The game of choice this year has been Pandemic, a cooperative board game where all players join together to defeat viruses outbreaks across the world. I don’t know what made us think of this, but there we are. Pandemic is a notoriously difficult cooperative game…
I am not fully decided whether it is the pandemic or the predicted economic and employment turmoil that I am most concerned about.
In Acts 9 we read of Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, and his sudden and unexpected experience of being rendered blind. Done to him, it plunged him into darkness and removed from him every confidence, certainty, and comfort that he was previously used to, and made him dependent upon others.
I remember press coverage of a “private” conversation between world leaders at a G8 summit a few years back where our (then) prime minister complained about the lack of thinking time and the relentless unceasing mill of meetings and decisions. There was no opportunity to pause or reflect or to gather evidence before setting events in motion, and as the leaders talked they each revealed a longing for space to reflect and consider.
If you’re starting to struggle, you’re not alone. I’ve been grappling this week with feeling sad at the ministries and gatherings that have dropped away because they can’t meet, and trying to summon up the energy to make some calls to colleagues. I suspect I’m not alone in wanting things to hurry up in a return to “normal”.
As churches need to get to grips with different ways to administer their Sunday offering, one of the leading providers GIVT offer this editorial with some thoughts on the subject.
Please note this article represents external content provided by GIVT (givtapp.net)
I wonder how much money, or the lack of it, has been talked about in your churches in the last few months? A great deal? Not much? Never? Of course, there have been many other pressing priorities and issues to occupy us, quite apart from the fact that money is not a subject we always find easy to discuss, even in ‘ordinary’ times. Perhaps, then, it might be best to begin by publicly acknowledging that, for quite a few of our churches, there is a financial problem that we need to discuss?
In Acts 9 we read of Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, and his sudden and unexpected experience of being rendered blind. Done to him, it plunged him into darkness and removed from him every confidence, certainty, and comfort that he was previously used to, and made him dependent upon others.
2020 has been a year of unexpected disruption, change and transition. For church staff team members, as with many others, this will have likely affected the physical location of their work, the quantity of work, the type of work, the focus of their work and their relationships with work colleagues. Huge uncertainty still exists and many changes are ahead. The mental health charity Ginger has recently reported that nearly 7 out of 10 people cite the Covid-19 lockdown as the most stressful time in their career. What approach is your church or you as a manager taking to looking after the wellbeing of your team during this time of uncertainty?
One approach is to develop a Wellness Action Plan for each team member. WAPs are based on Mary Ellen Copeland's Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP) and are advised by the mental health charity Mind as a way of looking after your team. Putting a Wellness Action Plan together is a task to be completed mutually by the line manager and the direct report and is a great way to value the individual's feelings, recognise the challenges of transition and proactively support your team in the times ahead. You can read Mind's excellent guidance here: https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/taking-care-of-your-staff/employer-resources/wellness-action-plan-download/. Here is what Rachel Slough (Consultant and tutor on the UCAN Managing Church Well course) has to say about developing a Wellbeing action plan:
Christian procurement specialists 2buy2.com are supporting the PPE requirements of churches throughout the UK by creating a PPE buying group. 2buy2 are working with international experts to ensure churches have access to competitively priced supplies that are sourced from audited supply chains to ensure quality and ethical supply. The closing date for the first sign-up to the group buying service is 6pm on Wednesday 17th June, with delivery time expected as 8 weeks. Find out more details here: https://www.2buy2.com/personal-protective-equipment-ppe
Now that June has come about, and the novelty of the lockdown arrangements have certainly worn thin, we are living in another phase of uncertainty.
Some restrictions on our lives are starting to ease a bit, and this brings a level of practical relief. However, we don’t know if a second wave of the outbreak is on the way and we don’t know when and how further derestriction will come. The rate of exit from lockdown, even when self-governed, may be different and disparate, regionally, demographically and ethnically. It is into this present set of challenges that we write.
At UCAN we have long been a proponent of operating as a church with clarity of purpose. This is just as important now, but the purpose is not to rush back to what there was before.
The question to avoid is ‘How quickly can we return to normal, as it was before this all happened?’ As we move towards July 2020, this question is starting to be voiced. However, it is not a realistic question and no matter how well intentioned, it betrays the reality of the situation.
We don’t know what normal will be, but the ‘new normal’ is highly likely to be different from the ‘prior’ normal’. This is a social, economic and a missional reality.
UCAN’s guidance when considering What’s Next? Don’t rush back, venture forward…
The links below contain thematic guidance on your approach to Building Management, People Management, Weekend Worship, Financial Planning and Communications when moving forward into the next phase, post lockdown. This guidance is not meant to be exhaustive and should be used in conjunction with government guidelines, denominational guidance and your normal pattern of risk assessment.
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