Serving the Least of These
Last night I went with my parents' home group / church-plant-to-be went to a local nursing home to sing Christmas carols for the residents. I wasn't too psyched about it: I was tired, I had to hurry home right after church, and as far as we knew only a few people were coming. I hadn't done nursing home ministry since my parents dragged me along as a kid, and I don't remember having much fun then either.
But you know what? It was a blast. Instead of four or five people going, we ended up with twenty. Instead of being there for 20-30 minutes, we were there for at least an hour, probably more.
Before the service started, we split up into groups and went down the halls singing songs and letting peopel know about it. If someone was too sick to come, we spent a while praying for them. By the time we got started, there were at least twenty folk in the room, and they were excited as anything. It took a little bit for them to warm up, but by the end we were clapping and shouting and having a great old time (no pun intended).
This humbled me- I didn't expect things to be as lively as they were. I approached the nursing home with a very clear idea of what "people in nursing homes" were like, and I got proven wrong in a lot of ways.
Their willingness to let us be with them and minister to them really struck me. In my very short experience doing campus ministry, the hardest thing in the world has been getting people involved, convincing them that they actually should go to worship, or pray with people, or whatever. I think that, especially in college, we're so bombarded with clubs and events and parties and conversations that we forget how important it is to fellowship together. And we have so much going on in our life that we don't think much of hearing the Word, receiving Him in the Sacrament, and worshipping God with a holy worship; but when you're all alone without all that much to do, those things become a lot more valuable. I could see that in their eyes, and even more than their liveliness, that humbled me.
Man, and now my mind is racing... the lady at the home said they don't really have any religious services going on, and really need them; I would love to do a Morning Prayer service there once or twice a month, maybe bring some of the Sacrament from Redeemer to distribute... bah, I'm already bogged down leading prayer groups and Bible studies, I really shouldn't even consider this. Maybe once I'm away in grad school. God guide me!
But you know what? It was a blast. Instead of four or five people going, we ended up with twenty. Instead of being there for 20-30 minutes, we were there for at least an hour, probably more.
Before the service started, we split up into groups and went down the halls singing songs and letting peopel know about it. If someone was too sick to come, we spent a while praying for them. By the time we got started, there were at least twenty folk in the room, and they were excited as anything. It took a little bit for them to warm up, but by the end we were clapping and shouting and having a great old time (no pun intended).
This humbled me- I didn't expect things to be as lively as they were. I approached the nursing home with a very clear idea of what "people in nursing homes" were like, and I got proven wrong in a lot of ways.
Their willingness to let us be with them and minister to them really struck me. In my very short experience doing campus ministry, the hardest thing in the world has been getting people involved, convincing them that they actually should go to worship, or pray with people, or whatever. I think that, especially in college, we're so bombarded with clubs and events and parties and conversations that we forget how important it is to fellowship together. And we have so much going on in our life that we don't think much of hearing the Word, receiving Him in the Sacrament, and worshipping God with a holy worship; but when you're all alone without all that much to do, those things become a lot more valuable. I could see that in their eyes, and even more than their liveliness, that humbled me.
Man, and now my mind is racing... the lady at the home said they don't really have any religious services going on, and really need them; I would love to do a Morning Prayer service there once or twice a month, maybe bring some of the Sacrament from Redeemer to distribute... bah, I'm already bogged down leading prayer groups and Bible studies, I really shouldn't even consider this. Maybe once I'm away in grad school. God guide me!