Encountering Christ through Listening

Deacon Kathy, Anne Devadason, and Allison Hyland prepare communion for a home communion visit.

The Listening Lift ministry offers me a quiet but profound way to serve our homebound fellow parishioners. After a few warm greetings, I sit with them not primarily to speak, but to listen. In those moments, my listening becomes prayer.

I give the person before me my full attention. They share their health struggles, the small joys that brighten their days, the loneliness that can weigh heavily on them, or the faith that sustains them. As I listen to them, I hear more than words. I encounter Christ in the other. I am simply present with an open heart.

I try to listen to them the way God listens to us. The Lord listens to our every prayer, even the unspoken ones. By listening deeply, I create space for trust, dignity, and sometimes the healing found in tears or laughter. Often, I can not help but recall their presence during the worship service on a Sunday or shaking hands with them during the Peace. My dear friend Sue Smith was delightfully and tastefully funny during our conversations while she was attending church in person. In fact, she, along with Amy+, was instrumental and supportive of my joining The Evening Prayer Leadership Teams. I am grateful. Similarly, I am grateful to Kathy+ for her encouragement, guidance, and leadership. I have noticed her prayerfulness, faithfulness, patience, generosity, and a sense of humor when necessary. She is our (my) very dear friend. And the leadership of Patricia Jennings and Janice Jobson in building the service of 'The Cup of Cold Water.' We hope and pray that our services will continue into the future, with His help.

There are about 12 or more volunteers from the congregation participating in this service, with the blessings of the Clergy. The outcomes of our visits are communicated to our Clergy through Kathy+ and our recordings on a regular basis. All of us have similar stories to tell (share). The common thread amongst our teams is "Listening".

The parishioners I talk with tell me some of their needs. These include practical help, a prayer request, or simply the assurance that they are not forgotten. I lift them in my own prayers and carry those prayers back to church. The visit moves us toward the sacred heart of the ministry: the Holy Communion. What began with human listening ends in divine communion.

Listening Lift has taught me that ministry is often less about doing and more about being with and for another. In these humble visits, we glimpse the Kingdom, where every voice is heard, every story treasured, and every person is reminded that he/she belongs to the Body of Christ