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Reaching Out: Our Call To Minister Session 4: You Visited Me

By the end of this session the students should be able to:

  • compare and contrast giving of oneself with giving things to people
  • relate the act of visiting people to God visiting us in His Son
  • list two or three articles in the Resource Handbook that give ideas on how to visit people
  • list two or three different ways they can minister to people who are lonely in their community

Useful scriptural texts:

  • Matthew 25
  • 1 Thessalonians 2:8; 3:12-13; and 5:14-18

Materials:

  • copies of the following Resource Handbook articles:
    • The Good Samaritan [Volume 1, Parish Development]
    • Prison Ministry - A Way to Reach Out [Volume 1, Community Service]
    • A Ministry of LIstening [Volume 1, Community Service]
    • Ministry to Shut-ins and Hospital Patients [Volume1, Community Service]
    • A Ministry to Orthodox Inmates [Volume 1, Community Service]
    • How to Visit a Nursing Home [Volume 2, Community Service]
    • Ministering to the Imprisoned [Volume 2, Community Service]
    • Entertaining Angels Unawares - The Parish Coffee Hour [Volume 1, Parish Development]
    • Letters, Love, and Prayers [Volume 1, Youth-College Ministries]

Leader's note:

As you are planning your 'visitation project' read the 'A Training Program for Visitation Groups' article in the Resource Handbook [Volume 1, Community Service]

Procedure

15-20 minutes. Start-off by saying, 'Think back to a time when you were really lonely. Where were you? What did you want? What made you feel better? All of us feel lonely sometimes. We feel separated from people, uncared for, and even unloved. Fortunately, we have people in our lives taht remind us that we are cared for and loved. Many people don't have people to remind them.' Have you ever received a gift where someone spent special time with you [An afternoon together watching a movie, playing sports, or just talking.] How did that compare with getting a gift from someone who has never really spent time with you?

Have text of 1 Thessalonians 2:8 written out on a poster board or another visible surface. Read the text aloud a couple of time. How do you think this relates to the commands in the parable of the Last Judgment [Matthew 25]? Dicuss what's special about actually spending time with someone as opposed to just giving them something. [Spending time with someone shows real concern and interest for them. Giving or buying them things dpesn't necessarily mean that you want to be with them and care about them.] How does this relate with the phrase 'and God visited His people'?

25 minutes. Split students into groups and divide the articles among them. Have each group read their articles, answer and discuss the following questions:

  • Compare the ministry in each article with Jesus saying 'and you visited me.' Who are the people being ministered to in this article?
  • Are there people in our community who have the same need?
  • What are some ways we can minister to people by visiting them?
  • Based upon the list we have so far, who are some people in our community who are ministering to these people?
  • How can we help them or is there something else we could do?

Conclusion:

Spending time with people is sharing a part of ourselves. When the Son of God became a man, He showed us that He didn't just want to give us things, He wanted to have a relationship with us and be with us. As Christians, when we visit with people who are lonely, we remind them that not only do we remember and care for them, but that God does too.

Use the remaining time to begin planning your project using Worksheet 3. Brainstorm ideas. Here are some samples:

  • Visit nursing homes, homeboud, long-term children's hospitals, or state school for the mentally retarded
  • get a scoial worker to come and speak
  • adopt a grandparent to regularly visit or send cards, letters, and pictures to
  • make stockings at Christmas time for children's hospitals, nursing homes, shut-ins, etc
  • prepare and bring seasonal baked goods or traditional foods to teh above places [eg blessed fruit at Transfiguration, flowers at Dormition, paschal food, cookies at Valentines Day, etc], or bring greeting cards, flowers, gifts, or books
  • make an audio or video tape of the Liturgy at your parish; make copies and deliver to homebound parishioners
  • make a tape recording of a book on the Church for people who are having difficulty reading