Intro:

What is “Essential”?

So, I have always been a pastor. I’ve had appointments with other responsibilities attached but my heart from day one has been to steward God’s church - to teach the bible, to help people walk towards a life the looks like Jesus expressed through their personality and gifts. I had always felt an intense (maybe too intense) sense of urgency about the significance of what I did because Jesus was so large and beautiful that I wanted everyone to know Him. But we, probably like many of you, had been through our fair share of hopeful idealism and discouraging failures in the long journey of leading congregations - and when the pandemic hit in 2020 we were probably in one of the most discouraging seasons so far…both in our congregation and in our home. I was worn down already and when everything shut down I was thankful more than anything else - just for the pause. For the break in the tension. For the exhale.

There was a lot of talk about “essential services”. Who needed to work to keep society afloat and who needed to “do their part” by staying home.

Many of you found yourself on the essential service side of things. Innovating to protect vulnerable populations. Putting yourselves at risk in hospitals and care homes and in food related services. And you responded heroically and creatively in a way that made everyone very proud. I’m not sure where they originated but eventually there were T-shirts distributed that said: “Essential” or maybe “Essential worker” I can’t remember.

And all over the internet everyone was doing amazing things emblazoned with the word “Essential”.

And…nobody sent me a T-shirt.

And if that sounds like a bit of a pity party…well yes, that’s the zone I was in at the moment. my rational side knew perfectly well the difference between my work and what others were doing but since I was already swimming in mid-life crisis I added that little

Of course most of you weren

it’s 2020 and we’re all

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A “family” for everyone.

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