This is a space for clergy in need of support to do the work they are called to do. A place of rest and renewal, honesty and transparency. Subscribe to hear from our Founder, Rev. Kinsie M. Tate who is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Ordained Minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and clergy spouse.
In the bleak mid-winter
|
As much of the country is covered in ice and snow and violence is ever present in news, the song, In The Bleak Mid-Winter (the Sarah McLachlan version) comes to my mind. Ideally you have been able to take a break and recover from the business of Advent, the holidays, and the societal unrest. If we take our cue from nature, January is a great time to pause, reflect and rest before new growth, and honestly our nervous systems need breaks to recover and remain resilient. Maybe you have been able to slow down (maybe the winter weather has forced you to do that), but if not, I hope there is a season in the coming year that allows you to do that, because it is a vital part of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. January is actually a pretty busy time of year in my line of work. There is a liturgical pause between Advent and Lent, so I offer Leading From Abundance, and in my private practice, clients that have been with their families over the holidays call for sessions in January to process and gain new insight into why all their stuff (aka unhelpful behaviors) show up and how to move forward. Even with the business, I have been thinking about 2026 and mapping out what to offer. We will for sure be offering the Restoration Fellowship and you can sign up for that now, or get in touch to schedule a free 15 minute zoom consultation where you can ask me questions and get more information. Thanks to our generous donors, we have scholarship money available to offset the cost of the Restoration Fellowship, so get in touch by responding to this email and we can zoom to discuss! I will also be offering another Wellness Insight hour February 25th from 12-1 PST (3 EST), so be on the lookout for more information about that and how to register. If you have ideas for topics that you'd like to hear about, please respond to this email and let me know what interests you and what would be helpful in your ministry. For now, I pray you are warm and safe and have capacity to do meaningful work that helps spread the much needed love of Christ out into the world. With warmth and care, |
Restore Clergy
This is a space for clergy in need of support to do the work they are called to do. A place of rest and renewal, honesty and transparency. Subscribe to hear from our Founder, Rev. Kinsie M. Tate who is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Ordained Minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and clergy spouse.
The image of the suffering Christ and suffering for one's faith is foundational in many Christian traditions. I consider this concept often in my work: the idea of what is enough suffering to help us grow? I talk to the people I work with about finding their "growth edge" - the limit to push through so you can continue to grow in the ways you want, while also identifying when to stop, or pause for rest. That balance between suffering and relief is important, but it is also important to...
Do you have friends? Like the kind of friends that you can ugly cry in front of or whine about how hard life is and know that they won't judge you the way you judge yourself when that happens? Someone other than you spouse or family? Not that spouses and family aren't important, but sometimes they are biased because they need you to be okay so they can feel okay and that keeps you from feeling truly understood and supported. A friend isn't usually your primary life partner and doesn't rely on...
It's Holy Week and I know...it's a lot. I'm not even in the pulpit and it's a lot for me and our family. All the additional services, on top of the regular weekly duties....it's just...A LOT. These are the weeks when insidious patterns of mediocre self-care, or worse yet, lack there of, wreak havoc not only on the individual, but on those surrounding them. The pressure to perform and push and get it all done takes a lot of capacity and I bet many of you are already running out of that. I...