By Martha Steger
Before going on his sabbitcal, Michael+ made us aware of the need to expand lay-ministry services to Manakin members unable to get to church for the Eucharist. At present, our lay-ministry group of five administers the Eucharist as a vital part of the services we provide on the first Sunday of each month at Brookdale and Southerland Place assisted-living centers.
Anyone interested in becoming part of an expanded group to take the Eucharist to Manakin members unable to get to church can contact the church office. This is a very important ministry, and the training would only take an hour of anyone’s time. I am hoping to set up a convenient training session before the end of September and will be back in touch with those who express interest.
I confess that I did not realize what a spiritual experience administering the Eucharist could be for a server until I became involved in this outreach program. I have come to see it as part of salvation – one day at a time. As the Rev. Robert D. Flanagan, priest in the Diocese of New York, author and educator, has written, “…for Episcopalians it is the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist that bring us into salvation and return us to relation- ship with God, respectively.”