My Lay Leader called me and said that a member of our community was in trouble. Apparently, she is 62 and disabled and her husband of 27 years just left her. Didn't say anything, didn't talk about it, just walked away. She is devastated to say the least. She is struggling to keep their home and doesn't want to move. I took her some food, and visited with her, prayed with her, gave her some referral numbers to help. She is a member of another church so I hope that I didn't step on any toes but I feel okay here because she called my lay leader.
I feel so bad for her and wished that they would have sought help before it came to this. It is hard not to rush to judgment but I don't know the entire story and probably won't. Pray for her.
On a more personal note, OMG ((((!!!!!!)))))) I just realized today that I have to cram two weeks of bulletins and sermons into this one week. I can't count on having any time next week to do any of it.
I have this weird reaction to stress - I get massive muscle cramps under my shoulder blades and they are in a big knot right now or, maybe, it's because I carried weights during my walk this morning. It was fun but I probably looked like an idiot. Singing along with my IPOD and swinging my arms in time to the music.
Showing posts with label pastoral care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pastoral care. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Feminism
I love being a feminist. I love knowing that I am strong and capable. However, there are times when being married would really be nice. Having someone to stick up for you, having someone to give you back rubs (and foot rubs and all the other benefits) BUT ESPECIALLY someone to deal with the car dealership.
I left this morning to get my oil changed. I went to the car dealership because they still owed me one free oil change and tire rotation. I'm trying to make sure that everything is good to go before I leave for Houston. I get there at 11:45 a.m. I am told, "We are leaving for lunch and will be back at 1 p.m." Great! I'm thirty miles from home." I ended up visiting family so it turned out okay but it was 3 p.m. before I got home. The good news is that I did have a slow leak in one of my tires and they fixed it for me. (I am pretty meticulous about oil changes and my tires maintenance. If you break down out here, you can be totally out of touch because cell service is very, very spotty.)
I'm thinking of an analogy between poor customer service at a car dealership and the church. We have some of the same issues. We want everything according to our own schedule, we want to set all of the terms of the deal, and we are willing to shop around if we don't like the service.
I need to tap into some of your pastoral experiences. I have a man who has been a member of the church - forever. He is in his 70s and has Parkinson's Disease. He has been a pillar of the church and chair of the Trustee's for years. However, old age, disease, anger, etc. have made him borderline abusive. He called one of our members who hasn't been coming to church and told him that his mother's memorial garden needed to be ripped out and re-sodded because his family wasn't taking care of it the way they had promised. In the course of this conversation, Trustee guy called Absent Guy "A traitor to the church". I know that there are some anger issues involved in Parkinson's (my grandfather died from this disease). However, I think that he crossed the line. I'm really at a loss about how to handle this. Salvaging Absent Guy's involvement in the church is very doubtful (He has already begun attending another local church). My question is how do I curb the tongue and actions of Trustee Guy without causing some kind of rift in the church?
I left this morning to get my oil changed. I went to the car dealership because they still owed me one free oil change and tire rotation. I'm trying to make sure that everything is good to go before I leave for Houston. I get there at 11:45 a.m. I am told, "We are leaving for lunch and will be back at 1 p.m." Great! I'm thirty miles from home." I ended up visiting family so it turned out okay but it was 3 p.m. before I got home. The good news is that I did have a slow leak in one of my tires and they fixed it for me. (I am pretty meticulous about oil changes and my tires maintenance. If you break down out here, you can be totally out of touch because cell service is very, very spotty.)
I'm thinking of an analogy between poor customer service at a car dealership and the church. We have some of the same issues. We want everything according to our own schedule, we want to set all of the terms of the deal, and we are willing to shop around if we don't like the service.
I need to tap into some of your pastoral experiences. I have a man who has been a member of the church - forever. He is in his 70s and has Parkinson's Disease. He has been a pillar of the church and chair of the Trustee's for years. However, old age, disease, anger, etc. have made him borderline abusive. He called one of our members who hasn't been coming to church and told him that his mother's memorial garden needed to be ripped out and re-sodded because his family wasn't taking care of it the way they had promised. In the course of this conversation, Trustee guy called Absent Guy "A traitor to the church". I know that there are some anger issues involved in Parkinson's (my grandfather died from this disease). However, I think that he crossed the line. I'm really at a loss about how to handle this. Salvaging Absent Guy's involvement in the church is very doubtful (He has already begun attending another local church). My question is how do I curb the tongue and actions of Trustee Guy without causing some kind of rift in the church?
Friday, September 14, 2007
Funeral
About 9:30 p.m. I received a call that one of my parishioners had died. She had been in a nursing home in Dallas for most of my time here. The family had just moved her back home. She had Alzheimer's. I'm feeling pretty guilty because I didn't know that they had moved her back. Needless to say, I haven't visited her. I seem to remember someone mentioning it but it was during Graduation and I just missed it. I hate making mistakes like this. It makes me feel like a bad pastor, a bad person, and a bad Christian.
I ran up to the nursing home and visited with the family. They were very sweet and apparently had been praying for this for a long time. I wish I had been there though.
It makes me wonder why I take an entire day off to lay around and read when I've left something this important undone. The funeral is Sunday @ 3 p.m. I've never conducted a funeral for someone I didn't know. I made arrangements to go and visit with the family tomorrow and hear their stories. I remember the pastor at Wichita Falls telling me to do this and it has worked well for me. He is the pastor of church that the Protho/Perkins family attends. If you are acquainted with SMU-Perkins School of Theology, then you know this family.
Thank God I didn't have anything scheduled for tomorrow. I was planning on visiting with my young couple that is getting married soon. They are having a garage sale in anticipation of combining their households. But it can wait.
I ran up to the nursing home and visited with the family. They were very sweet and apparently had been praying for this for a long time. I wish I had been there though.
It makes me wonder why I take an entire day off to lay around and read when I've left something this important undone. The funeral is Sunday @ 3 p.m. I've never conducted a funeral for someone I didn't know. I made arrangements to go and visit with the family tomorrow and hear their stories. I remember the pastor at Wichita Falls telling me to do this and it has worked well for me. He is the pastor of church that the Protho/Perkins family attends. If you are acquainted with SMU-Perkins School of Theology, then you know this family.
Thank God I didn't have anything scheduled for tomorrow. I was planning on visiting with my young couple that is getting married soon. They are having a garage sale in anticipation of combining their households. But it can wait.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)