ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
May 2, 2023
For some reason, I’ve spent a little more time visiting folks in the hospitals and nursing facilities lately. As strange as it may sound, I really enjoy that part of my job, and during the pandemic, I found myself missing the more in-depth conversations that often happened beyond the quick greetings on Sunday morning. As a quick side note, make sure to let us know when you are going in for surgery or find yourself in the hospital. You can even request that a chaplain at the hospital call on your behalf. Too often, we learn of someone being released from a hospital after five days, and I had been by that very hospital twice during that time to see someone else. I also recognize that some people are a bit more private, and I want to respect that. Returning to my main point, the care ministry of our church should not be centered on the ministerial staff. Whether it is the Prayer Blanket Ministry (they are making them tomorrow, and you are invited to help), the Men’s Prayer Ministry and the many cards they send, the Elders taking communion post-COVID to those who request it, the great work of Stephen Ministry, or other acts of care that occur organically, there is a lot of wonderful compassion demonstrated through the people of CCCC. But there is always more that could be done, and if it is something you feel called to do, please let us know. We’d love to help you find ways you can live into your God-given gifts. As Matthew 25 reminds us, “As you visited the sick (among many other acts of compassion), it was as if you were visiting Jesus.” And when we make that visit, we are representing the church, which means we are representing Jesus to the one we are visiting. It’s almost as if Jesus was reminding us how the divine is within all of us, and the hope is to always reflect that presence to others as we see in others that presence.
God of Immeasurable Compassion and Love, continue to make us aware of the gifts we have to share and the many opportunities we have to share those gifts. We are taught in scripture that we are blessed for the purpose of being a blessing to others. Empower us as we continue to recognize the blessings we have received and situations in which we can be agents of those blessings. Amen.
