December 2010
Blogs by and for unsung heroes of the church
By Jody Harrington
New to blogging? See “Blogging 101.”
Jody Harrington
Many pastors maintain either personal blogs or blogs that are linked to their churches’ websites, but blogs by and about the unsung heroes of the church are few and far between on the internet. Nonetheless, a few of these voices can be found on blogs that share resources, experiences and community with other “toilers in the vineyard.”
Sunday School teachers are usually recognized in most Presbyterian churches once or twice a year, but in between find themselves scrambling to find new resources for their classes. Presbyterian pastor Neil MacQueen, who focuses on Christian education, created the Sunday Resources blog “to share my experience, knowledge...and occasionally bold and ridiculous ideas related to church problems and church tech topics.” Advice for educators in recent blog posts included teaching with software in the rotation model for Sunday School; Seven Tips to Better Children’s Sermons; and recommended Bible games, software and videos.
Director of Music at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church in North Carolina, Michael Barker, uses his blog Music at Black Mountain Prez to let his choir members know what music will be covered in rehearsals and services; share his thoughts about choral singing; and promote upcoming special musical events at the church like the Halloween Organ Concert, PipeScreams II.
And who really makes the church run smoothly? The church secretary of course! She has to deal with the public, the church members and the pastors while trying to project a welcoming and supportive image for the church. The anonymous blogger at Church Lady Chronicles reveals the everyday challenges she encounters in her job as a church secretary. The Church Lady posts about making car cooked nachos in the parking lot (something those of us in Texas can definitely identify with); observations on the progress of the new plants in the church’s yard; and those moments of grace that appear from time to time.
Even though pastor’s wives are no longer expected to serve as unpaid assistants to their husband, they can find the role difficult and challenging. Blogger Amy at With Purpose writes frankly about depression and disappointment with life as a clergy spouse as well as Bible study, the pressures of everyday family life and the occasional book review.
With Purpose also has an extensive list of links to other blogs by pastor’s wives. There’s quite a community here! Although there are a lot of women pastors in the mainline denominations today, I was not able to find an active blog written by a pastor’s husband. However, clergy husbands will find some of the issues addressed in these blogs resonate with their experiences.
Since clergy families are often stressed by financial pressure, its not surprising that Amy has found a way to make money by blogging. She shares tips for building, maintaining and making money from a blog at Blogging with Amy.
—Jody Harrington, a Presbyterian elder who blogs at Quotidian Grace