Two Alternatives to Fall Planning

Making plans. Revising plans. Re-revising plans. Re-re-revising plans.

Sound familiar? Yes, I’ve led two different planning webinars & a podcast last week. Yes, we’ve shared a rough outline of what fall might look like where I serve. Yet, I might take a break from planning because holding everything loosely these days while waiting to hear what school might be like for my daughters is exhausting. Every parent I know is pretty anxious.

With that in mind, here are my two, super simple alternatives to fall planning:

Be there for people.

I don’t believe tensions have been this high since March. Maybe you can’t gather groups together right  now, but there are ways to let families know that their church community sees the challenges they are facing. Some simple ideas to show up in a socially distanced world:

1. • Send cards to all families.
   • Make back to school yard signs
   • Meet one on one outdoors.
   • Set up an outdoor prayer station.
   • Post encouraging messages on social media.
   • Share this booklet of prayers from Traci Smith.

Take a walk.

I’ve talked about walking a lot during this pandemic. My route is almost always the same which has allowed me to watch the seasons change and become very familiar with the land near my home. When I’m feeling stressed, my instinct now is to walk. Which makes me wonder, maybe that’s what families need, too, an opportunity to be outdoors, feel safe, and see one another? If you need inspiration, the newly published Vibrant Faith at Home activities (newly available in easy to download format for free!)  have outdoor options for every season.

These are just two, simple ideas that won’t need revision in the weeks ahead. Come to think of it, “be there for people and take a walk” wouldn’t be a terrible summation of Jesus’ ministry. 

Grace and peace to you this week, Christine