Pastoral Care
Pastoral care is the work of listening, holding and discerning with another who needs an ear to listen or a hand to hold. Offered in the hospital, at home, on a walk, in the Rector’s Office, or even over coffee, pastoral care is a special kind of care that combines elements of traditional counseling with theological and biblical reflection. Pastoral care is not therapy. It is listening with another as they listen to their life and as they encounter Spirit moving in them… or not, as the case may be sometimes. Pastoral care can also be sharing silence, or attending to one dying and singing hymns. Most of all pastoral care depends upon the spiritual needs of the person seeking care.
The Rector, Deacon and a growing number of lay listeners provide this care. If you would like to speak with one of them about a spiritual need, question or quandary, please call the Rector.
Healing Services
Saint David’s regularly offers services of Healing Prayer and Eucharist. A collect from The Book of Occasional Services speaks to the tenor of these opportunities for special prayer.
God our healer, whose mercy is like a refining fire: by the loving- kindness of Jesus, heal us and those for whom we pray; that being renewed by you, we may witness your wholeness to our broken world; through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Spirit. Amen.
During these services, the readings and the sermon tend to focus on the growth that suffering, grief and sorrow may yield without discounting it. They convey a sense of hope filled anticipation and presence of meaning in the present circumstance for which healing prayer is sought out. Persons who attend these services come with prayer requests for themselves as well as requests for friends or family. Often, we have prayed for the whole world or for our nation in particular. Whatever part of God’s creation suffers finds itself in our prayers during these services.
The affirmation of feelings the world tends to push away, such as grief, is central to healing prayer, as is gratitude for the courage to hold and express them. Sometimes the Rector will pray individually with persons and other times, the group prayers together in a circle. Those seeking prayer for themselves also are anointed with healing oil in the manner in which Christ laid hands upon those whom he healed.
If you have needs that you would like for us to include in our communal prayers, if you would like to join with us in praying for others, or if you have a pastoral concern, please contact the clergy at (615) 352-0293 or by email.
In time of need or crisis when you need someone to talk to, let the clergy know that, too. Pastoral care and prayer are always available to aid the healing process in a variety of ways.
Prayers of the People
Saint David’s alternates use of the Prayers of the People from the Book of Common Prayer with “homegrown” prayers. Typically, the seasons of Advent, Epiphany, Lent and Easter are the liturgical seasons during which we read from those prayers written by the Prayers of the People Guild. This guild meets to discuss the season in question, world events, local concerns and other matters, then compose a series of prayers that follow the rubric in the BCP.
Regardless of the season, any are welcome to add names to the public list of prayer requests. During celebrations of the Holy Eucharist on Sunday mornings, we pray publicly for people in need of healing, for those who are hospitalized, for those requesting strength to deal with life’s problems, for the departed, and for those who mourn. While we always include the clause, “and those we hold quietly in our hearts,” you are invited to contact the Parish Office to submit names for those in need of prayer for whatever reason. They will stay on the list for four weeks unless you indicate otherwise. If you would like special prayer that is private, please contact the Daughters of the King.
Daughters of the King
The mission of the Daughters of the King is to extend Christ’s Kingdom through prayer, service and evangelism. Saint David’s active Order of 15 Daughters spends the majority of its time praying for those on the prayer list and those in need of special intention. Learn more about the DoK here.