by Tony Cartledge | Aug 12, 2020 | Opinion
How is your church doing financially in these pandemic days? Do you know? I set out to write a column about financial shortfalls congregations are facing as fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues. It was inspired mainly by a recent email from my own church...
by Ray P. Miller | Jul 27, 2020 | Opinion
“Pastor, this has been overwhelming for my family.” “I feel like I’m stuck in grief because we did not get to mourn with our friends and family.” “I miss singing with my friends at church.” “I have not seen anybody in four months except the nurses who come to check on...
by Paula Shurden Batts | May 21, 2020 | Opinion
As a newly licensed therapist in 1994, I received a call from a nearby clergy. Speaking in whispered tones, he made specific requests. Would I be willing to see him and his wife after hours? Could they pay in cash? Did they have to fill out intake sheets with personal...
by Elizabeth Denham Thompson | May 20, 2020 | Opinion
Like others, I started a jigsaw puzzle several weeks ago, but today mine remains unfinished. It has been energizing, frustrating, rewarding, often confusing; it seems an apt analogy for how clergy are feeling these days. Several years ago, at a family reunion, someone...
by Keith | Apr 1, 2020 | Opinion
A lifelong teacher tells her confessional story of the time she had a young student in her class who would, as they say, get her goat. This little boy knew where all her buttons were, and he knew how to push them. One day, she was so irritated by this little boy’s...
