Word and Wisdom

10/24/2026

May you remember
that you, too, are held.

May you know when to reach out
and when to release,
when to speak
and when simply to remain.

May you offer what is yours to give
without carrying what was never yours to bear.

May there be hands that hold you
when your own hands grow weary,
ears that listen when you need to speak,
and places where you need not be
the strong one,
the wise one,
or the one who knows what to do.

May rest find you
before exhaustion demands it.

May joy surprise you
in the midst of responsibility.

And may you remember
that your presence is a gift—
but your wholeness matters, too.

May the care you so freely offer others
find its way back to you.

10/21/2026

10/20/2026

Those who are accustomed to caring for others can become very good at carrying things.

We carry concerns shared in confidence. We carry awareness of needs that others may not see. We carry responsibility for decisions, relationships, communities, and work that matters deeply to us. Sometimes we carry the hopes people have placed in us—and the expectations we have placed upon ourselves.

Much of that carrying is part of what it means to love, to lead, and to serve.

But not everything we encounter is ours to carry.

READ MORE: https://www.clergyandcongregations.org/archive/october-2026-centerings/not-yours-to-carry

10/19/2026

Pastoral Care Week 2026

To those who sit beside hospital beds, accompany families through grief, listen without judgment, offer prayers when words are hard to find, and bring a ministry of presence into life's most tender moments:

We see you. We honor the sacred work you do.

And we pray that, even as you make room for the burdens, questions, and hopes of others, you will find spaces where your own soul can rest, your own grief can be acknowledged, and your own humanity can be held with tenderness.

You are worthy of care, too.

With gratitude and blessing,
Rev. Dr. Phaedra D. Blocker
Center for Clergy & Congregational Wellness

10/14/2026

There are moments when words fail us.

A diagnosis that changes everything. A loss that leaves us searching for meaning. A season of uncertainty in which even our most familiar prayers seem inadequate.

In such moments, we may find ourselves longing for someone who can tell us what to do, explain what has happened, or assure us that everything will be all right.

And sometimes, what we need most is simply someone willing to be there.

READ MORE: https://www.clergyandcongregations.org/archive/october-2026-centerings/the-ministry-of-being-there

10/12/2026

You are more than the work you do.

More than the people who depend on you.
More than the needs you meet.
More than the calls you answer, the crises you manage, the wisdom you offer, or the strength you summon when others need somewhere to lean.

Your worth is not measured by your usefulness.

There is a life in you that belongs neither to your congregation, your organization, your family, nor the people you serve. There is a self that does not need to earn its place by caring for everyone else.

You are allowed to tend that life, too.

You are allowed to rest.
To delight.
To need.
To receive.
To be unfinished.
To simply be.

You are more than your ministry.
You are a whole person, worthy of the same care you so freely offer to others.

10/08/2026

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Each month, Centerings, the newsletter of the Center for Clergy & Congregational Wellness, brings together reflections, resources, and invitations to nurture your well-being and the communities you serve.

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