Sacred Connections: Pastoral Connections, Prayers, and Love
I welcome having this space to connect with you each week. It’s a space that we’ll see what we make of it together – a place for sharing thoughts, ideas, experiences, inspirations. Pastoral care is so much a part of how we are with each other and how we engage in ministry together. It’s that connectedness we feel when we know we’re walking together, albeit virtually, or six feet apart. It’s that comfort of shared recognition – we know each other or are eager to meet each other. We respect and appreciate each other’s journeys. We encourage each other when we’re down; and celebrate with each other when our joy is too much to contain. We cry together, laugh together, pray for each other, and love each other. And God is in the midst of it, inspiring and calling us to these sacred connections of love.
Phil has challenged all of our Pastoral ministries to be creative and explore how we minister during times as these when we’re not able to meet in person as a community or be face-to-face in person with each other. How do the Knitters meet and share their latest creations? How does Stephen Ministry happen when care givers and receivers are not able to meet in person? How do our Eucharistic Visitors continue to provide ministry when we are not able to celebrate communion together or even have access to those we normally serve? I could go down the list of all our ministries for we all have an invitation to step into a new way of connecting, treasuring and supporting each other. With the creativity and passion for ministry in all these groups, there will be an abundance of ideas to share,
We also have a new pastoral ministry that is just now in the birthing process and which you’ll be hearing more about soon. Anny Stevens-Gleason, Nancy Schwartz and I have been laying the groundwork to connect all members of the congregation with those who live close to them. We’re hoping that these neighborhood groups will be able to encourage and support each other, help each other with practical concerns, offer prayers for each other, and more fully bring into practice our response to God’s call to love our neighbor as ourselves.
In our first glimpses of this we’re finding excitement where people had no idea they were neighbors or lived close to each other. One person spoke of the joy of walking by houses and appreciating for the first time that someone from her church community lived there. Some individuals on our lists have been disconnected for a long time and have relished the opportunity for new connection, new affiliation, new energy to be shared. This is in such an early stage, but we’re hoping by next week to share much more. In the meantime, and should you receive a call, text or email from Anny or me or someone in your neighborhood, please join the conversation and help us create this together.
Thank you for all you are already doing in support and love of each other. I invite you to share the moments that touch your heart, the moments that inspire you, the moments you witness and share God’s love with the neighbors you already know and the ones you are called to meet. Please call or send me your thoughts, use the button below to email me.
May we all share the blessing of God's love.
The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
