Last week, two things happened. First, I connected with a member of church I was at over a decade ago. He called my last church looking for me. I was on vacation at the time, so it took me a while to follow up with him. And then, you know, things happen, and we still hadn’t connected. Then, his son was at a golf event with my husband in Georgia (where none of us live). A few days later, this individual emailed and asked me to call him.
I did so as I was driving to church for a session meeting. He told me how he had been trying to locate me, even going to my old house and knocking on door when he was visiting the area. I still didn’t know why he was reaching out to me after all of these years.
He told me the story of sitting in church in June and the pastor asked them to reflect on who needed to hear from them. I came to his mind, and he began his search for me. Here’s what he had to tell me: He has been praying for me every day since I was ordained. He prayed for me and my ministry and spoke encouraging words of how he believed God had called me.
I told him that his timing (or God’s timing) was something as I was on my way to what would be a difficult session meeting. I told him how much it meant to me that he was praying for me and how heartening it was as I went into this meeting. He said he would keep praying for me, and we said goodbye.
The next morning, my Mom emailed to let me know my childhood pastor had passed away. This was the pastor I had for confirmation. I learned about journalling from him; I only discarded that journal last year when we moved. He took a new call shortly thereafter. About a decade ago, I read in the church newsletter that he was retiring from a church in the Milwaukee area. His final service was to be that Sunday.
That morning, I packed up my kids and went to that church service. Towards the end, he was noting people who were visiting from his prior churches. I was the only one there from my childhood church. We spoke for a while after worship. I introduced my children to him, told him I was in seminary, and shared a picture from our confirmation class. We hugged and said goodbye.
I think we can forget the Church is the Body of Christ. It can seem a theological concept rather than a living, breathing reality. These two events made me realize that the bonds we share in our baptism are more than spiritual bonds. They are also living and breathing. I had a visceral response to both of these events — as I do as I write this. Someone across the country prayed for me and my ministry today. Today, I wrote a note to my former pastor’s wife to tell her how important he was in my spiritual formation.
Who have you been praying for? Who has made a difference in your faith journey? Consider reaching out to let them know that there is someone helping to carry their burden, that we are connected even when we can’t see it. These are ways the Body of Christ and God’s grace is tangible in our lives. It might be just the time to make that known to someone.
I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers. I’m thankful for all of you every time I pray, and it’s always a prayer full of joy. I’m glad because of the way you have been my partners in the ministry of the gospel from the time you first believed it until now. I’m sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus. — Philippians 1:3-6 (CEB)
