By Ed Thompson

Presbyterians probably spend more time talking about prayer than we spend time in prayer. Like losing weight, eating more vegetables, or drinking 8 eight-ounce glasses of water each day, we know we should do it, we just don’t. Perhaps we think God already knows what’s best for us and will bless us beyond anything we can ask for or imagine anyway, so why bother God? To pray seems almost like we’re being ungrateful for the blessings God already intends to give us.

Yet there are times when prayer seems vitally important. For the Presbytery of West Virginia, this is one of those times. Every presbytery, every regional association is facing challenges. Membership continues to drop, revenue continues to decline, and churches continue to close. We’re also living into a post-Covid era, which seems to have sped up some trends and introduced new problems we have never had to consider. Even if I was not retiring, it would be time for this presbytery to step back and consider: what do our priorities need to be moving forward? What kind of staffing do we need? How many staff can we realistically afford? How many committees can we support, and what do they need to focus on?

There are no easy answers, no clear answers, and really no right answers to these questions. There are options and alternatives available, maybe more than we can imagine, although I’m sure we will be able to generate more than enough. We need to pray for the presbytery.

We also need to pray for the process we use to make these decisions. The Leadership Team, after considering several consultants, has decided that we will work with Emily Swanson of Holy Cow Consulting. (Here’s their website; check it out.) The primary tool they use is called the Landscape Assessment, which “is designed especially for leadership transitions and strategic review for Regional Associations so they can do the work they are called to do.” (OK, it’s a survey.) Some of the questions included will be more generic, and others will be unique to our presbytery. The value to having that kind of combination is that it will allow us to compare how we’re doing with other presbyteries/regional associations as well as focus on issues/needs unique to us. There will be different ways to do that, different ways to interpret the results, different ways to implement what we’ve learned from the results. We need to pray for that process.

I would also ask you to pray for me. More than a few people have asked me what I’m going to do when I retire. My standard answer is, “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.” That’s certainly true. I have no big plans, and other than a trip to Yellowstone thanks to my wife, I have no plans at all. I don’t want to get in the way. I want to – and I plan to – observe good boundaries. I don’t know how to answer the questions we’re facing, and, to be honest, I don’t want to try. I am more than willing to let other people sit in meetings and figure it out. I will be praying for you. Seriously, though, I ask you to pray for me. What does God want and need me to do? What will be the best use of my time? I don’t intend to sit around and wait until I die. I also don’t intend to do any interim work. Between those two parameters are a lot of options. I suspect things will become clearer after July 31, but I also believe that prayer – both yours and mine – will help.

So please, pray for the presbytery, pray for the process, and pray for me.