Pastor's Life - Self Care

Practice a Little Self Care in a Busy Season for Pastors by Rev. Philip Beck As I write and from where I am in western Pennsylvania, the thaw from the big chill is happening. Feels like temperatures in negative numbers are no longer. My son at the University of Miami and everyone in that area seemed to be the only ones who didn’t have to endure the cold. It wasn’t even cold enough there that he had to worry about falling iguanas. With the thaw, the dreams of the perfect and fruitful backyard garden sustained by the numerous seed catalogs with their bright pictures beckons me to spend more money to buy seeds. Snowdrops from my grandparents’ home and Lenten roses are beginning to push out of the ground. As I write, preparations for Lent are in full swing. Due to lunar cycles and calendars beyond my personal understanding Easter is early this year, thus Lent is early too. I am reminding myself that I need to find the palms from last year and have a burning party using my small kettle grill. Perhaps this is something the youth group would be interested in doing with me.

Rev. Philip Beck is the pastor at First United Presbyterian Church of Tarentum, north of Pittsburgh, having served there since May of 2001. Phil and his wife Christa have three children and an exchange daughter. All of the children are out of the household, so he and his wife are enjoying the “empty nest” for the first time. In their spare time Phil and Christa now travel to where their children live. Phil also helps run and coordinate a local community garden.

Featured Resources

Don't Worry about the Stone "The story of the women at the tomb teaches us that anything worth committing to will have a stone that seems to be blocking our way." Rev. Lorenzo Small shares a Easter lectionary preview for March discussing how everywhere we look there are stones that need to be moved and how God can help us move those stones. Sharing Mr. Rogers with the Community What happens when you realize your church's giant blank wall could be a billboard to share a message of love? You share that message! Pastor Matt Sauer of First Presbyterian Church in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, let the community create a mural on the side of the church. Watch this short video in honor of Mr. Roger's day on March 20.