The Perpetual Pivot: Ministry in the Pandemic and Beyond
Ebook
This is the story of unsung heroes: the clergy, in so many churches, who quietly changed the world they knew and reimagined their roles in order to lead their people, and their communities, during an international crisis. As the COVID-19 pandemic held everyone in its grip, these authors asked what happened to the church. How did churches cope? When people could not crowd into sanctuaries or share rituals in person or listen to choirs sing, how did the clergy reinvent worship online? When clergy were restricted from the hospitals where they were accustomed to visiting the sick and comforting the dying, how did they reach people? When the pandemic exposed new needs for food and clothing and racial justice in many communities, how did religious leaders respond?
The authors interviewed fifty-three clergy from Cape Cod to Alaska asking them questions about how the pandemic challenged them and changed their churches. This book is full of stories about the sacrifices they made and the heroism they displayed, as well as the lessons the clergy learned--lessons that will shape the future of faith.
“The COVID-19 pandemic was a disruptor of biblical proportions. It swept into our world upending everything, taking lives, raising questions, and exposing disparities. As a pastor at the time, I knew I was in the fog of war. I couldn’t see the way ahead. Now, with the fog cleared and having consulted an array of leaders, the authors of The Perpetual Pivot provide a helpful, sometimes heartbreaking, but ultimately encouraging retrospective, documenting the ways pastors faced catastrophes.”
—Nancy S. Taylor, senior minister emeritus, Old South Church in Boston
“I am grateful to Susan and Peggy for this well-researched, deeply insightful exploration of congregational life in a pandemic-informed world. We will spend a full generation trying to unfold the impact of what happened to the church and its leaders. This book is a significant first step in that direction, and I highly recommend it for all who want to explore pathways to discerning a future vitality for a life in faith beyond the experience of COVID-19.”
—John Dorhaur, pastor, First Congregational United Church of Christ DeKalb, Illinois
- Title: The Perpetual Pivot: Ministry in the Pandemic and Beyond
- Authors: Susan Cartmell, Peggy O'Connor
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666771695, 9781666771671, 1666771678, 9781666771688, 1666771686, 1666771694
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666771695
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-12-27T03:25:55Z
Susan Cartmell has led churches for forty years. Author of UnCommon Preaching: An Alternative to the Lectionary, she was among the first women to lead a multi-staff church. Learn more at her website www.susancartmell.com.
Peggy O’Connor has served as an interim pastor in Massachusetts and as a spiritual director in Lowell and Boston. Now she is a chaplain administrator for the Chautauqua UCC Society in New York. She is also a psychotherapist.