MTM Reunion Week adds purpose and power to healing
By Dr. Roger Lovette
Re-un-ion. 1. The act of uniting again. 2. A gathering of relatives friends or associates after separation. It sometimes means to reunite after an absence, to re-connect, to touch the base, to pick up where we left off.
One of the strengths of MTM is our Reunion Week. This process begins with a Wellness Retreat--a group of 10 or 12 people who gather to share their stories and talk about the pain of forced termination. They deal with family and spiritual concerns, depression and hope. Six months later, they come back together for a reunion time.
Such a gathering recently took place in Birmingham, AL and was sponsored by Samford University. One older pastor and his wife had been through a painful church experience and were uncertain about their vocational plans six months before. They had wondered if any church wanted a 55-year-old battle-scarred veteran. His wife was not sure she wanted to put herself or her husband through that kind of pain again. Six months later, they had moved to a new church. The old wounds were beginning to heal. They had learned much from their past failures. They had made new commitments to each other and to pastoral ministry. Hope and creativity were returning.
Beside them sat a young couple. Months before their lives were eroding away because of a difficult experience at church. They came with a lot of anger, which they took out mostly on themselves. They had no church and no job and their future looked bleak. In desperation, they took a small church after the retreat. It was a mistake and the church situation had not worked out.
They began to reason that God has many callings besides the parish setting. During those hard days, they had worked on their marriage and they had worked on their dreams. They came to the reunion retreat to report--they had made a vocational change. He had begun working for a bank as a loan officer. They had never been happier. They were still in the church, but Sundays were not stressful and worship became a time to feed their own spirits.
This man, who six months before was desperate and troubled, was now learning how to relax and be hopeful. His wife, though she has had a hard time dealing with this vocational change, was beginning to understand that God works in a multitude of ways in His children’s lives. They are moving on!
Next to them in that reunion circle was a couple in their sixties. They have recently made a recommitment to staying in the church he serves. They are in a changing neighborhood. Ministry is hard and his focus is mostly pastoral and maintenance. But, he has come to see that someone must love these people and care for their spiritual needs. He still sees a counselor, for sometimes the old wounds break open and cause great pain. But, he is committed to his work and his marriage. They are finding the way!
MTM is providing health and hope and reality in these retreat and reunions. Ministers and their families are moving beyond pain, are gaining self-understanding and finding appropriate avenues for anger and despair.
We ended that Reunion by joining hands and standing in a circle. It was a circle of love. We prayed for each member by name and the place to which they would return by name. A place on a map. A little church on a hill. A family beginning again. A couple married 35 years. Children wondering why their lives have been uprooted yet again. In that circle, miracles continue to take place. After the Amen, we squeezed one another’s hands; we wiped away the tears. We hugged one another. We left Samford and moved down separate highways back to jobs and families and responsibilities. We left with a greater understanding--we were not alone!
We moved back with a purpose and a power we did not have before. God had spoken during Reunion Week.
Dr. Roger Lovette is Pastor of the Baptist Church of the Covenant, Birmingham, AL and is a Board Member of MTM.