Ministers Support Groups Reach Out
Charles Chandler, Executive Director
I received the telephone call late Saturday night, June 13, from our daughter-in-law in Alabama telling me our 40-year-old son had drowned in a kayaking accident on the New River in West Virginia. I was alone preparing for a flight to Dallas on Sunday afternoon for a Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreat. Betty Lou, my wife, was in Illinois assisting our youngest daughter and her family decorate and move into their new home.
After relaying the devastating news to Betty Lou, I made two local calls - one to a member of our church and the other to a member of our Ministers Support Group. Both were at my house within minutes. Their spouses made phone calls enlisting prayer support for me and my scattered family. One called church families and the other called the members of my support group. Even though it was past 11:00 pm, our house was soon filled with caring people. One member of the support group was already in bed but got up, dressed, and sat with me well past midnight.
On that dreadful night, I was surrounded by and cared for by two sources of friends - my church family and the group of ministers with whom I had bonded during our nine years of meeting together as a support group. Betty Lou was surrounded in Illinois by family - our two daughters, two sons-in-law, and five grandchildren.
After our son's funeral, Betty Lou and I returned to Virginia. Immediately, the support group arranged to spend half a day with me. We laughed, cried, talked and processed my grief as well as the grief they were experiencing due to my deep hurt. The same group had spent half a day with me a few years earlier when I was experiencing conflict with some of the leaders in the church where I served as pastor at that time. A natural part of our support group is to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.
Any minister can be the catalyst in bringing together a group of ministers who meet, share, care, affirm, confront, and support one another in prayer as members go through deep valleys or have mountain top experiences. Sometimes, a Ministers Support Group can be the difference between sanity and insanity. I'm very grateful to my support group members who have reached out to me at various stages of my pilgrimage. They have, indeed, made a difference.