Sabbatical Exchange and Pastoral Care at A2U2

I had a chance to lead worship at the UU Congregation in Brunswick on January 24^th. This was a part of our sabbatical exchange, in which Maine UU ministers lead worship for other congregations when their ministers are on sabbatical. So just as several area ministers came to preach at A2U2 while I was on sabbatical, this year I was in Brunswick while Rev. Sylvia Stocker in on sabbatical, and later in the spring, I will preach at First Parish in Portland while Rev. Christina Sillari is on sabbatical. Our social action committee also participated by bringing their excellent service on health care to Sanford, while Rev. Sue Gabrielson was on sabbatical in the fall. (Thanks also to the Worship Committee, who took on extra so that it might all work out.) This is just one of the ways we can be in collaboration with our UU neighbors.

The Brunswick church was burned down in a fire several years ago, but they've built a lovely new sanctuary with solar panels on the roof. You might be interested to know that they have three video screens in their sanctuary, and a tech team that works the audio-video system each Sunday. On the screens they post all the words to the hymns, and before the service starts, they post their announcements on a repeating loop. (New possibilities for A2U2?) Our IT folks might wonder, but even with a new system, they still have glitches that turn up every so often. All of the people were quite welcoming and friendly.

Several weeks ago, a newer person at A2U2 asked me about our Pastoral Care Team. Who are they and what do they do? That question leads into our congregation's philosophy of shared ministry, so this month, I thought it would be nice to devote a worship service to pastoral care at our church. The Pastoral Care Team is one part of that. There are currently six active members. A brief definition of pastoral care is “compassionate listening,” and the role of the Team is to be a listening ear when our A2U2 members might be needing to talk. For example, a PCT member listens during Joys and Concerns, and makes a note of what is shared, and collects the written joys and concerns, and then another team member reaches out to those who have shared with a phone call or email. We are interested in a few new members who might want to be a part of the team.

But Pastoral Care and compassionate listening at A2U2 also include our Caring Connection, our Pastoral Visitors, Spiritual Enrichment groups, Member Connections, Religious Education, the minister, and every member. This month I will be leading our “basic training” for shared ministry, LAMP 101, on February 20-21, Saturday and Sunday, from 1 to 5 each day. If you think you might be interested in taking a more active role in compassionate listening at our church, or just want to learn better listening skills in your personal life, please join us for LAMP 101.        All the best to you, Rev. Myke