Good morning, friends! Can you believe it’s been 10 weeks since we have occupied the same space? This likely stirs up a myriad of emotions for you. I loved what Ryder Mills said in Sunday’s sermon discussion about being “confronted with the truth” and fearing being crushed by it. In many ways this pandemic has caused us to be alone with uncomfortable truths – or even false truth appearing real! How do we cope? Better yet, how do we thrive?

Last year, my friend Aaron Mitchum (who is a psychotherapist, a Christian, husband, and dad who is now teleworking alongside raising/homeschooling kids like many of you) co-hosted a fantastic seminar at Christ Church called Getting Unstuck Emotionally. Remembering the favorable response to that conference, I reached out to him again to see what we could offer people regarding Pandemic related realities.

The result is a provocative 2-part conversation between three unique perspectives – Aaron (a therapist), Mike Vogel (a theologian and Mid-America professor of Psychology), and me (a Pastor). We reached out to folks in our various circles and asked, “If you could ask any question about how to stay sane during a pandemic, what would it be?”  From those questions came a 2-part teleconference called Staying Sane During a Global Pandemic. The topics range from isolation to “Zoom fatigue” to grief to anxiety.

I encourage you to give this free teleconference a shot. Aaron and Mike have brilliant insights and ideas that come from a deep well of experience and training. There is a lot of great information to process. Grab a pen and a notebook, as I found myself scribbling down notes even while recording! I also encourage you to allow time between Part 1 and Part 2 in order to digest the content. You will notice section headings in the comment section in case you want to go back over something.

Please feel free to share the conference link with anyone who might benefit!

I continue to pray for you to feel supported and connected, to be well-provided for, and to be delivered from any despondency into many moments of hope and joy!

With love in Christ,
Amanda