{"id":12593,"date":"2021-12-13T17:40:12","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T22:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/?p=12593"},"modified":"2025-07-18T10:43:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T14:43:29","slug":"asi-de-facil-y-asi-de-dificil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/resources\/news\/its-all-that-easy-and-its-all-that-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"As\u00ed de f\u00e1cil y as\u00ed de dif\u00edcil\"."},"content":{"rendered":"

After surviving a stay in the hospital following a COVID-19 diagnosis despite being fully vaccinated, the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow<\/a> says he now counts \u201ccompetent days as a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat gives me life now is writing,\u201d Reyes-Chow, pastor of First Presbyterian Church<\/a> in Palo Alto, California, and the Moderator of the 218th<\/sup> General Assembly (2008), told the Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty of the Presbyterian Foundation<\/a> last week during an edition of Leading Theologically<\/a>, which can be viewed here<\/a>. This spring Chalice Press published Reyes-Chow\u2019s latest book, \u201cIn Defense of Kindness: Why It Matters, How It Changes Our Lives, and How It Can Save the World<\/a>,\u201d and he\u2019s already at work on his next book. Writing \u201cfeeds my soul these days,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty, the host of Leading Theologically, holds up a copy of the latest book by the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, at right. (Screenshot)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Reyes-Chow, a social media legend in PC(USA) circles who\u2019s inspired many with talks on topics including holding meaningful and effective online worship, told Hinson-Hasty he posted extensively during his hospital stay in order to \u201cnormalize\u201d what it means to be hospitalized because of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people have it, and not everyone dies from it, thankfully,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat I discovered is many pastors and others had COVID and didn\u2019t have the resources or the platform or the flexibility to heal and share their story. There are a lot of people healing in silence.\u201d Family and friends \u201cjust want us to get better \u2026 but we know with COVID there are long-haul [effects], more so for some than others. I was trying to normalize this longer path that recovery takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another motivation to share so freely, he told Hinson-Hasty, was to encourage more people to get vaccinated. \u201cI firmly believe if I was not vaccinated, I may not be here,\u201d he said. \u201cI was at the very low end of hospitalization, and it can get so much worse. I wanted to reinforce that for as many people as were willing to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are for me and for so many others a trusted voice,\u201d Hinson-Hasty told him. Reyes-Chow\u2019s social media posts were more compelling than statistics and numbers to his many friends and followers, Hinson-Hasty said. \u201cWhen it\u2019s personal, it\u2019s a little different, and I\u2019m grateful for that,\u201d he told Reyes-Chow. \u201cI\u2019m so glad you are encouraging folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

As First Presbyterian Church has added an in-person worship option despite the presence of the omicron variant, Reyes-Chow said he\u2019s hopeful \u201cit doesn\u2019t create a sense where we are cavalier about this or we give up\u201d on being vigilant about safety, \u201cbut that it actually reinvigorates our diligence. I\u2019m not sure which way we\u2019re going to head [with the new variant] but I do think it is exhausting to hear about another one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a little bit in person and quite a bit on Zoom to try to get people more comfortable with different ways of interacting,\u201d Reyes-Chow said. \u201cWe are trying to create a sense of \u2018how do we stay in community and be responsible,\u2019 which means some inconvenience but also some discovery. There have been some real revelatory things happen because of the pandemic \u2014 not silver linings by any means, but we\u2019ve revealed some things about ourselves, both good and bad, things that were a little static and calcified as well as places that we\u2019re fairly adaptable at.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those of us called to lead these [faith] communities, it\u2019s exhausting, especially for small-church pastors,\u201d Reyes-Chow said. \u201cI want to acknowledge that I think folks are tired. If anybody listening is on a session, I think pastors should be given more time off and time just to rejuvenate a little without any strings \u2014 just some time to refresh a little, because [guiding a congregation through a pandemic] takes a toll on folks for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reyes-Chow has a word he finds himself using increasingly of late: enough.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s not \u201cI have had enough,\u201d he said, \u201cbut \u2018what is enough?\u2019\u201d when it comes to productivity, a nagging he ascribes to \u201ctoxic productivity gremlins.\u201d When they \u201ccome into your world, you are only as good as what you accomplish \u2026 It\u2019s a cultural phenomenon in the U.S. and we need to break that because it is not sustainable.\u201d It\u2019s being made manifest in the Great Resignation<\/a>, he said, in which clergy and people in other lines of work are leaving their positions in surprising and sometimes alarming rates.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these things are forcing us to ask questions, and for me it\u2019s, \u2018what is enough?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cHow in shape do I need to be? How much do I need to be working? How much do I need to be managing my way through the pandemic for the church? What does success mean? All these great questions have become more real for everybody over the past 18 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said his most recent book isn\u2019t overtly religious, \u201cbut it does regard the beauty of Creation and the created.\u201d Hinson-Hasty read the author some of the book\u2019s more playful lines including this one: \u201cThey say kindness is dumb. I say, \u2018I know you are \u2014 but what am I?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to slip some childishness in somewhere,\u201d Reyes-Chow told listeners, \u201cto keep you on your toes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think your authenticity is a clear witness,\u201d Hinson-Hasty told him before asking Reyes-Chow to offer listeners a charge and benediction. Reyes-Chow used one he frequently goes to:<\/p>\n

\u201cGo forth into the world with compassion and justice in your heart. Hear voices of the long silenced. See strength in that which has been deemed weak. See one another, hear one another, care for one another and love one another. It\u2019s all that easy and it\u2019s all that hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay the grace of God, the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and forever more. And all God\u2019s people say, \u2018Amen!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Leading Theologically airs at 1 p.m. Eastern Time every other Wednesday.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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