Barbara: Hi everyone- welcome to 40 minutes of faith. My name is Barbara Cox and I host this weekly podcast to explore God's word and our relationship with God.
Today's guest is Liz, and we're going to be talking about some different ways that people can volunteer with folks who might have a hard time getting to church or being actively involved in a faith based setting.
So we're going to explore some different ways that that might look. I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Liz. She's a lifelong Catholic. She grew up in Watertown, New York and went to college in Troy, New York, and she's a physical therapist currently working with children who have disabilities. How are things going today for you?
Liz: Everything is going great. Thanks for having me on today. I really appreciate it.
Barbara: we typically start the podcast with a Bible verse or a Bible passage. And I am happy that you gave me two stories of healing from the gospels, both in the book of Luke. One is in chapter five and one is in chapter eight. And I'm wondering, Liz, can you share, why are these stories of miraculous healing so important to you when we're talking about this outreach ministry?
Liz: Well, I I've always been touched by the healing that Jesus brought in the stories that we read in the Bible, in the new Testament. But as we know, he's alive today and he's working through us to bring his healing to other people. And the one is the paralytic. And he can't get himself to Jesus because he can't move or walk.
He has great friends. And while we know that Jesus healed him, the important part of the story to me was that his friends were so dedicated to him. They climbed a roof and made a hole and lowered him so that Jesus could meet him and that he could meet Jesus. What if his friends they'd all gone to the healing service themselves and left him at home?
I also feel that Jesus wants us to think outside the box in how we can help, how we can help other people. But I do think that the holy spirit probably prompted his friends. And all we have to do is say yes, like they did. Let's all think together, how can we help this person? Or if we have a person in our parish or at church, just having troubles, how can we help them?
What can we do to ease their burden? And of course, if you bring it in front of Jesus, miraculous things can happen. And what I think too, with healing ministries and in visiting the sick and those who are facing challenges, just that we care about them can also make a big difference. You know, we may not all receive a miraculous healing, but we get small healings when other people share their time and their love with them.
And then the other reading just always struck me because of my background as a physical therapist. I really believe in the power of the human touch. That it's all connected- body, mind, and spirit. When I read that story for the first time and then many times later, I felt like when Jesus was walking along, he stopped because of that lady's faith.
And that he felt power leave him. That's has always struck me , it just stopped me in my tracks. It's all about the power of healing and what does that mean? We don't know the whole thing. What I do know that human touch can really make a person bring down their barriers be open and soothing. It's just soothing to know that there's somebody right next to you.
The part about that too, is she tried, we all tried, we love our doctors. We love our medical communities help us so much. And she did all that , she really did. She was working with us for 12 years.
Barbara: Didn't she spend all she had on treatment?
Liz: And for 12 years she tried to get a reprieve. And so I think all of us, we, we do try our traditional methods first. And then when things become burdensome, when we exhausted everything , then turn to Jesus and he says, yeah, I can do this for you. You have faith, but it's not always the first thing we think of. I know if I get a headache, first thing I think of is taking a Tylenol.
You know, so we do have a balance- the medical community is awesome and wonderful. And I personally feel that the medical community is the first line of grace healing in our lives. And so many of them, we see come COVID , they really just sacrifice everything about their lives. They sacrifice for us, and when people that were sick, so it's all intertwined, but those are two of my favorite passages.
I mean, we all have a lot, but when it comes to my ministry, I really liked those. And when I was going through my course, they really spoke to me. And I do feel that we are the temples of the holy spirit. Christ dwells within us for his hands and his feet. And so a lot of times when we pray for people, Christ can place the holy spirit as somebody, a neighbor's heart, you will go.
You don't know why, but you might stop in, see your neighbor and visit with them and talk with them, and you’re being Christ to them at that point. So there's many different levels. Bringing Christ to others. You can show it with a smile. You can do it with listening to them, but some people need it way more than others.
If you're home bound and live alone, or if you're a nursing home and you don't have too many visitors, most of the people totally appreciate just the human contact. But if you go to it with the right spirit that you're bringing Christ to them, it can even be more powerful.
Barbara: I agree with you a hundred percent, Liz, and the reason I appreciate so much that you use the word inclusion is that I have found that you're very humble. You didn't tell me about this ministry, but I heard from a mutual acquaintance, how much it meant to her that you visited and she felt so included. Exactly how you're describing, that she felt God's love through your visits to her. So I just wanted to say thank you on behalf of all of the people that you've visited and this whole ministry that we're going to be talking about and inviting other people to maybe prayerfully consider whether this is something that they might be interested in.
