As I pass my 20th anniversary of ordination as a Lutheran pastor, I remember how quickly after we graduated, classmates were sharing, "what I did not learn in seminary." I recall a few – what a church stamp is, how to preach a stewardship sermon, how to broach the subject when a child accepts communion before they have been instructed. As time goes on the list changes. How to help members through a national trauma. How to design a service for kindergarten students whose classmate died at school. How to provide pastoral care during a pandemic. The answers are no different than the answers you would come up with. Ask. Ask. Ask. Share your heart. Care. And that is also how we will come out stronger when the pandemic ends: ask, share your heart and care.
