Deacons Bench: Your Servant is Listening

School has started and social media posts have appeared with children holding chalkboards with captions of their favourite colours, grade they are entering, and the age-old question of what do you want to be when you grow up?  Throughout my life, I have been searching for an answer of a different kind.  I have always been involved in the life of the church and been part of many different ministries, but I felt that God wanted something more from me.  I can’t recall a time when I have not felt called to help and comfort others and live out my baptismal and confirmation promises.  Over the years, I have spent quite a bit of time with those who are feeling alone or experiencing sickness or loss and those who are dying.  I felt it was “just something that I do” until a clergy friend pointed out to me that not everyone is comfortable in those situations, and I clearly was able to offer support in a way that gave people comfort.  Was this what God was calling me to do?  I knew God was continuing to call me, but was this the message He wanted me to hear?  Was I being open enough to hear the plans that He had for me? As I prayed and discerned, the answer became much clearer…Like Samuel, I needed to listen and answer “Here I am”.

In my ministry as a Deacon, I have been blessed to become a part of the community at Anchor Pointe – a local retirement home in St. Catharines.  Starting out as a trial, I was asked to hold a couple of Morning Prayer Services prior to my ordination.  It wasn’t long before it turned into a weekly service.  However, it has become much more than just a service for the residents there. Through our time together in the chapel each week, a sense of community has emerged among them.

It is a community, rooted in faith, where the residents can genuinely feel that their lives still do matter. Once feeling disconnected from the churches that they previously belonged to, they have said that St. John’s (Port Dalhousie) has come to them. Whether it is St. John’s parishioners coming to participate in Monday morning prayers, the choir coming to sing or The Rev. Rob Towler, coming to celebrate the Eucharist, the residents have been shown that they have not been forgotten – they are loved, heard, cared for and, most of all, still appreciated for who they are.

The group that attends is made up mostly of Anglicans, although the service is open to all and others from other faiths have joined us. This faithful group has been and remains part of my ongoing spiritual journey.

When my Ordination Day was announced, they requested that the activities director make arrangements for them to watch the livestream service so they could feel part of it.

On Tuesdays, you will find me at Anchor Point for their coffee hour.  It gives me a chance to reach out not only to those who attend the services but others in this community who look forward to the opportunity to share in fellowship and conversation, regardless of their faith or beliefs.

My ministry continues to evolve as I join Father Rob in ministering to our own congregation of St. John’s (Port Dalhousie) who are in hospital, nursing or retirement homes as well as hospice.  It is a sacred and holy journey, and I give thanks to God for calling me to this ministry.