Something you don’t necessarily think about on your first day of seminary, a gleam of future sermons and weddings in your eye, is how big a role death will play in your ministry. It is one of the most difficult and sacred responsibilities of clergy to come alongside and minister to those who are grieving, often as they mourn a lost loved one.
Last week many mourned the loss of Frederick Buechner, one of the most beloved Christian writers of our lifetime. The Century featured a moving tribute by one of Buechner’s personal friends, Martin Copenhaver. If you’re interested in reading some of Buechner’s own words, here are a 2006 poem and a 2002 interview from the pages of our magazine.
But physical death is not the only kind of loss. We have recent articles about the painful breakup tearing apart the United Methodist Church and the art of ministering to others amid our own grief.
Our video of the week is a substantive and fascinating chat with Jewish theologian Malka Simkovich, who talks about depictions of God as mother in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish history. Plus more thoughtful content below.
Email me: What are you mourning now? What helps you grieve well?
“As wide as Frederick Buechner’s circle of friends was, he was willing to widen it further to include someone like me, a young pastor who was almost 30 years his junior.”
“Unable to resolve arguments about same-sex marriage, the United Methodists began to talk separation, deluding ourselves that we’d have a friendly divorce. By now we’ve lawyered up, and things are getting ugly.”
“Too many folks suppose that a pastor’s job is quiet and contemplative, away from the action. But no, in the house he visited that night it was all wailing and gun smoke.”
