Re-Membering
St. Luke’s has launched the Re-membering Ministry to support members grieving the loss of a loved one. Trained volunteers—Re-membering Ministers—will offer compassionate presence through listening, visits, or conversation starting June 8th. This ministry helps individuals heal by sharing memories and rebuilding life after loss. If you have questions about this ministry, please reach out to Pastor Kyle Severson, Pastor John Schumacher, or Diane Barounis.
One resource most helpful to us in our times of bereavement is our community of support – the friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, fellow congregants who know us and can support us wherever we may be in the experience of loss. St. Luke’s Lutheran Church very much wants to be a part of the support system of those who have experienced the death of a loved one. Part of our call as the Church is to “comfort those who mourn” and a part of our identity as a congregation is the belief that we are a caring and mutually-supportive community. This is why we have begun a program to offer care and support to those in our congregation who have lost a loved one, which we are calling Re-membering Ministry.
In bereavement, the time and space for healing which follows a significant loss in our lives, we take up the two-fold task of “re-membering.” Re-membering is the experience of recalling the stories which capture the person who died and our relationship with him or her. Re-membering is retelling the stories – sometimes with laughter, sometimes with tears, sometimes, even with anger – to someone who can be trusted to receive the stories.
Re-membering is also re-integrating the parts/members of our life which were broken apart by the experience of the other’s death. Re-membering is rebuilding my life, its relationships and activities, with a significant part of my life now absent. A piece of the puzzle is now gone. A trusted companion can be helpful in this as well. We have recently called and trained a small cadre of our members to be the face of St. Luke’s compassionate care in a time of bereavement. Our “Re-membering Ministers” will reach out to a congregant who has experienced a death in the immediate family to offer support and a listening presence during the first year of bereavement. The Re-membering Minister comes with no agenda except to embody the congregation’s support. The support may include phone contacts, home visits, time spent over a cup of coffee. Your relationship with the Re-membering Minister will be shaped by what you perceive to be most helpful to you in your “Re-membering.” If there is a time in your life when you are contacted by a St. Luke’s member who introduces him or herself as a “Re-membering Minister,” please welcome the Minister along on your journey. If you have questions about this ministry, please reach out to Pastor Kyle Severson, John Schumacher, or Diane Barounis.
