Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day.”
Exodus 16:4
Living through a pandemic is very much a wilderness experience, and for the past eight months, pastors have been called upon to help their communities navigate the pain and loss of this season. Clergy, like Moses, are holding space for the people around them as the world dreams of life on the other side. But who’s holding space for clergy? Where are pastors finding manna in this pandemic wilderness?
This Advent, the Center for Leadership Excellence and the Rev. Lisa Yebuah will host a 3-session soul-tending platform for pastors to name and even grieve the realities of clergy life during these stressful times, while also acquiring spiritual practices to buoy their hope.
- Session 1: Naming the Wilderness
- Session 2: Naming the Loss
- Session 3: Naming Your Enough
Developed with flexibility, Manna’s sessions are not scheduled by the Center, but around you or your group’s availability to meet.
Registration is $20. If the cost to participate is a barrier, please email Leah Wiebe-Smith at lwiebesmith@nccumc.org and we will waive the participant fee.
Update: We have already formed pastor groups for those who chose to be placed in a group. However, you can still participate! Gather some colleagues and ask them to participate with you, or work through the material on your own. This is a self-led program, so it is never too late to register!
Can I choose to participate on my own? Yes! When you register, you can select whether you’d like to be placed in a group, you’d like to form your own group, or you’d like to work through the material on your own. We encourage you to choose what works for your life or your needs to be in community with other clergy.
How will you form pastor groups? It is our hope to form groups small groups of 4-6 pastors around commonalities such as “bivocational clergy,” “clergy with kids at home,” and “pastors serving in contexts where the viewpoints/mindsets are different than that of the pastor.” All pastors interested in being placed in a group will receive a survey to aid in forming such groups.
What if I already have a pastor group? If you have an existing cohort group, clergy book club, etc., extend an invitation for your group to join you in a different endeavor for this season. Use this most unusual Advent to take a breath, engage in conversation, and prepare for the coming year.
When will these sessions take place? All sessions will be prerecorded so that pastors and pastor groups can schedule them at their own convenience. We anticipate groups starting to meet in late November, and hope the sessions will be completed before the end of Advent. Once your group is identified, we encourage you to set your meeting dates. The first session will be available the week of November 23.
What will each session include? Each session includes a 30-minute reflection, reflection questions, grounding exercise, and spiritual practices. The intention is to offer space to be fed, reflect, share, and engage in nourishing and sustaining practices for the journey ahead.
About Lisa Yebuah:
Lisa Yebuah is the pastor of the Southeast Raleigh Table, the newest worshipping community of Edenton Street UMC, and also serves on the Cabinet as the Spiritual Director and Advisor for Inclusion and Equity. She’s a 1999 graduate of Wofford College and a 2004 graduate of Duke University Divinity School. Life in ministry is at the heart of who she is. When asked, Lisa sums up her vocation through the lens of Mark 2: “I’m trying to help people in the pews become less concerned about the holes we make in our roofs and become more holy restless about our friends who’re bound to their mats.” Beyond ministry, Lisa is a professional people watcher, a biscuit-eating CrossFitter, and a seasoned trash-talker during the football season.