October is Pastor Appreciation Month and a pandemic has just added to the complexity of their job. Think about the last time you learned how to do something new. Your pastor is probably learning something new everyday as they try and lead worship in new ways.
Here are some suggestions to spark ideas for how to show your appreciation and give tangible support for your pastors. Start planning now. And you can show appreciation all of the time, not just during October!
- Take them dinner! Many of our pastors are putting in even more time during the pandemic. Consider providing some meals. Maybe on the day they preach (either recording or in person) or the day before they preach.
- Send a card or a note. Let them know you appreciate all they do that you will never see. Hint: They don’t have to be super spiritual. Most pastors actually have a great sense of humor and you never know when a funny card will be just what they need.
- Babysitting or Running an Errand. If your pastor has children and are willing to let someone babysit during quarantine, great. Or offer to pay their regular sitter for several hours. Or if they don’t have kids, consider what errands you can do for them. Yard work? Planting fall annuals or spring bulbs? Flower pots for their front porch? Make them choose one way! Or surprise them if they don’t give an answer.
- Worship planning/brainstorming/debrief. Does someone in your congregation offer a constructive sounding board for worship for your pastor? Would he or she appreciate that? This is not a free reign to criticize, but a way to work with the pastor to improve the worship experience for your congregation and so the pastor doesn’t feel all alone in the process.
- Pick a Task. Ask your pastor what 3-4 tasks they have that routinely nag them but they just can’t get to. What is on your pastor’s to do list at church that just never quite makes it high enough on their list to get done? Pick one and finish it. Ask what their goal with it is, ask them for parameters, then just do it. Get it all done. Wow, what a blessing!!!
- Volunteer support. Offer to support the pastor in supporting volunteers. Pastors always appreciate their volunteers but rarely have time to thank them in the ways they would like to. Offer to help do it in your pastor’s name!
- Calling Shut-ins. Your pastor so cares for the most isolated of your congregation, but there is so little time. They used to be able to speak to these people at services and gatherings and can’t now. Consider calling or writing a note to some of your shut-ins and help your pastor in this key area during this time.
- An Isolated Pastor. Would your pastor like to be invited to hang out on your porch or patio for a visit? Maybe he or she is feeling really isolated and would enjoy and feel comfortable with a socially distant visit.
- Update your Pastor’s took kit. With a newly tech centric job description, does your pastor need some updated technology? A new laptop to work from home? A new cell phone? Help paying for his or her phone bill since as so much is being done at home now? Has your congregation developed a plan that routes phone calls away from your pastor’s personal cell phone so he or she can take a Sabbath or vacation? Speaking of Sabbath…
- Sabbath Police. Does your congregation know when your pastor’s Sabbath is and do they honor it? Does your personnel committee need to gently discuss with your pastor the need for him or her to take Sabbath? Do they need to work with your pastor to find a way to reduce and realign tasks so that he or she can take a Sabbath?
10 Ideas for Pastor Appreciation Month and Beyond