Callie Swanlund‘s new book is part of a beautiful and growing effort by writers addressing ministers and church leaders, reminding us, you are not alone! From Weary to Wholehearted is Callie’s love letter to remind you and me of many…
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3MMM | Episode 238: Transition and Grief
Taking out the trash reminded me how transition and grief are messy and complicated I move four dusty pink vases, two glass candy dishes, and an old cigar box off the brown microwave cart. I check the drawer and cabinet.…
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3MMM | Episode 232: Where Were You?
Where were you on March 11, 2020, four years ago? The start of the COVID-19 pandemic was different for everyone by a few days. March 11 was the day the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. On March 9, I…
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3MMM | Episode 219: Honoring Vocational Grief
This week as Ordinary Time is winding down, and we are honoring All the Saints, living and dead, we also want to make space for honoring vocational grief. If you missed our All Saints’ gathering last week, we invite you…
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3MMM | Episode 217: Vocational Grief
Gratitude is rightly our focus during clergy appreciation month, yet as part of our acknowledgement of clergy today, let’s also attend to the reality of vocational grief. While it can be hard to name and process, and typically remains out…
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Finding Our Way – Live Event
We are all trying to find our way, yes? Thank you for finding your way over to this page! We think everyone is seeking ways right now… to live, to be together, to be church, and to make a vibrant…
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3MMM | Episode 191: Talking Through Tragedy
Talking through tragedy, creating sanctuary in a crisis, and accompanying people through ambiguous loss amounts to some of our hardest relational work in the practice of ministry. In this week’s episode I want to talk about all three forms of…
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3MMM | Episode 186: Leading in Loss
Leading in loss is one of the great challenges of this moment. Why? The losses are monumental. The leaders are overwhelmed. And grief is rarely easy. Our guest Dr. Joyce Ann Mercer of Yale Divinity School shares wisdom for attending…
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3MMM | Episode 184: Integrating Loss
Often at the Three Minute Ministry Mentor we write and share about integration, but integrating loss and grief is a slightly different topic. This week we continue our conversation with Dr. Joyce Ann Mercer of Yale Divinity School about loss…
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3MMM | Episode 183: Ambiguous Loss
What ambiguous losses are you facing right now? I want to speak openly and share a few ambiguous losses that I’m feeling. That is just what I’m asking you to do in this episode of Three Minute Ministry Mentor (3MMM).…
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3MMM | Episode 168: Communion and Community
World Communion Sunday created an opportunity for reflection on theologies of communion and community in a new era of ministry. The following is a sermon I preached at Glendale Baptist Church on October 2, 2022. ++++++++ Philippians 4: 1-9 4:1…
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3MMM | Episode 167: Five Things Ministers Need Now
The times we are living in remain profoundly challenging, so today we are launching a series on five things ministers need now. The world is somewhat deceptive for all its rush and efforts to get things “back to normal.” Yet…
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#PandemicPastoring Report 2022
Download the report now #PandemicPastoring ushers in a new era of church leadership For immediate release August 18, 2022 Press contact: Eileen Campbell-Reed [email protected] (615) 510-1510 NASHVILLE, TN – Researcher and author, Eileen Campbell-Reed conducted a 22-month qualitative study of…
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3MMM | Episode 139: Permission to Grieve
There is so much to grieve these days. The list seems nearly endless. Yet grieving remains hard work, and it is easy to ignore or leave aside. This week I’m offering to you a way to give yourself permission. A…
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3MMM | A Bridge to Epiphany
Bridges I have an invitation for you. But first an image. You’ve heard of the Bridge on the River Kwai? A Bridge over Troubled Waters? How about the Bridge to Terabithia? War. Grief. Escape. The search for relief. A bridge…
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3MMM | Episode 95: Carrie Doehring on Self Reflection
Reflecting on our lives. Sounds easy, right? How about reflecting on your spiritual practices? And what about reflecting on losses and griefs? Or self reflection about the ways you care for people? Each of these forms of self reflection asks…
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3MMM | Trauma Healing and Recovery
Trauma inflicts its wounds in a moment, yet recovery may take a lifetime. With proper attention and care, however, healing is possible. +++++++ Earlier this week, I wrote about Trauma Informed Leadership. And I shared information that all spiritual, health…
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Advent Resources 2020
How will we support each other in the coming holiday season? And how shall we get through Advent in a year that has been so filled with challenge, loss, and grief?
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3MMM | Episode 82: Ethical Wills
Chaplaincy Jennifer Hundley Batts Thomas sat down with me in the late spring to talk about ethical wills. She helped me to share with my students in the Death, Dying, and Bereavement course at Union Theological Seminary about the significance…
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3MMM | Episode 78: Grief Rituals
LOn Sunday afternoon I hosted a conversation on Zoom with friends from my childhood church. Together we were remembering one of our friends, a fellow youth group member, who died earlier this summer. It was good to be with each…
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How To Survive Your Internship in a Pandemic by Kim McKay Allen
Please enjoy this post by my friend, recent graduate of Central Seminary, and chaplain, Kim McKay Allen. In today’s blog she tells us how she survived the onset of the global pandemic this spring while completing her internship and seminary…
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