Laypeople are recovering their ministry of caring for those facing health and wellness challenges, thanks to The Caring Congregation training held at Kingswood United Methodist Church in Buffalo Grove, May 8-9.

The workshop, sponsored by Kingswood, First United Methodist Church in Arlington Heights, and Northern Illinois Conference's  Older Adult Ministries Committee and office of Connectional Ministries, "responded to a growing need within our conference to equip churches to offer compassionate and meaningful care to those experiencing life’s challenges," said Rev. Fabiola Grandon-Mayer, the conference director of connectional ministries.

Clergy are often not able to provide regular pastoral care to people who are hospitalized, in long-term health care, homebound, or facing addiction.

“People have discerned their call to this ministry,” says Rev. James Preston, lead pastor of Kingswood and Buffalo Grove campus pastor. “Lay people are gifted for this.”

The Caring Congregation’s ministry began at Resurrection, a United Methodist Church, in Leawood, Kan. Their training at Buffalo Grove drew participants from other United Methodist churches as well as United Church of Christ and Episcopal congregations.

One impetus for Rev. Preston’s pursuit of The Caring Congregations training for his church is that the congregation is growing older. He wanted the church to provide more consistent and frequent contact. “Even a weekly call from someone in the church will make a difference,” he said.

The training covered listening skills, appropriate boundaries, and the biblical concepts of healing, visiting, and care. Participants also learned how to make visits, how to use prayer and scripture in a visit, and when to report or not report special circumstances.

"The theological framework was extremely helpful, especially for folks that didn't have it before," said Rev. Brittany Isaac, lead pastor of First UMC in Arlington Heights, a cosponsoring church for the event. "I also appreciated the administration piece. I now have an idea of how to ensure that everybody gets care from the church."

Deaconess Martha Lundgren appreciated the practical skills and the importance of defining roles.

"While I already have experience as a congregational care minister, I was looking for practical guidance on the nuts and bolts of establishing and administering this type of ministry," she said. "Learning how the various roles—pastor, dispatcher, congregational care minister, and prayer team—work together helped me better appreciate the importance of role clarity, even when one person may fill multiple roles."

Deaconess Lundgren is a member of Renewed Hope UMC in Chicago and is working on a cooperative congregational care plan for some other churches.

The skill-building and resources will support congregations that seek to be places of he"aling, support, and belonging, says Rev. Grandon-Mayer.

 "This workshop provided practical tools and resources to help clergy and laity strengthen their caregiving ministries," she affirmed.  "Participants explored ways to listen with empathy, walk alongside individuals and families during difficult seasons, and foster a culture of care that reflects Christ’s love.

"It did just what I hoped, which is to infuse a lot of energy in our care ministry," Rev. Isaac said. "We still have work to do in terms of putting together the covenant and officially selecting our care leaders. . . . In the meantime, they are reaching out to folks who have made prayer requests, which wasn't happening before."

The next steps include a virtual meeting with Caring Congregation National Team Leaders Rev. Claire Clough and Rev. Debbie Dellinger for the 80 who underwent training. The Caring Congregation will resource the participating churches for a year, and then the churches will support each other.

Kingswood and First United Methodist Church of Arlington Heights have already built their teams and are starting the process of assigning and training. Eventually, they will train more people.

Kingwood has assigned a dispatcher and has begun sending out a few people to visit.

The training closed with an anointing of the volunteers, each of whom received a vial of oil to use on their visits.

“Laypeople mentioned what it meant to them,” Rev. Preston said. One person noted that she found it powerful to be anointed for her own healing and that her own calling to offer healing was clarified.

“It empowers lay people—that is the important thing,” Rev. Preston added. “It is a gift in that we can make more contacts with people more frequently."

Deaconess Lundgren said she'd recommend the training to others. "The training reinforced my conviction that small churches can provide excellent congregational care when they work together and have clear systems in place," she said.

"It's a great service opportunity for people who have some life experience under their belts, but really for anyone called and gifted for the ministry."

Photos by Aquilino Javier