Mary Henderson, a retired Church of Scotland Minister wrote this piece in 2017 but its message is a timely reminder that the demands of ministry will always be with us. Yet Jesus calls us to come to him when we are weary and burdened.
“Come to me,” Jesus said, “all you who are tired
from carrying a heavy load…”
[Matthew 11: 28]
“Come to me,” Jesus said, “and I will give you…
- annual statistical returns and a PVG disclosure
- a new email address and rules about Data Protection;
- targets and goals to set, and a list of OSCR regulations;
- PAT testing and risk assessment to oversee;
- presbytery committees to serve, and reports to write;
- a Messy Church to run and a student to supervise…
“Come to me,” Jesus said, “and I will not be at all pleased if you haven’t….
- organised a stewardship campaign and paid your M&M in full;
- agreed to be interim moderator in a vacancy that could last for years;
- formed a worship team and a pastoral care team and equipped them to do all the things
you know you really should have done;
- found a new treasurer to replace the one who just died; and a Sunday School leader who
will smooth things over after the last one left in a strop;
- entered a hub ministry with your local colleagues and agreed to take on a congregation
that has just been closed in addition to your own;
- persuaded your office-bearers to adopt the unitary constitution…
“Come to me,” Jesus said, “and I won’t be angry so much as disappointed if you won’t….
- embrace the new technology and use social media to the full;
- pay for your own supervision; organise your holiday cover and take two days off every week;
- care for the old people and bring in the young ones;
- engage with the local community and keep up a rich spiritual life;
- inspire your people and enable Tomorrow’s Ministers to find their vocation;
- become a locum as soon as you retire, and don’t make a fuss if you end up working five days instead of two (the congregation will love you for it)…
“Come to me,” Jesus said,
and I said, “Lord, I am tired, and my back is breaking under this load”;
“Come to me,” Jesus said,
and I said, “Lord, if this is your yoke it is chafing my skin red raw”;
“Come to me,” Jesus said,
“and I will give you rest.”