Ministry in the Middle

This is the third in a three-part series on weather cancellations and the church.  You can read part 1, "When to Cancel." here.   You can read part 2, "Who Makes the Call?" here. There are many ways to communicate about weather cancellations and the church.  Some TV and radio stations are willing to broadcast the news.  There are ways to share over the Internet through email and social media.  Or you can use the phone, either with an old-fashioned telephone tree or with newer mass texting or robocalling applications. The challenge is two-fold.  First, decide which means of communication are best for your congregation.  Second, prepare people to expect  how  you will communicate long before the harsh weather arrives. Some means of communication need to be set-up some time before the need to use them will arise.  Most media outlets will create access accounts for people to use their weather notification systems during the fall.  An automated list (of emails or t

The second of a three-part series on weather cancellations and the church.  You can read part 1, "When to Cancel?" here. If weather and road conditions make travel treacherous, or if the forecast strongly suggests that travel will become treacherous, someone needs to decide whether worship services or other church activities will be canceled or not. In most situations, the person making the final decision should be the congregation's senior minister or solo pastor.  Partially, this is because the pastor should have the best understanding of who would be attending the worship service or activity and what their travel would be like.  Mostly, though, this is because a senior minister should have the respect of the congregation to abide by the decision, even if they disagree. In almost no situation should the senior minister or pastor make the decision in isolation, though.  It is a good habit to discuss the matter with other leaders in the congregation (understanding t

This is the first of a three-part series on weather cancellations and the church. Late last month, our congregation's office received information from a couple of TV stations about changes to their weather-related closings and delays announcement procedures.  This is a timely reminder of the need to be prepared for the ways that winter weather can affect -- and force changes to -- church activities. The first part of this preparation is to decide the conditions that will force a congregation to delay or cancel worship services, other activities, or regular office hours.  Creating criteria ahead of time can make it easier to decide whether to cancel or not.  In fact, it may even allow you to prepare the congregation for what to expect. No one likes to cancel activities that have been planned, especially worship services, but sometimes that is the most responsible decision.  There comes a point where the risk is unnecessary, and there are times when it is wise to discourage peo