reality blog

Introverted Pastoring

/ joseph elon lillie / 1 Comment
Person Walking on Pathway

The other day I wrote about SETTLING INTO A NEW ROUTINE. I wrote about how this time has birthed in me a new attention: towards prayer, towards writing, towards art and towards taking care of the Vicarage.

I didn’t write about how this “settling in” has affected the work of ministry. That was intentional. The effect this pandemic has had upon who I am as a minister and what I do as a minister is so profound I do not think I can fit it into one post. I thought it would be wrong to try and squeeze it in, as a line item, along with those other things.

I imagine most ministers have been doing a lot of work using Facebook and e-mail and phone calling. I certainly have. Just today I have started three new conversations on Facebook with men in my congregation.

I have also increased communication with folks who do not come to the church. One of my friends who I have been writing back and forth with summed up what I have been feeling beautifully.

She writes: “One aspect of these times that I’m enjoying is reclaiming my instincts and inclinations as an introvert. After all those years of being out there working at the edge of so many things, it feels comfortable and even familiar to pull back, be quiet (at least my mind and voice) .. and follow the lead of my body as it takes me to the garden, weeding, walking the dog, fixing food, etc.”

Brown Wooden Dock

I have been working as a minister in my town since 1991. Like my friend I feel like all these years I have been “working at the edge of so many things”. I don’t regret one bit of it. Pastoring has been a wonderful life and will continue to be as I move into the future. But I am so enjoying this radical new discovery which I think I have to call introverted pastoring.

I love and miss my church family. I may be shooting myself in the foot here, but since we have been praying for authenticity, transparency and vulnerability in our church for months here goes nothin’. What I do not miss is the parade of events that was the church before Covid-19. I am loving having one on one meetings via Zoom or Facebook Live, in which I can simply relate to people without the pressure of having to do business or plan an event. I am really loving having days-long and even weeks-long theological conversations by letter (or messenger) with congregants. I have loved grocery shopping for elderly people in the congregation. I have enjoyed having the time and energy to study the Bible without having to rush through in order to prepare for the rest of the week’s events.

While many of my extroverted congregants and colleagues descry the loss of community, I feel as though I have found a new level of community which is profound, deep and rich, because it is not based around large scale social events but around individual connections.

When we finally get to be back together, I am determined to change how I pastor, no matter what the cost, to reflect this new model of introverted pastoring. I do not know yet what all the changes will look like. I know it will involve saying yes on a permanent level to a more quiet lifestyle, but how that susses out, well, that is all part of the quiet adventure I am on.

Settling In

/ joseph elon lillie / 6 Comments
Person Sitting Outdoors

In prayer over the last several weeks I have felt that 2020 is revealing a process of transition in me. I feel like January, February and March were a time of REALIZATION. I sense April, May and June will be about SETTLING IN. I think July and August and September will be about LAUNCHING. October, November and December will be ACCOMPLISHING months.

Settling in is turning into a time of incorporating the pandemic rhythm into my everyday schedule and practicing those things which God has shown me to do.

PRAYER:

I am settling into a rhythm of prayer and reading the word: Morning, Noon and Night. I am discovering my morning prayer time tends to extend well beyond the boundaries of the hour, while my noon time prayer tends to hover somewhere around 30- 45 minutes. My night time session has yet to find its most comfortable space between 8 P.M. or just before bed around 10. It seems that this night time regimen is the one most affected by the needs of the family.

WRITING:

I am very excited that writing and blogging have become part of my everyday routine. I am managing between 2 and 3 hours everyday.

This week I blogged everyday. Kept up with a reading schedule and finished three poems.

Winter Still Holds On

Is Everywhen

And That Is Time

In addition I wrote several short pieces in answer to several challenges.

The Watch Human

Rebuilding From the Table Up

Lost In White

The projects list for my book is ready for Monday when I am launching into a big week of editing.

WORK AROUND THE VICARAGE:

The weather has broken and we have begun the gardening in earnest. We are calling this year’s garden “The Victory Garden”. I have planted 23 pea plants 18 carrots, and 26 spinach plants. Inside I have 4 Romaine lettuce plants, 2 celery, 4 tomatoes, 5 peppers and 3 strawberries


So many other things are happening at The Vicarage too. I feel like each of us are settling into what is to come.

More updates to come…..

DDITW…Well Ok This Actually Came Out Good!

/ joseph elon lillie / 1 Comment

Here is another episode of “Don’t Do It This Way” With Amanda Lillie. She calls it “Without a recipe”, but as one of her watchers I find myself often shouting at the screen, “No! Don’t do it!”

This time however the results were not that bad. We ate all the dip.

Tune in on Monday at 3P.M. Eastern time for the next DDITW or as Amanda calls it “Without a Recipe”.