Nursing Home Ministry Celebration
A Celebration of Completion and New Beginnings
For over thirty years, lay leaders have been ministering to the residents of the Regency Nursing Home in Arlington. On Sunday mornings at 10:45 residents have gathered for an Episcopal worship service, including communion on the first Sunday of the month. This has required a tremendous commitment from lay ministers and musicians, as well as ministry coordinators over the years. The ministry has been marked by tenderness, compassion, dependability, and joy.
The time of separation during the pandemic represented the first real absence of St. Michael’s parishioners from the community, completely due to restrictions beyond our control. This forced absence provided an opportunity to assess the needs moving forward. After much discernment and prayer, it became clear that there is not currently the bandwidth to fulfill this weekly commitment at this time. On Sunday, May 23, lay leaders gathered for a service marking the completion of one chapter and the beginning of discernment as to where we may be called to serve next. We shared stories and celebrated the many gifts that have come from time spent with residents over the decades. We said prayers of thanksgiving, and asked for God’s continued guidance.
Moving forward, we will continue to look for ways in which St. Michael’s can faithfully serve the Arlington community. In particular, we hope to attend to those communities and individuals who may be aged, lonely, or searching for a spiritual community. We strive to carry forth the spirit on which this faithful ministry was founded—marked by tenderness, compassion, dependability, and joy. Please join me in thanking leaders of the Nursing Home Ministry, both past and present, some of whom are listed below.
Gracious God, we thank you for the work and witness of your servants of the St. Michael’s Nursing Home Ministry, who have enriched the community at Regency, bringing gladness and hope to those whom they served. Now bless and preserve them at this time of transition. Guide each of them in the continued use of your gifts. Give them sustenance for their spiritual needs, and a clear vision of the ministry to which you are now calling them. By your Holy Spirit be present in their pilgrimages, that they may travel with the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
