Ministry Fatigue

It is happening to our choir, it is happening to other choirs.
It is happening to the key persons, it is happening to me.

Ministry fatigue....
It is very clear that in ministry it is a calling. It is a response to a calling not to a human being, not to the institution of church, not to people, but to God.

But after years and years and years of doing and doing and doing......anybody HUMAN will get tired physically, emotionally, mentally.....just TIRED.
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Is there a solution?
Certains tasks are more draining than other tasks.

Eg. the trainer....she plans and runs the show. And after a while we just kind of EXPECT her to run the show.
Eg. the conductor.....she does it so well, that put somebody else and we tend to compare or we complain about what we are not used to.
Eg. the organist....the choir kinds of assume that there will always be an organist.

Then there are people who left and never looked back. Ask them after their sabbatical if they wish to return....'no no no'....they are SOOOOOOOO glad they are out and now they have time to do their own thing.

Is there a solution? Well I can brainstorm some ideas here:

1. Delegate.
2. Roster
3. Team work
eg. feast day team don't need to do christmas, or christmas team who know that they are not around can do more at feast day.
4. Take breaks and arrange for someone to cover when you are away
5. New blood needed
6. Combine with another choir and merge limited resources and talants
7. Don't be too ambitious, scale down eg. don't sing in parts, choose simpler hymns, cut down on practise so that it is not too taxing
8 Focus on the role that you are best at. Multi tasking is equally draining to that one person that is tasked to play and conduct, or cantor and lead a section....
9. Cut down on frills and fringe events eg. christmas light-up, weddings.....which again is another draining activity.

Before QUITTING or even going on long leave, perhaps offer a reduced workload. One key person less means more work for the people left.
And then it just spirals because the person left will have to do more, then they also feel tired and pretty soon they also want to leave.

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So key people are not around.
They gave plenty of advance notice that they are not around.
They are not asking for permission not to be around.
It is a FACT, they are not going to be around.
Is there enough planning ahead?????

Suggestions:
1. Rope back Mermaid, little J, the youths to help.
2. Combine with filopino choir and tap their talants.
3. Simplify.....just sing normal singing and choose easier hymns
4. Inject new blood.....we need a change of committee members
5. We need to brain storm new and more efficient ways of doing things. Perhaps some OLD ways can be improved upon?

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Learning from churches from other choirs:
I was at the Church of the Risen Christ last weekend cos I was at my apartment. Risen Christ has a long tradition of good choral singing.

1. They sang a mixture of old and new style hymns.
2. Not everything was in parts....they had some parts but it did not detract the congragation from singing the main parts.
3. Everything was accompanied on the pipe organ.
4. Those cheesy hymns from the red book was done SUPER SLOW.......as in molto adagio.....a feat if I do will draw flakes from our choir......and you know what? I really contemplated on what I sang!!!!