When to call the Pastor

Often people wonder when it is appropriate to call on one of the church’s ministers. Your pastors, Peter Wiley, Sue Ann Schmidt, and Dick Hasler, are available to assist you in times of personal difficulty night or day. There is no particular protocol to follow. If you need or want pastoral assistance for any reason, you may call the church office or notify one of the pastors directly. Please let us help you. Listed below are some examples of times you might want to contact a pastor.

• When I have a personal or family problem. Discussing concerns that create anxiety in the life of a family helps to put issues in perspective. Family problems or personal problems may be discussed in an atmosphere of confidentiality, prayer and understanding.
• Times of grief and loss. When an emotionally significant relationship with a person or thing is fractured or severed, the normal response is grief. Your pastors can help with the process of healing, grieving, and loss.
• Spiritual crises. When you are feeling doubts, feeling lost or lonely, questioning your relationship with God, not understanding a passage of scripture, wondering about prayer and similar things, a visit with a pastor might help.
• When there is illness. Don’t hesitate to call your pastor if you are ill or know someone in the church family who is ill. We depend on you to notify us when there is illness in your family.
• When you are in the hospital. Call the church office/pastor to notify us of a hospitalization in your family. We can be there for prayer before surgery, sit with family members during surgery, and have follow-up visits with the person who is ill.
• Problems with chemical abuse. If such a problem exists in your family and you wish to have spiritual guidance, your pastor may be helpful.
• When there is violence in the home. Contact your pastor when you need assistance protecting those being abused and in helping the abuser find new ways of dealing with anger.
• Arrest or victimization. The pastor can provide care for the accused, the family, or you.
• Other areas. Of course you will want to be in touch with your pastor at times other than a crisis. If you are planning a wedding or a baptism or a funeral, or just if you want someone to talk with, remember, your pastors are there.