Rev. John Olivera looked over the proposal that lay on his desk. Among the priorities that the Elder's Board had given him the responsibility to fulfill - solid biblical preaching that would disciple the church to spiritual maturity, renewing the church's evangelism effort and reaching out into the community?this proposal about Parish Nurse Ministry, he thought, was likely more related to pastoral care.
But while pastoral care was also important to the local church - no church leader would deny that - the question in his mind was, "Could Parish Nurse Ministry also be an effective and integral part of the plan to meet his top priorities?" Pastor John considered the ministries that Community Alliance Church offered . . . an enviable children's and youth ministry, and solid adult and seniors' ministries. These were the traditional and well-recognized ministries that would help the church meet its primary objectives.
So, would Parish Nurse Ministry be a 'nice to have' or 'must have' for Community Alliance? And where would it fit?
A thought skirted at the edge of John's conscious mind . . . the fourfold gospel . . . and he recalled that hand-in-hand with the spiritual healing ministry of the early Christian and Missionary Alliance, was a ministry of practical care?homes of rest and recuperation, homes for orphans, rescue homes for women, and medical missions. Those ministries were begun because A.B. Simpson recognized that meeting people at their point-of-need opened their hearts to the good news of Jesus Christ. John wondered if it was still true today.
This fictional story illustrates an all-too-real way of thinking among many of our churches today.
Dr. Franklin Pyles, President of The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, has introduced the concept of 'parish' - caring for those in our community. He suggests that, "within the church community, there is a tendency to support a ministry if it will lead to evangelism or people coming to the church. All this is good. But there are things we should do to help people just because they are people and God loves them, and perhaps that will show up as people coming to Christ and maybe it won't, but we will keep on doing it anyway."
This is ministry - this is bringing the presence of Christ to people in very practical ways. Parish Nurse Ministry is a vivid way to illustrate the concept of practical caring for those in our community.
Rev. Bill Dyck of Toronto Alliance, a church that serves in downtown Toronto, tells of the time when the Saturday night worship service opened up to a larger perspective with a meal, clothing, food bank . . . and a Parish Nurse. He recalls a certain young man stumbling in off the street and when he heard there was a Parish Nurse doing foot care, he stayed.
The Parish Nurse, Isla Ghent, stripped his wet, dirty socks off and washed and cared for his much wounded feet. The young man said, "I think I just died and went to heaven!" But Dyck says, "It was one thing as a pastor to talk to him about his soul, but when Isla cared for his feet - that is what gave credibility to our message.
"Ministry is also caring for the body - God cares about that - even with people who care little for the spiritual message. Over time, we see their hearts change and warm to the message as they see the loving care."
Since 2003, Isla Ghent has volunteered her services at Toronto Alliance Church and has been an effective witness to the practical ministry of 'loving one another' beyond their own church borders. Because of the nature and vision of their church, Dyck says he expected this outreach component when they began their Parish Nurse Ministry.
What surprised him was how extensively their own core people drew on Isla's knowledge . . . and he recognized that his members had a level of need that he was not able to address or, at times, was not even aware of. He acknowledges how their overall congregational health improved and the quality of their caring for one another within the church was strengthened when they had a registered nurse to offer health education and counsel, coordinate health referrals and offer health-focused spiritual care.
Jayne Burnham is Parish Nurse and Director of Compassion and Care Ministries at Southview Alliance Church in Calgary. This is a church that is deeply involved in justice and compassion issues. Jayne and the in-house team, with the strong support of Southview's Senior Pastor, Dr. Clyde Glass, have multiplied the ministries of Southview to care for and help people in very tangible ways by recruiting, equipping and supporting many lay volunteer ministries.
Yes, they target people from all walks of life with the usual Christmas and Easter food hampers, the
Baby Bottle Drive for the local Pregnancy Care Centre, the marriage Drive for the local Pregnancy Care Centre, the marriage preparation courses, the
GriefShare and other support group programs, but they also provide opportunities to work at
Inn from the Cold or Southview's one-day
Take It or Leave It event. More recently, Southview Alliance It or Leave It event. More recently, Southview Alliance joined a new venture called
Bridge My Community?a program that facilitates people sharing material resources with others. (For more information, visit
www.bridgemycommunity.org.)
Meeting people at their point of need often does open their hearts to the good news of Jesus Christ. But more importantly, it is being obedient to Christ's command to 'love your neighbour' and it provides a tangible witness of the discipleship to which the Lord calls us. Jesus did not say "By the way you teach, by the way you worship, by the way you pray, by the way you evangelize, all men will know that you are my disciples." He said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35).
