"Pastor Appreciation Month"-- Pastor's 24 Tweetup

Pastor Appreciation Month is coming to a close this week.  While the consecration of our facility made me feel appreciated, nothing formal was done at Girdwood Chapel (although I did drop some hints that lattes are always appreciated).  And, the important thing, regardless or any "month" is to recognize that us clergy-folk are most likely engaged in a whole lot more activity than the one hour a week that may be assumed...or, in my case, three hours per week (2 in worship and 1 in Sunday School).

One of the reasons clergy work is misunderstood is because much of our job can happen at odd hours...like my Bible studying last night from about 10:30 PM to 12 Midnight...or my financial work for the church from then until 12:45 AM.  So, I can spend some quality time with my kids and family or go on Bike Rides or hikes during the sunny hours of the day...if there is any sun.

I know there are some who joke about the amount of time I spend writing blog post or updating Facebook statuses.  But, in my defense, I'll say that I have found these activities spiritually and socially rewarding and a tool for connecting people that I'm still learning to use.  And while I seem, as of late, to spend a great deal of time in play practices, for the Alyeska Resort's "Halloween Train Murder Mystery" and for the Girdwood Community Theater production of "Once Upon A Mattress," these are ways for me to be involved in the community, something I preach repeatedly to my congregation.

And, yet, maybe among some persons, the assumption remains...pastors do very little work.

Well, we'll show them!!!!!

Jeremy, over at Hacking Christianity has an idea which he took from the Manchester (UK) Police who tweeted their activity over a 24 hour period just to show that police work was more than eating donuts.  What if pastors tweeted their activity so their congregations could see what they're involved in?

Here's how it's proposed...

• Pastors or people in ministry work would have twitter accounts that they would update with every single ministry-related thing they do in a 24 hour period, from the big to the mundane.
• Obviously, details would be kept to a minimum. If a meeting is over a sensitive topic, the tweet might just be “met with parishioner” or “finance meeting”
• Try to post as close as possible to the time it completed, either by the twitter web interface or a cell phone (you can setup tweeting by text message here).
• Do this for 24 hours so the world has a better idea of the (1) complexity of pastoral issues and (2) the diversity of our ministry contexts!
• Use the hashtag (say what?) of #pastors24 at the end of the update so we can follow everyone’s work.

You can sign up at Jeremy's site.

I'll do it.

I know I'll have a meeting, a Bible Study to prep for, and two play practices.   We'll see what else will be done.