Pastoral Care during the Holidays
As I get acquainted here at Emmanuel, I want you all to know that as your interim associate rector I am available on call for any pastoral emergency. Please do not hesitate to call me on my cell phone at 206-713-5321 at times other than church office hours. Leave a message if I do not answer, and I will return your call. My email address is Beverly@emmanuelmi.org, but you can also email me at bhosea@mac.com where I will get your message when I am not in the office. You can find me at Emmanuel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but also at other times by appointment. Remember that hospitals do not alert churches about members who are admitted, so please call.
Many thanks to the Eucharistic Visitors who bring communion to our shut-ins on a regular basis: Jim Buckley, Allen Affleck, Diane Hampson, Jennifer Daugherty, and David and Betsy Eason. Their pastoral ministry is so very important for those whose health no longer allows them to be present physically with us on Sundays. I want to make sure that we bring a Christmas communion to everyone, so if there is someone not on the regular schedule for home communion, please let me know, and I will arrange to bring them communion.
In the most recent issue of the quarterly journal of Spiritual Directors International, Presence, Volume 13, No. 4, there is an article, “A Ministry of Presence: Attending to Grief in a Season of Cheer” by Barbara Mulvey Little. I was one of three persons interviewed about the topic, and you can read my comments and suggestions in the article. Copies will be posted on the bulletin boards and available at the volunteer desk in the office. One hint for all of us who are expecting to be with family members during the holidays is to remember that although the expectations are that all should be sweetness and light, many times our individual wounds and past histories will be rubbing up against each other. It is so easy to be disappointed with one another. Have compassion for yourself and that compassion will be more likely to show up with others as well. Remember the compassion that our Lord has for us, and let your heart be open to that great love.
Christmas blessings
The Rev. Beverly Hosea
