Mind Body & Spirit - Role of the Church

Spiritual director Beth Slevcove shares stories from her own life about losses and struggles. Along the way, she offers distinctive spiritual practices that can guide us back to God and, in the end, to ourselves.

The losses in our lives are both big and small, cover a range of experiences.

We leave home. We experience physical illness and disabilities.
We struggle with vocation and finances. 
We may long for a spouse or child.
We lose people we love to addiction or illness and death.

All of these losses can build into questions and doubts about faith. We may experience depression or other mental health struggles.

 Where is God in the midst of our losses?

COMMON SPIRITUAL REACTIONS TO DISASTER

•“The church is to literally be the replacement of Jesus in a given community, doing what He would do, going where He would go, teaching what He would teach.” John Perkins  “Beyond Charity” p. 39

Questions about Faith

Questioning God

Anger at God

Realization of mortality

Withdrawn from faith and religion

Concern about hereafter

Questions about Good and Evil

Redefining moral values and intangible priorities

Promising, bargaining with and challenging God

Search for meaning

Questions about forgiveness

Belief of being punished for sins

The church has an unprecedented opportunity.

•The Church can be people of courage, steadiness, hope, sacrifice, generosity and relentless care for the poor.

• Amid fear, we remain rooted in the truth that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

•Operating from this power, love and sound mind we take the opportunity to manifest the grace, justice and mercy of the Kingdom of God.

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Churches can monitor the situation, take precautions, and keep our people and community informed in their vernacular.

Church prays for each other, pray for those left out, pray for wisdom, and pray to overcome fear with action.

Being rooted in faith, may the church live out God’s love, generosity and justice as we face this crisis opportunity with hope!

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PRACTICAL ROLE OF THE CHURCH

• Practice and model good preventive measures.
  

• Stay up to date and follow the guidelines of your local health agencies.

 https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus

• Find creative ways to reach out, stay connected, and build community to combat loneliness and isolation.
  

• Advocate for legislation on federal, state and local levels that ensures justice.
  

• Church can encourage work alongside other denominations and faith communities in continued efforts to serve the most vulnerable people in our neighborhoods.
  

• Church affirms that differing responses are required that are determined by our varying contexts.
  

• Church encourages a steadfast, creative and contextual commitment to the most vulnerable.
  

THE CHURCH ROLE IS WHOLISTIC
PEACE FOR ALL PEOPLE

And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7)

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SHALOM, MEANS

•PROSPERITY

•REST

•HARMONY

•SOUNDNESS, TRANQUILITY

•WHOLENESS

•GOOD HEALTH

•PEACE, WELFARE

•SAFETY

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CHURCH ROLE IS PRESENCE

•CRITICAL (VITAL/DECISIVE) ENGAGEMENT

•SALT AND LIGHT IN ALL THE AFFAIRS OF THE CITY/WORLD

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Spiritual Care Resources for Responding During Pandemic and After Care

How does church help to ensure that the most vulnerable in our communities are protected and have access to resources?

“When disasters happen, people turn to local churches as centers for response and assistance. When floods or tornadoes devastate an area, or when shootings and violence shock a community, knowing what to do can be the difference between calm and chaos, courage and fear, life and death. But few churches plan in advance for what they should do-- until the storm hits. Don't get caught unprepared. If a natural disaster or human tragedy strikes your community, your church can minister to the hurting. Jamie Aten and David Boan, codirectors of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute, provide a practical guide for disaster preparedness.

Disaster ministry is a critically important work of the church, preparing for the unthinkable, providing relief to survivors, caring for the vulnerable and helping communities recover. Filled with resources for emergency planning and crisis management, this book provides best practices for local congregations. By taking action in advance, your church can help prevent harm and save lives during a disaster. The time to plan is now. Be prepared.”

Our Daily Bread booklet.

Individuals, Churches, or organizations can order an ongoing mailing of the Our Daily Bread booklet.

To place your order, please call us at 616-974-2210 or contact us at odb@odb.org. One of our customer service representatives will be happy to help you.

Explaining the important difference between grief and mourning, this book explores every mourner's need to acknowledge death and embrace the pain of loss. Also explored are the many factors that make each person's grief unique and the many normal thoughts and feelings mourners might have.

Questions of spirituality and religion are addressed as well.

The rights of mourners to be compassionate with themselves, to lean on others for help, and to trust in their ability to heal are upheld. Journaling sections encourage mourners to articulate their unique thoughts and feelings.

