good by that statement will not understand that being a pastor is not something one can take on and off like a coat. That is why pastors need lots of time to get away. I think that to forget you are a pastor and just be a guest is just about impossible, but also to do so is an unwise thing. I do think that it is possible to be on friendly terms with folks in the church, but the elephant is always in the room. And should be, in my opinion.
You are right, it just does not work. Time with parishioners, even friendly time, is part of the calling and thus part of the job. Accept the invitations when you can and decline when you need to. Otherwise, as you likely already know, you will end up tired and resentful. You won’t seem ungrateful if you decline with genuine appreciation and warmth, and honesty about your need to be home with your husband.
Rector in Hawaii adds: What I've learned to do is respond with "What a nice invitation! I'd love to come but I've already made plans for that night or lunch that day or whatever." And you have. You've already made plans to relax with your husband and have some alone time. Making appointments with ourselves is just as important, if not more so, as spending time with parishioners.
with Wil Gafney! and a side trip to the Grand Canyon (if you want to stay in AZ until the 21st of April)...see the side bar link for more info - and yes, you can still join us.The tentative itinerary for the BE 2.0:
Thursday, April 16:
Arrive at Sky Harbor Airport in time to catch the Super Shuttle. Be sure to call Super Shuttle ahead of time and make your reservation from the Airport to The Casa and back. The cost is $16.00 each way. 6:00pm dinner at The Casa 7:00pm Gather as a group, intros and some time with Wil 8:30 Evening worship 9:00 Social time Friday 8:00am breakfast 9:00am morning worship followed by session with Wil Noon lunch 1:00 afternoon session (this session may include some time to break out, rest, etc) 6:00 dinner 7:00 evening session with Wil 8:30 evening worship 9:00 social time Saturday 8:00 am breakfast 9:00 Morning Session, this session may include group work or free time Noon lunch 1:00 Afternoon Session, this session may include group work or free time 6:00 Dinner 7:00 Evening session 8:30 Evening worship 9:00 bonfire and social time Sunday 8:00 Breakfast 9:00 Closing Eucharist 10:30 am departure 11:30 departure for those going to the Grand Canyon. We have reserved 4 rooms at the Maswik Lodge, accommodating 8 people, at about $95.00 per person, plus what ever meals we eat, and a share of the cost of gas for the drive up. (7 have said they want to go, one is tentative). More reservations can be made, but a request must be placed with Mary Beth asap. We will return from the Grand Canyon on Monday, late afternoon. Those leaving on Tuesday will need to make reservations to stay at The Casa or a hotel near the airport for Monday night. It will take us about 4 hours to drive to and from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon.
We still have room for a few more!! BUT - final payment is due NOW. To request a brochure with more details, or to request a registration form, please send an e-mail to revgalblogpals@gmail.com.