Rev Dr Ivan Patterson, President of the Irish Council of Churches, recently offered some reflections for the ‘Care4Clergy’ group based on research published in my report on churches during the pandemic, ‘People Still Need Us.’
Patterson’s reflections were posted on the Care4Clergy Facebook page.
‘People Still Need Us’ found that people were accessing and appreciating the ministries of clergy and churches perhaps more than might have been expected on our secularizing island. He focused on these findings as a way to encourage clergy, whose own jobs have been more stressful as they have sought to balance health and safety concerns with people’s emotional and spiritual needs.
Patterson emphasised the ‘value of your ministries in bringing hope in uncertain times’ and urged clergy to ‘take time to care for your own soul’.