I just love October! My birthday is in October, as well as many MANY other family members’ and friends’ birthdays (my son, my mom-in-love, my sister, etc. etc. etc.). October finally begins to feel like fall, and I love fall, especially walking in crunchy fallen leaves. Canadian Thanksgiving is in October! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. October is National Pizza Month – YUM!
October is also Pastor Appreciation Month!
Yes, I AM a Pastor’s Wife so this topic is obviously important to me, and you could say that I’m biased.
BUT whatever I say is NOT just for my sweetie as a Pastor. It’s for all pastors, preachers, priests, ministers, clergy and church staff (and their families).
I have a heart for pastors’ families because we are a bit ‘different’. And pastors from all walks and faiths are under tremendous pressures.
According to The Parsonage (a website of Focus on the Family):
“Why is Clergy Appreciation Month necessary?
The nature of the service provided by pastors and their families is unique. God has entrusted to them one of the most precious of assignments — the spiritual well-being of His flock. When a pastor becomes ineffective, the very souls of his or her parishioners are endangered. When eternity is in the balance, we should all be concerned.
Pastors and their families live under incredible pressures. Their lives are played out in a fishbowl, with the entire congregation and community watching their every move. They are expected to have ideal families, to be perfect people, to always be available, to never be down and to have all the answers we need to keep our own lives stable and moving forward. Those are unrealistic expectations to place on anyone, yet most of us are disappointed when a pastor becomes overwhelmed, seems depressed, lets us down or completely burns out.
That’s why God has instructed us to recognize His servants.“The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching” (1 Timothy 5:17).The good news is that we can make a difference! Clergy Appreciation Month is one way we can counter the negative erosion in the lives of our spiritual leaders with the positive affirmation they need.
(read the rest at their site – it’s worth taking a look at)“
So, if I can assume, for the moment, that you can all see the value in showing your pastor that you appreciate him (or her), then I am also going to assume that you would want to do something to show that appreciation.
What can you do to show your pastor that you care?
The best thing about this is that you can do Almost Anything!!
- Send an e-mail
- send a bucket of cookies
- send an e-card
- send a box of chocolates
- send a REAL card
- write a letter of appreciation
- write a poem
- bake a cake
- have a bouquet of flowers, balloons, or edible arrangements/fruit baskets delievered to their office
- give them a gift-card to the local bookstore, grocery store, hardware store, etc.
- wrap up a batch of home-made muffins
- send he and his wife (or she and her husband, or just he or she if they are unmarried!) out for a nice dinner or weekend (including babysitting)…
- rake their leaves
- bring lunch to the office for them
- be creative!
Send it to their home, their office, or make a presentation in church. Whatever. We’ve had people get together (a few couples) to be able to present a larger gift, and we’ve also had simple cards and letters that were very special.
The worst thing you can do is nothing at all.
The next worst thing you can do is to offer your obligatory, conciliatory and thoughtless words with a handshake or pat on the back in passing on your way in to or out of your next church meeting.
Seriously, all you have to do is go online and Google “Pastor Appreciation” – you’ll find lots of sites with lots of ideas, from simple to elaborate. Pastor-Appreciation.net has some great resources, as does the Pasonage and other sites.
You still have lots of time. We’re only 1/2 way through October!
October is officially set aside for Clergy Appreciation, but it can be done anytime. Holiday times (Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter) are also good times to recognize your pastor and what he/she does for you.
Let their families know that you appreciate the sacrifices they make, as well. It’s Pastor Appreciation Month, but it really could be Ministry Family Appreciation Month! 🙂
Pastors are people, too! They need to be encouraged. Let them know you care!!
My friend YellowLady also did a nice post re: Pastor Appreciation Month – I think she’s quite a bit more ‘eloquent’ than I was here!
