Pastoring through a Pandemic (while Pregnant)

There is a common joke amongst pastors and seminary graduates about all of the things we were never taught in seminary. You know, things like: what to do about worship when a hurricane is approaching, what to do when the nursery bathroom floods on a Saturday night, how to lead online worship, etc. etc. 

Well, as every pastor I know has said in the last few weeks, seminary definitely didn't teach me how to be a pastor through a global pandemic. There was no class on leading in the midst of a major public health crisis. Seminary also didn't teach me how to pastor while pregnant. So, I naturally was not prepared to do both at the same time. 

The past few months have ushered in unprecedented changes to our day-to-day lives and the rhythms and routines of how we interact with one another. In our town, we started stay-at-home orders in mid-March - that is also when our church moved all services online. Since my husband Shane and I are expecting our first child in August, I have been extra cautious throughout this whole time. Until a week ago, I hadn't been into a store since mid-March. I haven't been out to eat, I haven't seen family, I haven't had people rub my growing belly, and with the exception of daily walks/runs, trips to the doctor, and recording my sermons at church, I haven't really left the house either. 

This probably goes without saying, but I never anticipated the last few months turning out like this. When we started stay-at-home orders in mid-March, I genuinely thought/hoped we would be back together in person by Palm Sunday. Or certainly by Easter Sunday. I never expected we would be worshipping virtually for more than three months! 

And when Shane and I found out we were expecting back in mid-December, this is not the pregnancy journey we anticipated. Over Christmas, we told our families our exciting news, we got to hug them and take pictures and celebrate. We talked about plans to have my family come down to Florida for our gender reveal in early April. We even talked about having a baby shower in Florida over Memorial Day weekend and then traveling to North Carolina for another one in June. 

All of these plans radically shifted as the severity of COVID-19 began to ramp-up. Plans were changed, celebrations were moved to Zoom, and we have spent a lot more time on FaceTime calls with family. Not only that, but due to new protocols at my doctor's office, Shane hasn't been able to come to any of my appointments. He did get to come to our 9-week scan and my first appointment with my OB. But, since then I've had to fly solo. He was able to watch our anatomy scan through FaceTime though, and last month we went to a private office for a 3D/4D ultrasound and he could join me for that! 

We still don't know what our labor and delivery experience will look like. We don't know what our doctor's guidelines will be for visitors after our daughter is born. At this point, we also don't know if we will be able to return to in-person worship before my maternity leave starts. All of these unknowns can feel pretty overwhelming at times. Especially since this is all out of our control. We are trying to take all of this one step at a time. In the mean time, we will continue to practice social distancing, wear our masks when we are out-and-about, and most importantly, we will continue to love on our little lady as we prepare to become a family of three!