Embedded Files
I. Nurturing care and compassion for God’s creation.
II. Maintaining a basic understanding of mental health and wellness.
III. Practicing self-care and life balance.
IV. Providing hope and healing to a hurting world.
V. Attending to one’s own spiritual and pastoral care, including engagement in supervision as appropriate.
VI. Stewarding the resources of the Church.
I. Nurturing care and compassion for God’s creation.
It is telling of my focus on justice that I first read this mark as referring to environmental justice or creation care. I had made a few notes to myself to use information about a Kids Kamp (our name for VBS) called "Our Beautiful Little Blue Planet" that I customized for our setting and a church-wide challenge to reduce our carbon footprint. Once I looked at the other headings in this section and the writing prompt in Journaling the Journey, I realized that this section is actually asking me about pastoral care. I believe that I partially covered this topic on the Strengthening Inter- and Intra-Personal Assets page, under V. Understanding and ministering to stages of human development across the life span
Called to Care
When I served as Deacon for Congregational Care, I used the UCC Called to Care program as a training manual for lay people who felt called to caring for members of our church community. Once we completed the training seminar outlined in the resource materials, we created together a list of people to visit and a form to track visits and needs. I felt strongly then-and now- that caring for each other is the work of the whole community rather than just the pastor. First of all, it is almost impossible for one person (or even two people) to know all the needs that arise and attend to those needs. Secondly, I don't believe that the model where the pastor is expected to do congregational care alone is scripturally based. While it may have become church tradition recently, it is not the model that the earliest church communities lived. Rather, each gave according to their gifts; mutuality was the foundation of their caring.
I believe we should learn from and emulate that early church model; the Called to Care program has been beneficial in creating our own congregational care model and is still used by the Congregational Care Team at Church of the Savior.
II. Maintaining a basic understanding of mental health and wellness.
NAMI: In the city where I currently live and serve, there are several resources for supporting mental health and wellness. As in many cities, we have a NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) chapter that offers education about mental illness and support for those experiencing mental health struggles. Several years ago, we had occasion to ask for their help. Our youth group had witnessed a person experiencing an extreme manic episode; some were frightened while others expressed negative opinions about the person. We decided to call the local NAMI chapter for advice and support. They offered to send a mental health advocate to speak to our youth group- to address their fears and to help them articulate their feelings about the episode. Our local NAMI chapter also offers educational presentations to help remove the stigma from mental illness and to foster mental health practices as well.
University Counseling Educators: During the pandemic and resulting isolation, some of our young people were showing signs of depression and anxiety; they were having trouble dealing with the disappointments of canceled events and separation from their friends and social groups. A member of our church is a professor of social work and counseling at the University of Tennessee; he has worked in the past as a high school counselor and has special training in mindfulness for pre-teens and teens. We asked him to lead some Zoom sessions to help our young folks learn mindfulness and other practices to use as tools for maintaining mental health and wellbeing.
Helen Ross McNabb Center: This non-profit mental health center provides crisis services, counseling for children and adults on a sliding-scale cost basis, addiction treatment, and social services. The center is an invaluable resource for those who cannot afford treatment. https://mcnabbcenter.org/
Mental Health First Aid Training: The Southeast Conference offered a course in mental health first aid for Members in Discernment. Here is a description from the SEC website: “Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.” I feel that this course should be experienced by all authorized ministers; it was informative and enlightening while maintaining a sense of empathy for those experiencing mental health crises.
For more information visit https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/about/
UCC Mental Health Network: "The United Church of Christ Mental Health Network works to reduce stigma and promote the inclusion of people with mental illnesses/brain disorders and their families in the life, leadership and work of congregations. We envision a future in which people with mental illnesses feel welcomed, supported, valued and included in their congregations." (from the website: http://www.mhn-ucc.org/. Accessed April 14, 2021.)
III. Practicing self-care and life balance.
See Participating in Theological Praxis; VI. Embodying the UCC Ministerial Code
IV. Providing hope and healing to a hurting world.
I have been extremely fortunate to have Rev. John Gill as a mentor, guide, and exemplar on my journey to authorized ministry. His preaching and writing, while providing plenty of challenge, also provide hope and healing to our congregation. His social justice work extends that message of hope to our wider community. John's message of hope -for transformation of ourselves and our world -comes from a place of deep belief in the life-giving power of God, shown to us through Jesus Christ. Even in times of darkness in the world and in our own lives, he teaches that the light of God will not be overcome by that darkness-that new life arises from death.
Celebrations of Life
Beyond his sermons and pastoral letters, this gift of John's shows up in the funerals, celebrations of life, and memorial services that he creates for the families of those who have passed. Many people have commented on his ability to give them comfort and hope while saying goodbye to their loved ones. I have learned by being present at those services, by listening to his creative process as he crafts each service with that one person and their loved ones in his heart and mind.
At the very beginning of my exploration of my call to ministry, I was asked to give the eulogy of a good friend who had died from metastatic breast cancer. Her service was to be held at a funeral home since she did not attend any church; she was estranged from part of her family because of her relationship with her partner-a woman. I did the best I could to give comfort to both her sister and her "chosen family" AND her fundamentalist Christian family of origin. Before that service, I had only read scripture during worship services at COS; this was my first time speaking to a group. John helped me to write a prayer and provided a litany of remembrance from the Jewish tradition, but mostly helped me by his example and his encouragement.
