Lay Pastoral Care through "A Community of Hope"

Acting on Feedback from Focus on the Future
A WITNESS BY LINDA WALTON

“I have been looking for a way to plug in….” and “I was looking for a way to reengage, and then the letter arrived.” These are but a few of the observations of people carefully considering their role in the emerging lay pastoral care ministry at Christ Church.


The desire for a vibrant and enduring lay pastoral care ministry was clearly communicated during our Focus on the Future sessions and later stated in the Parish Profile used to recruit our rector. Participants recognized a need for Christ Church of the future to be a place where clergy still focus on pastoral care yet aren’t stretched too thinly. Ideally this will be done, in part, through better development of lay leadership.

Thankfully, there is a "A School for God's service" — the Community of Hope International. The mission of Community of Hope is “to create Christian communities of lay volunteer pastoral care givers united in prayer, shaped by Benedictine spirituality, and equipped for and serving in pastoral care ministries.” Christ Church is joining an organization which is already established throughout the world.

The Community of Hope uses a 14 week, 42-hour curriculum to equip caregivers for this ministry. After the training, caregivers are commissioned as lay pastoral ministers. Commissioned pastoral caregivers then agree to participate in The Circle of Care, which is a monthly group meeting where they worship together, take part in continuing education, and report and debrief on their visitations. The program demands intentional dedication but rewards by strengthening community relationships and growing awareness of the presence of God in our lives.

This ministry is a gift of grace to both care receivers and care givers. More importantly, it is a gift from Christ:

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. — Ephesians 4:11-12

You will hear more about this ministry as it develops and classes are scheduled. But you can also learn more by visiting www.ccerva.org/care or contacting The Rev. Robin Teasley. Please keep this new ministry and the volunteers in your prayers as they work to effectively deliver it to Christ Church.

- Linda Walton is one of the lay leaders called to implement A Community of Hope here at Christ Church.