Visiting from House to House

I take visiting house to house quite literally. In Rye, I had a special name for it. I would go on “Shadow days” with my congregation. I would visit where they worked. After the visit, I would often incorporate my findings about life into sermons. The admonition to visit from house to house is important. There are ways to adapt the charge for today. Offering people “Shadow days” gave them the opportunity for me to join them in whatever part of life they wanted me to see.

One couple invited me to go with them to their family reunion. The reunion itself happened only once a month over the mountain. It was the first time I had been in the community I would serve three years later. We had a great meal, the family welcomed me and talked with me about their own churches. It was a great visit, even if a long day. The memories of times like that stick with people.

Sometimes people allowed me to shadow them at work. A few times I went to job sites I wouldn’t be able to have seen without tagging along with my parishioners. I remember one time going with a trucker to pave a road. When I see the dump trucks all lined up to “belly dump” their loads, it gives me great joy. I think of how much more I am connected to the actual life of people than I may have been without these experiences. Welding a bead, seeing the waste management treatment plant, these are a few of the ways I have met with people one on one in their own worlds.

Visiting from house to house has been one of my delights. Over all, there is a sense of God’s spirit, and the conversation comes naturally. It is pastoral care for the people we serve, but it is healing too for the people who visit. I have started in my new ministry setting, going with someone to visit. Somehow these visits seem better, more like the body of Christ. Sharing communion with lots of people instead of just one. Yet, there are times, when people can speak more openly during one on one visits.

Over all, visitation is important. The new rules of call before you come, or maybe the old rules we forget to use, help everyone not to waste time. The call at the beginning of the week helps people expect something good later in the week. There is benefit to everyone.

My ministry is shifting now. The church has come to a financial point where sustaining two full time pastors is too much for the budget. Together with the church, the senior pastor, and lots of prayer, I have chosen to decrease my time to ¾ time. This shift means for me that I will no longer, at this time, visit from house to house in the same way. Visitation will shift to a responsibility for the mission team. It is a challenge to know that visiting from house to house is a gift of mine, a charge of ordination, and yet, a ministry that can be shared. Maybe, people will miss my visits, but it wouldn’t be people outside the church. All in perspective.

God, as we visit from house to house, warm our hearts. Touch our lives. Give us the memories that keep us smiling. Teach us how to love one another. Let us be the body of Christ, Amen.