Liz: the reason I'm sharing is not for myself, but just so that other people know that there's a great need for it. You get way more out of it than you give. And you meet and you make special friends for life. I had a schedule. You make the time. And then once you get there, you're like, wow, this is the most important thing I could be doing today instead of roaming around the store or something.
Barbara: the Catholic faith has a certain title. For example, you told me that you're a commissioned lay minister and some other faiths or denominations might call it something different, maybe a lay Eucharistic minister. So I would love to learn a little bit more about some of the specific things that you do. What does that look like?
Liz: The commissioned lay minister for me is commissioned by the church. It all started that they put pamphlets out at the church, seeing if people were interested in it. And the priests can instruct and teach to be a Eucharistic minister to bring holy communion or to give holy communion at mass and they can visit and bring holy communion to a parishioner. So that's one area, it'd be like a lector or an usher.
I took the pamphlet. And I was like, no, you don't need to do that. And I was like, well, okay. So I walked by it and I walked back and I picked it up. So I read about it. And my second child was heading to college that year.
And I was like, oh, I was just looking for a year to kick back and just work and not do anything else, but it kept speaking to me like maybe you should look into this. You have to talk to your parish priest about it, and they have to recommend you to take the course. It's a two-year course, and you have to apply.
And that went through the director and then he met with me and all the other candidates at the parish center and it was once a week, Friday evening, and it went for two years and we had the summers off and we had different sections that you had to study. And a lot of it was the Bible and they would bring in professors to teach us theology, philosophy and communication and all different areas. And then at the end of it, you are brought in front, the Bishop commissioned you. And there are different areas of the ministry.
So you would pick an area of interest. So I picked the sick and elderly. Somebody else was interested in music ministry, somebody else in the RCIA program where it's teaching adults that want to learn about the Catholic faith, catechesis, where you teach the children and teenagers in the parish.
And some was the ministry of the liturgy where they would be there for the priest to help with all liturgical areas. So you had different areas but you had to learn everything. So and we did a lot of writing, which I enjoyed. We had a lot of assignments, there were no formal tests.
We had papers to write and research to do and assignments for all very doable, very helping you to deepen your faith and deepen your understanding so that when you came in touch with people, you would be able to at least have some basic understanding. And then I always said, if you have questions, then you can refer to your parish priest, or any priest , or sister or whoever that might be able to help you out more.
So it was just a wonderful time. And the people I went into the class with were just awesome and a lot of faith sharing and it was nice to be around people who really wanted to have a ministry in the church, have an active role in the church.
And I'm so happy I did. And originally it started out that I was at a nursing home.
I would do that every Friday morning and during communion all to people and visit with the sick and to me, it was nondenominational. The first time I went, I thought I'd be visiting like three or four people. The deacon told me you have the whole third floor.
And he goes, yeah, just do your best. And then you start out each week and introduce yourself. So I just went around and introduced myself and said, I would it be happy to pray with you and visit with you.
And so I got a lot of friends but a lot of them were not Catholic and I prayed, we prayed together and I just loved it. So I think that's another important thing is that if somebody didn't want me to visit, I certainly won’t push myself.
So I would enter the room, introduce myself. I went into this one room and the gentleman was wearing a Syracuse basketball shirt and he was doing the jumble, two of my favorite things. So we really became friends over there until he passed away. So every Friday we did the jumble together and I don't know if everybody knows what that is, but it's where the letters are mixed up and there's like four or five words and you have to figure them out. And so we would pass the paper back and forth and do that. And occasionally most of the time we'd get them all.
And he had a big, beautiful dictionary. So we use that a lot together. And then we always talk SU basketball and at the end I never found out what his actual faith background was, but I would say, would it be okay if I prayed with you or shared my prayer today? And he would always say yes, then at the end, every time he said, whatever, prayer I'd pick a song.
So he said to me that says it all. And that was our faith sharing. And we had lots of great times and stuff. I do not actually bring him the Eucharist, but we brought each other a lot of love and sharing and caring. And so it's interesting that you can have a set idea on things and what's the best, but that was a great story that we can't be into only visiting who's in your denomination. Like that's not what it's about. And I think every sick and elderly person loves to be cared about.
Barbara: it sounds like you were a blessing in his life, but also in a way you also received back blessings just from this ministry of presence that you had.
Liz: he was so fun. I just always liked going. I always look forward to going to his room cause we just had a lot in common. A lot of people are afraid of the sick. And yet when I went to see him, he had some pre-existing conditions, but mainly he was there because he couldn't take care of himself.
