From Rob Kirbach., Associate Executive Minister:

If you’re feeling post-Easter fatigue, you’re not alone.

Holy Week and Easter asks a great deal of pastors and church leaders. Weeks of preparation culminate in a pinnacle moment — a sacred remembrance and celebration of Christ’s passion and resurrection. Full(er) sanctuaries, layered services, added logistics, heightened expectations… a lot goes into our Easter worship. And then, almost abruptly, it’s over. The energy that carried you through Holy Week to the empty tomb dissipates. And what remains is often a quiet, disorienting exhaustion.

If your worship service the week after Easter feels empty or flat, that’s not failure. It’s not a weakness. It’s the predictable cost of pouring yourself out.

Many pastors and church leaders experience what could be called a “post-Easter fatigue.” After the intensity of Holy Week and the joy of Resurrection Sunday, the ordinary rhythms of ministry return — and they can feel strangely flat by comparison. Attendance dips. Adrenaline fades. The inbox fills back up. And internally, you may find yourself more depleted than you expected.

A few reminders for this moment:

1. Your fatigue makes sense. You’ve likely been operating at an unsustainable pace for several weeks. Emotional, spiritual, and logistical demands all converged at once. The body and soul do not simply rest overnight.

1. You are not responsible for sustaining Easter. Resurrection is not a momentum you have to maintain. It is a reality you are called to witness. The pressure to “keep it going” can quietly distort a pastor’s or church leader’s role. The church does not rise or fall on your post-Easter energy.

1. Rest is not a reward — it is a part of faithfulness. If you can take some time off, do it. If you can lighten your load by delegating or deferring tasks, do it. The people you serve do not need a perpetually exhausted leader; they need a sustainable one.

1. Pay attention to your emotional baseline. Irritability, discouragement, or a sense of emptiness after a high moment are common. Naming this experience reduces its power. It also helps you avoid misinterpreting temporary depletion as a deeper vocational or spiritual problem.

1. Let Easter work on you, too. In the rush to lead others, it’s easy to bypass your own encounter with the resurrection. Take time, even briefly, to return to the story — not as one responsible for proclaiming it, but as one who needs to hear it again.

For lay leaders and congregations, this is also an important time to practice awareness. Your pastor may be carrying more than you can see. A word of encouragement, a willingness to absorb a small responsibility, or simply extending grace can have a profound impact right now.

The paradox of ministry is that some of its most meaningful moments are also the most draining. That does not diminish their value, but it does mean we must learn to recover well.

Easter is not undone by your exhaustion.

Christ is risen — whether you feel energized this week or not.