Over the years I’ve learned to use the gifts of God’s people to help others and realize my primary role is often one of helping people connect with persons trained and skilled to help them. Often I’m able to use a wonderful network of dedicated and trained lay persons such as Stephen Ministers, Eucharistic Ministries, or what we call Friendly Visitors. Anne Murray, our Parish Nurse, provides valuable resources for persons facing physical challenges or issues relating to aging and care-giving. I also refer persons to Christian Counselors or other therapists and, whenever I do, I always let them know the Church stands ready to help them financially and to not allow finances to get in the way of the path towards healing and wholeness.

I’ve always had persons who needed significant time to go deeper in their faith journey and I was always frustrated because I didn’t have the kind of time they needed from me. Recently, God has blessed me with another valuable resource – a Spiritual Director. After referring several persons for Spiritual Direction, I began to discover what a blessing it was for them and for me. Persons were finding their spiritual needs met and I felt great being able to put them in the hands of a Spiritual Director. After seeing the value of Spiritual Direction, I began offering financial support for persons unable to fully pay for this service. Talk about a return on your investment! What a blessing it has been for our congregation!

I highly recommend you consider using a Spiritual Director as one of your most valued referrals and Karen Moore comes with my highest recommendation. She is also available to come help your people better understand the role of a Spiritual Director. It will be one the best gifts you can give your congregation.

Praying,

Jonathan Baker