Since then, I have been asked by my own family and friends to create and preside at funerals and memorial services. The hardest was the service for my Aunt Glena, who was like a mother to me. Part of me wanted to say no, to just mourn her passing from a pew with my cousins. However, a bigger part of me knew that I could bring some comfort and healing to our family by crafting a service and words of remembrance to honor her life. Following John Gill's example, I met with her son, granddaughters, and friends to gather their stories and memories so I could weave her eulogy around them. We chose her favorite hymns together. As the service began, I felt a calmness within me; I was able to honor her life, mourn her death, and provide some words of comfort to those who were gathered. I even sang the two hymns-Amazing Grace and Precious Memories. As I spoke with folks after the service, I realized that I had also gotten comfort and hope from her service.
Sermons
Although many of the sermons or meditations that I write tend more toward challenging than toward hope and healing, I think that I am learning to entwine the two. Here are links to a worship bulletin and to a sermon that illustrate this growth:
Too Much and Not Enough Final.docx
https://www.facebook.com/168440916522886/videos/674139736566361
Click the link above and go to the 29:52 mark to see/hear me sharing the meditation.
V. Attending to one’s own spiritual and pastoral care, including engagement in supervision as appropriate.
I have learned to ask for help in my personal life. For me, this was a matter of spiritual growth, learning to trust God and other people. I have a pastoral care provider besides John Gill; because we became colleagues several years ago, I needed to seek out another source of the pastoral care that he had formerly given. That person is Ceil Sheahan, our Pastoral Care Assistant at COS and a soon-to-be graduate of my alma mater-Lexington Theological Seminary. Ceil is preparing for authorized ministry as a chaplain; I can attest to her gifts in chaplaincy, counseling, and spiritual support-she often prays with me and for me.
I also have a mental health counselor who helps me keep anxiety and depression at such a level that it does not impact my spiritual and pastoral care. (I feel strongly that attending to my mental health gives me a good starting point for other care.) In my role as Minister for Youth and Children, I ask for support and advice often-from the church council as a body and from the moderator and vice-moderator as individuals, from the Children and Youth Advisory Teams, and from John Gill-my supervisor. I do not mind asking for help, support, or guidance, perhaps because there is a spirit of interdependence and mutuality in my ministry network.
When I come upon a situation that falls into the "gray areas" in policy, I ask for supervisory input. For instance, I wanted to invite a family with children (from our congregation) to swim in the pool at my home-to give them support during Covid lockdowns in a safe way. I was not sure whether that constituted favoritism, but I could not have a group together either (Covid protocols). I went to John for clarification and permission (or not). He thought that it may look like favoritism, unless I invited each family at different times. *Earlier in the summer, I had given a kind of open invitation and the family in question was the only one to respond.
We came up with the idea to use the pool as a place for my porch/yard pastoral care visits. I invited families individually; most accepted and we had some fellowship and a fun break for the kiddos. It turned out to be a benefit to all involved rather than a breach of ministerial boundaries; I am grateful to John for his guidance.
VI. Stewarding the resources of the Church.
Before I ever allowed myself to think about attending seminary or becoming a Member in Discernment in the Southeast Conference, I served on the church council (aka board) for several years. I cannot stress enough how beneficial that experience was in preparing me for leadership in stewarding the time, talents, and finances of the church! There's nothing like agonizing over an underfunded budget to bring awareness of how important good stewardship of financial resources is to the life of the church. Brainstorming with deacons about ways to recruit volunteers (for a work-day on the grounds or to teach Sunday school or to serve on the Justice Team or...) taught me about stewardship of members' time and talents. Helping to craft a policy book- so that every question wouldn't have to be discussed by the council every time it came up- helped me develop awareness and skills in stewardship of lay leaders' time and talents.
At Church of the Savior, ministerial staff are part of the church council; the pastor is a voting member; the associate pastor (or minister for youth and children) sits on the council as a non-voting (but contributing) member. Due to my own experience, I think that recommending council observation as part of the discernment process would give each MID a good foundation in preparing for that aspect of parish ministry. Being involved in the administrative and visioning work of the church as a lay leader certainly instilled good stewardship praxes in me.
During seminary, I learned to see stewardship as a spiritual practice and to teach others that stewardship of God's creation is one of the primary concerns of God. Deeper reflection led to my belief that giving-especially sacrificial giving-is a necessary and fruitful spiritual discipline. The course was officially called Stewardship and Missions; the students called it "Death by Stewardship" in reference to the sheer amount of study and work it demanded. While I agree that the workload was heavy, I found both the lectures and the assignments to be life-changing for my own beliefs and my ministry. The professor was Rev. Bruce Barkhauer (Minister of Faith and Giving for CC/DOC) who also used video presentations by DOC minister and professor Rev. Dr. Rick Lowery (Professor of Hebrew Scripture at LTS). Dr. Lowery's presentation intrigued and inspired me; it is entitled "Genesis and Abundance" - I've returned to watch it several times included it in an adult study series that I created. I've placed links to parts 1 and 2 of Dr. Lowery's presentation and a link to my study series below:
https://youtu.be/p625lnoGcnE https://youtu.be/dxNecE0sqcw
Caring for Creation^J Stewardship and Social Justice.docx
And a link to a narrative budget and accompanying spreadsheet that I learned to make in the course:
Final2 Draft Narrative Budget (1).docx
Copy of Annual Ministry Plan 2017 Final2.xlsx
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