I think you can't be afraid to introduce yourself and it's not going to be perfect every time. I do remember once one man shook his head at me, which is fine, you have to honor what they want. So that was okay. But if you don't ever ask, or if you don't go in the room, you're not going to know.
Barbara: I should have said before when I was asking you about the topic, because you and I know what a lay minister is, but I realized I should have said that this is just ordinary people. So this is not going to a seminary to become an ordained pastor, this is regular people who want to do some volunteering, but get some extra training. So you feel a little bit more equipped, right?
Liz: Yep. And anybody can go to their minister, their priest, and just say, you know, I'm interested in this. Can you point me in the direction of where I can start out and meet with your own minister or priest?
I'm sure they would love the help. And if you have questions, I'm sure they would be happy to let you know. I was happy to have the extra training but most of us can do it right in your own neighborhood.
Barbara: Not all jobs require a two year training as well. I've been a Sunday school teacher before, and I had an introduction in how to be a Sunday school teacher, but I wasn't required to go to school for two years. So there's all sorts of different ways you can help.
Liz: I was a teacher for a couple of years to the third graders and I didn't have any training.
This is just one area where it helps you as a person to grow. Well also, you know, formal training in this area is the formal training is being kind and caring, right. Just being willing to visit somebody and talk to them and listen. I do enjoy bringing the holy Eucharist to people and as Catholics this is a special time for us where we know that Christ comes to us personally in the bread. And then I go right away and do my visits and bring it to the folks that people who would like the holy Eucharist and I have a booklet with special prayers. I didn't have to memorize it as well. I say prayers and prepare the person and we do that right at the beginning, but then it follows up with a visit.
Barbara: I had a up question because I really agree with what you said about the human touch being so meaningful and in my social work training we do have to learn some professional boundaries. So in most typical social work encounters, you probably wouldn't hold the hands of the person you're meeting with, but in a faith-based setting, that's totally different.
That's not the same thing as a professional social worker appointment. So I'm wondering if you had any training about that or how do you decide. Depending on who it is, would someone ever want to hold hands? I know when my mother was in a nursing home before she passed away, I held her hand and she couldn't talk anymore.
So that was really the only way we could communicate or that is the two of us together-I could sing to her. But how do you figure that out about, or is it never, you don't ever say, for example, hold the hand of somebody. If you're praying with them?
Liz: Oh, I make it an invitation. When I go to the home, I usually sit well across the room. So I’m not always holding a hand. At the end I will say, would you like a hug? I asked and most people want a hug. In the hospital, it was so much easier if I put my hand out and they reached out and put it on top, then we held hands.
Obviously you have to be very careful with that. It's a volunteer thing and you're in a hospital situation or setting. So you reach out and if they grab your hand, then I say, that's fine. Or if I felt like somebody was uncomfortable, I would never do that. But I am a person that would always, if they want a hug, I give them a hug. And Most people are just so happy just to have attention.
But during COVID I did not touch anybody. One lady we met in the garage with masks on and once again, thinking outside the box because I had to be very, very careful. So whatever's lacking or the warmth of the visit can be mostly the attention and the listening.
Lot of people like hugs. So if they don't seem to mind it, I'm a big hugger. All I can say, I understand now with all the different regulations and all different things. And I always say a prayer before I go in to see people.
Barbara: It sounds to me like you open up an invitation and then you're very respectful based on the response either physically or with words.
I understand that you have a family legacy of volunteering in different capacities, and I'm curious if you have any thoughts on how can people figure out what they might be interested in since there are so many different ways of serving.
Liz: I think a lot of times If, if you're open to serving others, even open to your faith. And a lot of times the holy spirit will guide you. You might not even know that that's something that you shouldn't be doing or I think other people are a example for others.
And I know my dad brought communion to a few elderly women when he was all there. And he would go and he really enjoyed it in. So I had that example of him doing it. I also think that we all have different strengths interests.
So if you're a person that loves music, get involved in music program. If you're a person that loves the Bible and get into the liturgy, part of assisting it at your service, if you are a person that likes to plan and organize, ask your priest or minister. And I be involved in helping out. I remember one of the women in our parish, she was the head of the bereavement committee. She's elderly now. And I go visit her and I try to always bring up to her how important it was for her, how happy God must've been, that she took all that time to land those beautiful meals for the consolation of the family. Cause sometimes she gets down- as you lose your independence, and I said, you were so busy doing all that.
