A small congregation must learn this lesson well to thrive:
We can do nothing alone.
Having a small congregation as a Partner, as a Companion can be an amazing blessing for larger churches and organizations. Because this is a lesson we all need to learn more effectively:
We need not do anything alone.
One small congregation in South Dallas saw a need, a niche: People in our Food Pantry need Partners, need Companions. They need Companionship as they look for a ROADMAP ... a PATHWAY toward the promise of a better future ... Companionship as they look for a ROADMAP ... a PATHWAY to addressing Grief, Loss, Hopelessness, Hunger Insecurity, Housing Insecurity, Economic Insecurity, Mental Health, Addiction, Disability, a Conviction Record, Social Isolation ... and, of course, a hunger for a faith community where they might be loved, cherished, valued and appreciated. Just for being another child of God.
They need help seeing that at least one other person in the world will say:
You needn't walk alone. I will walk with you for the next few steps.
And that is always how movement starts. Movement, progress begins, just a few steps at a time. in fact, that is how a MOVEMENT begins as well. Just a few steps at a time.
Together.
Curiously enough, that's also what our small congregation needed to hear as well. "You don't have to walk alone. We will walk with you for the next few steps."
We love the people we serve in our Mt. Olive Food Pantry. And we know the food they receive from us helps. But the need goes so far beyond food. And our resources are limited. We needed somebody who could say, "You don't have to walk alone. We will walk with you for the next few steps." And that's when the ELCA Disabilities Ministry gave us a small grant to learn more about Pathways to Promise:
Pathways to Promise is an interfaith cooperative, which was founded in 1988 by fourteen faith groups and mental health organizations to facilitate work faith communities in reaching out to people with mental illnesses and their families. Pathways to Promise provides training, consultation and other resources for faith groups who want to become supportive, caring communities for people with mental illnesses and their families. They have written resources, including ministry manuals, bulletin inserts, and training curricula, that can be used by local congregations as well as regional and national faith group offices. Their resources have been designed in cooperation with Evangelical, Protestant, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders, as well as many other faith traditions. And they began to walk with:
The Mental Health Chaplaincy, a Seattle-based non-profit that offers a presence of Companionship in the city for those living in homelessness, mental illness, addictions, and trauma. The continuing mission of Mental Health Chaplaincy is to provide:
Outreach to our neighbors on the streets
Spiritual Care with persons in the hospital or in outpatient care where no other chaplain is available
Companionship Training for anyone working with people facing adversity
Facilitation, Workshops, consulting, and public programs nationwide, and
Advocacy and Education on Accessible Mental Health Care that tends to the WHOLE PERSON
For over 30 years these two organizations worked separately on these projects until they found a Companion ... and formed a partnership they are now calling The Companionship Movement. While Companionship started in Seattle, Washington, it is now a growing Movement in cities across the country … inviting faith communities and social service organizations to partner together. As Companion organizations. Forming Companionships. Between individuals. Companionships that literally save lives.
And Companionship benefits everyone who participates. Not just the person perceived to be the most in need.
So, what is Companionship?
Companionship is a ministry of presence, a relationship that responds to isolation and suffering and supports healing and recovery. Companionship welcomes the stranger and builds a circle of care with individuals facing emotional and mental health challenges. Companionship is rooted in our natural capacity as human beings to be sensitive, compassionate and concerned.
There are FIVE basic PRINCIPLES of Companionship:
Companionship is a Basic Human relationship between Two Equals
Companionship is a Response to Suffering; it is not about “fixing it”
Companionship is a Public Relationship
Companionship aims for Mutuality
Companionship recognizes our need for a Circle of Care and support
There are also FIVE basic PRACTICES of Companionship:
HOSPITALITY: We seek to establish a space that is SACRED in the personal sense.
NEIGHBORING: The soul thrives, not in isolation, but in COMMUNITY.
SIDE BY SIDE: We aim NOT to FIX THINGS; it is simply to be together, to be present, a way of sharing the world together.
LISTENING: It is an incredible GIFT to listen. Click here for more tips on LISTENING.
ACCOMPANIMENT: It is an act of faith, an outward SIGN of our belief that we are NEVER ALONE.
Pathways to Promise (P2P) provides three critical relationships that are vital for a …
Companionship Movement to:
BEGIN here in Fair Park…
GROW here in South Dallas, amidst enough neighboring individuals, congregations, and organizations that throughout the DFW area …
THRIVING Partnerships are forged between individuals in urban areas and individuals in less urban, suburban and extra-urban congregations.
The crucial relationships Pathways to Promise offers to Dallas include these three:
A Thirty Year History of initiating, guiding and facilitating a Community-wide, Multi-organizational Companionship Movement. The model was formed in the Seattle, Washington area. Dozens can participate in a four hour Companionship Training. Led by a handful of leaders who have completed a 2 Day Train-the-Trainer workshop. The more Companions and Trainers we equip, the more effective the Companionship Network becomes.
A Thirty Year History of initiating, guiding and facilitating Mental Health Awareness and Mental Health Advocacy within and between Congregations. P2P provides a myriad of resources to help Congregations not only assemble a strategic Mental Health Team or Task Force, but also become a source of support and encouragement for people who are either dealing with Mental Health or Substance Abuse issues themselves..
A New and Recently developed paradigm for Helping Congregations, Organizations and Individuals connect digitally. This is not only vital for assembling a Circle of Care around our Companionships. In a world where transportation often prevents people from meeting physically in the same space, P2P is helping its partners consider how digital technology can allow us to meet even when time and space do not.
Companionship in Dallas is blessed to have a Companion like Pathways to Promise.
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