Alex Shanks, MDiv, says that people pay particular attention to what leaders say and do in times of crisis. His thoughts on how to respond are sensible and timeless: Pace yourself. Don’t think the way you normally think. Balance and simplify information.
 
“Question your assumptions,” Shanks seems to be saying, “but don’t drive yourself crazy.” If that sounds like good sense, you’ll want to read and share “10 Thoughts on Leading Through the COVID-19 Crisis.”

In a far-reaching and insightful piece, leaders at Praxis assert that COVID-19 has brought about a once-in-a-lifetime change that is likely to affect our lives and organizations for years.
 
They go on to say:
“If you are a leader in an organization, it is time to rewrite your vision deck – that presentation…that summarizes who you are, whom you serve, why you serve them, and what you do and how you do it…We think that for most organizations – businesses, nonprofits, and even churches – this is a time to urgently redesign our work.

So many of you are being called upon to help church members deal with loneliness, grief, and uncertainty now. Those same emotions are no doubt affecting you and your family. Here are a few resources to help cope with coronavirus anxiety.

​Feeling bad about money starts us on a downward spiral. Yet it’s within our power to reverse that trend and start feeling good about where we are financially, and where we’re going. 

Here’s one reason it’s hard to save for retirement. 
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Retirement is real, logic tells us, and we ought to save up for it. We know we can’t work and earn money forever. Yet many of us behave as if our present-day selves -- healthy, youngish, collecting a paycheck – will never cease to be.

​Previously we looked at the human costs of financial distress and the silence that surrounds it. That stress comes with us to church, interrupting the flow of God’s grace. That’s why many parishes are working to make money conversations an integral part of their ministries. Thought leaders on the subject include clergy members from our own diocese and others. Here are a few of their recommendations. 

by Melissa Spas, Managing Director of Education and Engagement, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving

How do we practice the shift from a mindset of scarcity to an expectation of sufficiency in light of the promise that God would wish for us to “have life, and have it abundantly”?  We can do this by learning to identify assets anew, as a practice of our faith.  This requires an attention to our traditions, texts, and practices, and we will need time and space to understand the shift we are making.  All of this can best be done in community, through relationships with others who are also seeking to expect and identify abundance and assets, rather than focusing on scarcity or need. 

​Parishioners and priests alike have a hard time talking about money issues when they veer out of control. But given the suffering caused by financial stress, do clergy have an obligation to break the silence around money?