Presbyterian Church of Woodbury, NJ

HITS AND MISSES
Andrew T. Barton, Pastor 

I have been wrestling with why our care and concern reaches some members and not others.  In one conversation I hear compliments from a member who has been deeply touched by the calls, cards, prayers, and visits received during an illness.  The same day, I hear a complaint that “no one seemed to care.”  How is that we hit the mark sometimes, but other times we miss? 

One clear difference is knowledge of the need.  In one case, the person’s situation was clearly known and folks—both staff and members—responded.  In the other situation, the need was somewhat unknown and unclear, thus it went by with little response.  Generally, our members and staff respond when needs are known.  Of course, we have to acknowledge that sometimes we just miss it.  With many members and many needs, someone ‘falls through the cracks’ or we simply fail to respond. 

I wonder if the response of the congregation is proportionate to the person’s participation in the church.  The more someone is known among the members, the more the members respond to his or her need.  By this, I do not mean we play favorites and give preferential treatment to active members.  Rather, it is simply a natural inclination to care for those we know well.  One implication is for members to get more involved, but another is that we all need to be more attentive to the less active members in order to respond to their needs and concerns. 

Another answer to why some care hits and some misses may be the expectations of the members.  To be candid, some members need a lot of attention and others require or expect less.  One person receives a card or two, maybe a pastoral visit or a call from a member and they feel a tremendous amount of support.  Someone else may never feel cared for even when there is ample attention given. 

I believe we are a caring congregation and we continue to improve on our care-giving.  For example the Care Connection Program is helping us keep abreast of our members’ needs and is a means of our support.  When we miss the mark, we hope for patience and we ask members to let us know how we can help.  The key is for each member to take it upon him/ herself to care for one another.

DEVOTED TO THE FELLOWSHIP
If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ.          Dietrich Bonhoeffer