Pastoral Care - Links

Tom Stoppard's play Jumpers begins with the memorable line 'Who or what is God?' and it seems appropriate to begin this piece by asking 'Who or what is a Link?'. If you are on the St Michael's electoral roll then you should have a Link, and you may well be one too.

It is not easy to get to know everyone in a community as wide and diverse as St Michael's, but it is important to feel a sense of belonging and the assurance that each of us matters to our particular church family. The aim is to ensure that everyone is 'linked' to St Michael's through the person designated to be his/her 'Link'. The pastoral team has attempted to keep Links under review and updated ever since the system got under way under Jennifer Whittaker's guidance some years ago. Your Link will probably be someone you already know, or are likely to see, perhaps because you live near that person. He or she may be someone you generally see at the particular service you attend.

There are approximately 43 people currently acting as Links but the number could be different next month, according to changing situations. Each Link has a small group of people and will generally keep a watching brief on them, checking now and then that all is well, or perhaps pick up on a difficulty which maybe St Michael's can help to rectify. There is no 'Big Brother' monitoring, just a sensitive sharing in the pastoral care of one and another, which is the responsibility of all.

If you are not sure who is your Link, or would like to become one, do please speak to anyone on the pastoral care team, or a member of the PCC. We should also welcome any suggestions as to how to improve the system.

To go back to the original question, Webster's Dictionary tells us that a link is something that binds us together, which is indeed what our Link system is all about.

Our Pastoral Care Team:

This page was last modified Saturday, 09 August 2008 18:46