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Greetings in the Name of Christ.
Most of us are familiar with the TV show "Touched By an Angel." Well, now we have something similar here at MUMC, but one of the participants suggested we call it "Touched By an Amateur." He was referring to the new church ministry called Pastoral Action Care Teams or PACT for short. "What do amateurs and pastoral care have to do with each other?" you might ask. Let's take a look.
Our congregation is blessed by a solid, long-standing system of pastoral care provided by many of you either formally or informally through the pastors, Caring Hands, small groups, women's circles, the Prayer Chain, and each of you as you pray or reach out to your church family and neighbors. The Health Ministry Committee has been working on an additional program to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of these existing ministries of the church. We hope to continually adapt, improve and expand our ministries, especially as our congregation grows both in number and years of age.
On Sunday, June 30, the volunteers who are helping start this new ministry, whom we call the Pastoral Action Care Team, were dedicated. Hopefully you were able to be there to add your prayers toward the consecration of these people and this ministry. They will NOT be replacing anyone or anything that is already part of the caring ministry of the church. They are NOT a replacement for our church members reaching out to each other in all kinds of needs. As Matthew 25 tells us, God really expects all of us to care for each other and in so doing we are caring for and representing Christ throughout God's world. Please view these team members as another point of connection to the caring ministries of the church.
People will serve on the PACTeams for one or two years and we will continually look for more volunteers. PACT members are Kathy Adams, Bill Bennett, Paula Biggs, Erma Clayton, Diane Fitzpatrick, Judy Garrett, Sam Gebbia, Sue Gebbia, Jay Kline, Joe Lewis, Margaret Perry, Kathy Murfitt, Nancy Randall, Lorri Richmond, Bill Saccardi, Mary Straits, Margo Trexler, John Walker, Ben Warring, John Zink and Wanda Zink assisted by Helen Huffer and Anne Roessler. The Steering Committee consists of the pastors, parish nurse (Diane Lowe), and Health Ministry co-chairs (Susan Weiler and Mike Durant).
We are meant to live in community; we do not need to be alone. We can pray for and help each other and allow others to pray for and assist us in times of need. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to recognize and allow the help others can give us. The PACT members are being trained to be helpful and to do so confidentially.
So what exactly does this have to do with amateurs? Well, the obvious might be that we perceive ourselves as amateurs, that is people without much expertise in this area. But the classical definition of the word 'amateur' is really the one with meaning here. From its Latin root words, an "amateur" is someone who does something simply for the love of it. The people who have volunteered to start this ministry are truly doing so for the love of sharing God's gifts with the rest of us. They are stepping out to bring God's love, assurance and comfort to any and all of us in a wide variety of situations. Hopefully if one of them contacts you, you will accept them as one of God's special "amateurs." Look for them, contact them and pray for them.
Diane Lowe, Parish Nurse
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Questions about Middletown United Methodist Church or the church website should be sent to the Church Office. |
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7108 Fern Circle · Middletown, MD 21769
voice: (301) 371-5550 · fax: (301) 473-8090
TTY: (301) 473-9892 |
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