No Easy Choices

I have met with the Ministry and Personnel Committee of St. Paul's congregation on several occasions since my return from restorative leave. They have told me that it is important to observe "day's off" in each week and while they were pastoral they were also firm. Do it!

Yesterday was one of those off days, and in the morning I got a call that an elderly man was dying in Oshawa hospital. While he wasn't active in the church, his wife has been, and she is a lovely person. Emergency surgery revealed extensive disease which couldn't be addressed by the surgery team. It was the wife calling and we spoke for a while before she signed off. She expressed no expectation that I go to the hospital but I mused about the situation for a while before I shaved, "dressed like a minister" and drove to Oshawa.

I sat and talked with the wife, her three adult children and in-laws. They decided to remove the ventilator because they had been given no hope of recovery. We talked, we even managed to laugh, and then we prayed. It was a holy time. Then, home I went. Early this morning he died.

Should I have chosen to stay at home? I suppose I could have asked another staff member to go, but the call was made to me. The reality of ministry is that it is not just a desk job, it is a people vocation and sometimes the response must be human. There is no clear-cut answer, and in the end I honestly felt I made the right choice. Taking another day away (the usual suggestion) isn't always possible, and there will be other emergencies.

My experience is that everyone appreciates the need for a minister to have personal time until their crisis occurs. It's understandable.And my calling is a ministry of word, sacrament and pastoral care. I understand what M&P is trying to do, and what I need to do to stay healthy, but at times there really aren't easy choices.