All posts by Alana Kelley

Turns out ministry is so much more than I ever thought it would be. Everyday is a new adventure. Challenges are abundant. Helping people deal with hardship and loss seems to be required at the most unexpected times. Experiencing God who shows up so often and in so many surprising ways is why I love being the minister of a church. But, now that I've retired, I plan to rest for awhile to then explore what will come next!

Sunday Morning Prayer 12 14 2014

Leave a comment

Holy God,
Giver of ALL good gifts,
It’s difficult to believe that Christmas is just 10 days away. So much to do between now and then. And yet the most important things that we can do and should do are the easiest of all to accomplish; and would be the most meaningful.

To sit in the silence. To pray to you. To lift up all of our friends and relatives to your care. To sit in the silence. To contemplate this gift that we receive each Advent in the waiting and preparing; each Christmas in the celebration of new light and new life.

Your love for creation is such a tangible gift, dear God, when we sit in the quiet and give you our undivided attention.

O Holy One, your love casts out all that is evil. If each and everyone of us would allow you into our hearts and minds the world would be such a safer place.

We feel your love in the air, mixing and mingling with icy bluster and skittering snow flakes.

Thank you, dear One, for all that we become through your love for us; through our love for you; through the love that fills our hearts and brims over into a world that can be so torn and troubled.

You bless us everyday with love and forgiveness. We hungrily ask for more blessings as we lift up to you those on our hearts who need you to be near them. Be also with those who celebrate. Hear their names and our hopes and dreams….

Advertisement

Surprises

Leave a comment

One of the biggest surprises to me since being ordained ten years ago is that there are people who are willing to call me their minister even though they would never, ever step into a church. These are usually nice people who have either left the church for some reason, or have never experienced church or have never lived life as part of a worshipping community. I believe we all minister at times to people who call on us out of the blue and begin to tell us about the difficulties they are experiencing in life right now. Some will ask for help. Others just need a listening ear. And when possible I am willing to provide both without expecting any sort of return. Basically, that is the definition of Christian love. I suppose this is a big part of the reason people reach out to ministers. Plus it’s a safe bet that whatever is said to a minister will not be repeated, because to do so would be to betray confidences.

Ministers have connections too. Of course, we have that one most important connection. And that’s the one we rely on most often. A simple request for prayer is easy to accommodate. At times though, the need can be more difficult. Money might be an issue. The inability to purchase end of the month groceries for a young family after a job loss; the lack of health insurance and the need to visit a doctor; the need for a small sum with which to purchase an important medication and other requests like these are sadly common. Money is not something the churches I serve or know can easily provide. But, on occasion we have taken up a special collection for someone with a special need. Ministers are also generally familiar with assistance that is available through area nonprofits, though these resources run out more quickly lately.

And then there is the support needed when someone faces the loss of a loved one. A store-owner in the town where I live who had no church, had no support and called because a friend told him he would find talking with me helpful. The bond created by these meetings are quick and deep.

The question of protecting boundaries is important in dealing with these surprises. If I’m supposed to be having time away yet someone approaches with a need, I have to be able and willing to point that person in a direction where help will be available. While I might have it on my heart to “be the change”, it’s important to recognize when doing so will be a detriment to me and to those I serve.

In ministry there are surprises. But, honestly, from my own point of view the people who come to me with open faces and arms and hearts needing to share and trusting that they will not be turned away are as much a gift to me as I hope I might be to them.

Simple Gifts

1 Comment

One of the calls to ministry that I recently have mixed feelings about is visiting homebound people. Perhaps it is the awesome responsibility of it. I realize that of the many calls a pastor answers visiting is one of the absolutely most important ones. It also happens to be a task that when I am in the midst of it, is not a task at all. In fact, it almost feels silly to be paid to do something that seems to bring so much happiness to the recipients, and such a feeling of contentment to me.

I always find that at the end of an afternoon of visiting I understand once again the gift of being a small church pastor, of being able to deliver some comfort.

The most important thing I am asked to do, I think, is to demonstrate the accepting and nonjudgmental love of Jesus while building relationships with the people in the congregations I serve, and also outside of these congregations. Relationships are built by a simple visit. When a member of the church I haven’t seen on Sunday for sometime or in some cases, haven’t ever even seen in church, finds himself in the hospital, and while registering has listed one of my two churches as his home church, I receive the phone call from the hospital about our member as a call directly from God to get busy with this one. And the visit that follows is always, always received with such gratitude. Invariably, as I end our visit with a prayer for God’s presence and safekeeping, the person I am visiting cries real tears at being reminded that he isn’t alone at all, and is loved and cared for. This is the very best gift of all.

Sabbath

Leave a comment

I LOVE this idea.

Glass Overflowing

Our church changed our monthly worship ‘rhythm’ this summer. Once a month, we worship Saturday at 5 pm and then take Sunday as an intentional day of sabbath rest.

On the Sunday when we don’t worship, people are invited to be intentional about how they spend their “day off”. It is not another day to work. It is a day to be present and experience joy. It is a day to enjoy God’s creation and the relationships we treasure.

Yesterday, I went for a long bike ride and then read the Sunday New York Times at my favorite coffee shop.

image on the banks of the Payette

We drove up to the Payette River and Justin and Elliott kayaked while I read a book on the bank of the river.

Justin poses for camera while Elliott dutifully steers the course Justin poses for camera while Elliott dutifully steers the course

It was a great day. It seemed to last much longer…

View original post 1,022 more words

A Prayer for Sunday Morning

Leave a comment

July 13, 2014

A sower went out to sow. Such familiar words, loving God. We read them together at least every 3 years in the Lectionary. Your word provides for us a formula for living well; for loving abundantly; for sharing our love and our lives- all to honor you; all to your glory.

Sometimes, we do get distracted by a need to have more and more. And we turn our attention from you. Sometimes we are consumed by worry. And again, we forget about the security we feel when we are grounded in your word; when we have planted ourselves in the good soil of kindness and mercy; of love for all; of right living.

You remind us everyday by surrounding us with miracles and beauty everywhere we look; you remind us that we have been blessed by you. We hear the laughter of a child in the distance and think of you.

We notice a hummingbird flitting from flower to flower and watch in wonder as tiny wings create a blur around its body.

We hear the music of Bach or Mozart and listen, mesmerized by sounds too beautiful to describe.

All are blessings you provide. And as you ask us to care for ourselves daily, we hear you.

We know that we can always turn our worry over to you, knowing that you are present at our times of need. This morning we take a moment to lift up to you our prayer concerns, asking you to relieve us of our worries if we carry worries; or help us to celebrate boldly, if we have a celebration in our lives.

For Agnes. God in your mercy hear our prayer.
For Rose and Jeff, and Mary Anne who has been so present for both of them.
For Eleanor and her family. God in your mercy hear our prayer.
For Julie after a car accident.
For Lois and her fiancé Joe, who has cancer. God in your mercy hear our prayer.
For Bill as he continues cancer treatments. God in your mercy hear these, and others as we consider quietly those in our lives who need your closeness today; or who are celebrating something special.