And I said, that's the kind of person you are. But all those things that you did there, God's still happy about those things. And she would call people and you know, it was a big undertaking, but it was wonderful for the people after the funeral, they would go right over and have this beautiful meal.
And it took a lot of like, You might make brownies and you might make a salad. So a lot of people in the parish donated, but this woman was in charge of making sure everything was good to go. That is a gift. If you feel called, if you like food ministry, do you like food?
If you're like planning, that'd be great. Young people can get involved too. You will get an answer if you're willing to help.
Barbara: And sometimes they'll get a nudge, even if you don't think that this is the right time for you, but that does bring me to my last question, Liz. And that is, it sounds like you were able to find a balance because you have a job and you had mentioned that your younger child was going to college, but I want to just also be clear that it seems to me like there's seasons in life. And you talked about that God was appreciative of this other woman helping with the bereavement ministry. But at the same time, we know that we don't have to earn our salvation. It's a free gift, but then we give back in return. So I'm curious if you ever had seasons where you were able to maybe volunteer more or less? Did you always have the same schedule the whole time, or did you ever have a time where you needed to take a break or where you said I have a little more time to give her, a little less time to give?
Liz: When my children were here I was active in the church. My ministry was my family and I worked every day as a physical therapist. So there's definitely seasons when you have everything in life is a balance.
So I think a lot of times, it depends on where you are. And also I think how stressful your job is. I always work Monday through Thursday and I had Fridays off. So Friday was my ministry day. So since the kids graduated from high school, that's when I really got active, I was not active on a weekly basis.
I mean, I went to mass. I wasn't visiting the sick or anything. Before that I would help do things that you know, maybe if somebody was sick, make them a meal or whatever, but I was not inactive ministry. So I think that there are definite seasons- I'm so glad you brought this up. So I really didn't start till 2011 doing the definite ministry. The only time I took the break was when COVID. Because I wasn't allowed to go to the nursing home. So I did take a break. I mean, that was a forced break, but then I just visited the people in my parish. I can do it safely. And I think younger people, you have to balance your lives.
And my children were very active in school and very active in sports. And I've worked full time, so I didn't really have a lot of extra time. But when you do get extra time, I think that's a time when we can take a break and say, you know, what could I have been doing for others?
And there are a lot of young people that work and raise families and get very involved, too. So I think it's just your own personality, your own balance in life, your ability to juggle things. My motto always was to do a few things well, instead of a lot of things, not so well. So that's how I like to handle things.
Some people seem to fit more in a day and able to do more, but I do feel that every day, who am I at work? I think through whatever profession you're called to God can definitely work, to assist your coworkers to assist if you are involved in, like you said, social work and hospital work.
Oh, plenty of opportunities to absolutely be kind and caring and go above and beyond. In Christ to others in smile and genuinely care about others. So I always felt that my ministry was to the clients and the children and the people that I met when I went to work every day.
Which can take a lot of energy if you put extra effort into it. But I think retirement time is a big time that you can really make it. Many years more, hopefully, when we’ll be interested or able to do things.
So I think retirement time's a really good time through the whole volunteering in what you can.
Barbara: you said kids can volunteer, different seasons of life for families all the way up through retirement.
I just was curious if you have any final tips or advice for anyone who's considering starting a volunteer ministry or being part of a volunteer ministry?
Liz: I think at first, pray on it and take some time to think about it. My feeling is, give it a try. And if you don't try, you won't know if it's something, if you don't feel comfortable with it. That's okay. God doesn't expect us to, he just wants us to try, and if you pick something and it's not working for you, there's no problems. Look into something else. It's my feeling is doing nothing shouldn't be an option. Trying is always an option and surprises will come your way.
Barbara: it sounds like both you and I have done different volunteer jobs over the years and some of them resonated more, and I was fine being a Sunday school teacher. I didn't have any problem with it, but now I do different things. And so do you, and that that's okay. And maybe the people might be thinking, no, no, don't quit. Don't do something different, but it's okay to have different seasons of participation and try new things. I completely agree with that.
Liz: Absolutely. And we're all going to be on that other end at some point. And I think about that a lot in that there are some people that are in nursing homes for 10 years. And so we just need to all work together and be aware of what other people are going through.
Take time out to really cherish everybody. The young though the middle aged and the elderly have a lot to offer.
Barbara: Thank you so much for your time and sharing your experiences with us today.
Liz: You're very welcome. I really enjoyed it.
Resources:
Luke 5:17-26
Luke 8 :43-48