This book is geared for children, provides ideas and action-oriented tips that teach the basic principles of grief and healing.

Included are age-appropriate activities that teach younger people that their thoughts are not only normal but necessary.

GriefShare is a biblical, Christ-centered grief support group ministry. Resources to help church equip a lay-led team for effective and ongoing grief ministry at your church.

Click here for more info.

Laura van Dernoot Lipsky takes a deep and sympathetic look at the many ways the stress of dealing with trauma manifests itself:

•Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, diminished creativity, chronic exhaustion, cynicism, and a dozen more.

•To keep from being overwhelmed, we need to respond to suffering in a thoughtful, intentional way-not by hardening our hearts or by internalizing others' struggles as our own but by developing a quality of compassionate presence. This is trauma stewardship.

• To help achieve this, Lipsky offers a variety of simple and profound practices, drawn from modern psychology and a range of spiritual traditions, that enable us to look carefully at our reactions and motivations and discover new sources of energy and renewal.

•She includes interviews with successful trauma stewards from different walks of life and even uses New Yorker cartoons to illustrate her points. "We can do meaningful work in a way that works for us and for those we serve," Lipsky writes. "Taking care of ourselves while taking care of others allows us to contribute to our societies with such impact that we will leave a legacy informed by our deepest wisdom and greatest gifts instead of burdened by our struggles and despair."

Explores the ways companionship eases grief. Suitable for caretakers who work with grieving people or for friends and family just hoping to stay close, this book outlines 11 tenets for mourner-led care.

An important historical document as well as an inspirational gift, Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit captures the rich connections between song and experience as no other volume does.

For over 200 years in African-American churches throughout the country, gospel and spiritual music have offered solace and been a source of celebration, leaving a mark not only on the Christian world, but on popular music as well. 

Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit contains the lyrics and music of 101 of the most widely known and cherished of these pieces, ranging from heart-stirring spirituals sung during slave times (Steal Away; Swing Low, Sweet Chariot) to songs of unity from the civil rights movement and contemporary times (We Shall Overcome; I'll Fly Away).The book also presents a biography of each composer and the history of the evolution of each song, examining the role it played in enabling African-Americans to develop the strength to carry on in the face of adversity.

Thurman Raises and Answers Question…

 “What do you do when your back is up against a wall?

Jesus and the Disinherited is a 1949 book by African-American minister, theologian, and civil rights leader Howard Thurman. In the book, Thurman interprets the teachings of Jesus through the experience of the oppressed and discusses nonviolent responses to oppression. The book developed out of a series of lectures that Thurman presented at Samuel Huston College in Austin, Texas, during April 1948."

Those engaged in the spiritual dimensions of care see firsthand how belief in a God who is both close-by and loving brings comfort, consolation, and healing.

 This new book includes an essential collection of prayers: for praying for and with the sick, suffering, or dying; for those in recovery; for the bereaved; for funerals; and more.

 The authors of these prayers write from rich and diverse backgrounds. They are poets, composers, biblical figures, saints, clergy of all denominations-many hearken back to past centuries, yet their messages still ring true and strong. And each prayer is open to your own adaptation and personalization, allowing you to select just the right tone and temperament for individuals in your care.

In our world of medical innovation and an increasing average lifespan, medical and ethical questions are at the forefront of many Christians' minds.

 Pastors can find themselves in positions to give advice about these matters on many occasions, a situation in which they may not feel qualified.

Caring for Those in Crisis is designed to give pastors a solid footing when asked for advice in critical medical decisions.

It starts readers off on a path to formulate and define their own values based on biblical and historical instances of advocacy and ethics.

 It also offers a decision-making model for ethical dilemmas, discusses Christian distinctives that pertain to medical and death and dying decisions, and discusses frequently encountered ethical problems, like organ donation and life support. This extremely practical and detailed resource is one no pastor should be without.

What are Basic Tenets for Christian Disaster Relief Ministry?

International Aid (Evangelical Christian)

Reformed Church World Services

Anglican Relief and Development Fund

Church World Service

World Relief

World Renew

Samaritan’s Purse

Salvation Army

World Vision

Church of the Brethren Disaster Response

Church World Service

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Rapid Response

Mennonite Disaster Service

Episcopal Relief and Development

Lutheran Disaster Response

Covenant World Relief

Catholic Charities Office of Disaster Response

Nazarene Disaster Response

United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

United Church of Christ National Disaster Ministries

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

Friends Disaster Services

Christian Disaster Response