Covid Fatigue and the Lay Minister
I don’t know about you but this whole pandemic thing is getting old and I’m kind of over it. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve enjoyed working from home and sleeping in almost any morning I want. But wearing masks everywhere and just seeing everyone in masks feels like I’m on another planet—sort of like my first trip to a country where everyone talked funny and used weird money. I think, is this a crazy dream?
But COVID life is here to stay for the foreseeable future and we all need to adapt as best as we can. What does this look like for our life and ministry in the church?
First, we can inventory several of the struggles we are experiencing.
The overwhelming sense of surreality. As I’ve mentioned, life is just plain loco out there right now—running to the grocery store, with the masks and hand sanitizer and the social distancing and one-way aisle traffic, is like suddenly stepping into a world where people breathe underwater. It seems like people are actually moving in slow motion as they navigate their paths covered up in masks. Crazy.
A Crisis of Faith. Has all this disruption of environment and routine caused you to question even your faith in Christ or your role as a member of his Body? Even if you attend a church that has “re-opened,” your service no doubt looks very different from the way it did before March. Do you even have ministry responsibility in these new service configurations? For instance, in my parish, our hired nursery workers have had no reason to come to work—no nursery. Our hospitality ministers, who make coffee and provide snacks, are out of a job. To keep the traffic at the altar more manageable and socially distanced, our lay readers have also been asked to worship in the pews, and our music team has been reduced to a much smaller ensemble. If your “job” in the church is your main reason for being there, you may be struggling with an identity crisis (“who am I if I’m not shaking hands with visitors?”). Or maybe you aren’t even able to be in church with everyone, and instead, trying to worship at home on your computer with a congregation live-streaming their service? Is God really still on his throne while we battle this tiny invisible and potentially deadly enemy?
Fear for the Future. How long will this go on? What will happen in the fall? Next summer? Will we be in this limbo forever? How long can we hold our breath? How will we know when it’s safe to come out and live on land again? Is your job in jeopardy? Are you wondering where the grocery money will come from?
Loss of relationships. This one may be the most devastating and wide-spread side effects of the pandemic. Seniors are sequestered in their homes or assisted living centers. Children are denied the company of their friends, which punishes their parents as well as the kids. Even those folks able to get out and about must stay far out of touching range—that’s not the way we’re wired either as humans or Christians. We blunder through awkward moments when we forget ourselves and almost shake a hand or offer a hug to a friend. Oops, sorry!
How do we find any kind of “normal?”
Strategy 1: Pray. In any kind of life turmoil, from a disappointment to a catastrophe, a great first step is to call out to God. If you don’t have the words to express your distress, the Psalms can do it for you: Psalm 18 or Psalm 121 are great examples.
Shift your perspective and intercede for others—for those ill with COVID, for front-line workers, for your church leadership wrestling with the best way to move forward, for your government officials making decisions about public protocols, for the obnoxious lady in the checkout line ahead of you—everyone could use your prayers.
Praise God in prayer. Recount all the wonderful things he has done for you. Again, if you find yourself at a loss for words, borrow words from the Bible—like the song of Moses in Exodus 15. Praise has a wonderful way of recalibrating our emotions from darkness to light and joy. God has saved his people in the past and he will do it again. As people who love God and are called according to his purpose, we can be confident that he works all things for our good. (Romans 8:28)
Strategy 2: Reach out. Are you missing your friends or loved ones? Do you crave some good conversation or just verbal assurance that you’re not alone? Then pick up the phone and call or text someone—a friend, your pastor, your small group leader or fellow Sunday School class member. It just takes a second and you may actually make their day, as well as your own! This is a wonderful case of helping someone else by helping yourself. Technology stands ready to assist you; use whatever you’re comfortable with—Facetime, Marco Polo, WhatsApp, Zoom, or (remember these?) dash off a physical note and drop it in the mail. Real mail has a particularly wonderful ability to cheer the recipient because it’s so rare these days. And don’t overthink the message: “thinking about you today!” or “missing you—you’re in my prayers!”
Strategy 3: Keep on serving. We have been given the unparalleled duty and honor to represent our Lord Jesus Christ in our world, and to share the Good News with folks who, like us, are in some degree of distress in the current crisis. Even if we can’t minister in the ways we did before the pandemic, we can still provide our services to God and his people—in new and creative ways. Offer yourself to the Lord afresh each day. He’ll surprise you with wonderful opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus.