In our congregation, we have a number of people who are in some manner experiencing health problems. Some are recovering from surgery or medical problems, and some are dealing with the afflictions that come with advancing years.
As the vicar, I try to keep in touch with everyone in difficulty. I enjoy visiting parishioners in the hospital or at home. But I'm also aware that we have a very active network of pastoral care within our church family. Recently I brought communion to an elderly member recovering from surgery, and when I arrived, I found one of our church members had brought supper and was spending the afternoon with her! More than once I've visited a parishioner in the hospital and found another church member also visiting.
I'm impressed with the level of care and concern we have for each other. We naturally reach out to each other and provide support and care. Obviously we've adopted a high level of awareness and concern for providing pastoral care to each other. What a beautiful thing for a church to do!
As always, there's the possibility that we've missed someone. I hope that whenever a person is in need of pastoral care, someone in the church will hear about it and let our pastoral care network know so that we can respond appropriately.
Jesus said, "Love one another as I have loved you." At St. Antony's, we do that!
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