Dear saints,
Just yesterday, Bob Tick and Ed O’Halloran drove their friend to surgery. They got up well before sunrise, sat with him as he waited, drove him home, and checked up on him to make sure he was ok. Nobody asked them to do this. They didn’t get paid. They just loved their friend, and didn’t want him to be alone during surgery. In so many ways, that action embodies the essence of this gracious community: saints loving each other through the peaks and valleys of life.
Bob and Ed offered us a powerful reminder this week that lay folks play a key role in pastoral care, in partnership with your clergy. There are several meaningful ways to get involved in pastoral care ministries here. You can join groups that offer flower deliveries, home cooked meals, hand-written notes, receptions after funerals, companionship for those grieving a recent death, and day-time care for elders experiencing dementia. You can also ask someone, “How can I pray for you?” and then say an actual prayer together. When words fail, it’s always wise to offer the prayer Jesus taught us, “Our Father, who art in heaven…” For those of us who have been on the giving and receiving ends of these pastoral acts, we can tell you that they make a real difference in our lives. People will remember these moments for years to come.
If you’re interested in providing pastoral care as a member of this community, please contact Elizabeth Robertson: and she’ll happily get you involved. Thanks be to God for the pastoral ministry of all the baptized!
Blessings,
Andy+
