Call of the Spirit: Elaine

Meet Elaine. She’s a retired nurse who spends her days out in her community, visiting and caring for the sick.

I feel like I am bringing Jesus to them in the way that they want to see Jesus.

Transcript

You meet them in the community, you meet them at their bedside. That is one of my own favorite places to meet them.

Elaine is a retired nurse and the warden of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Owego.

St. Paul’s nursing ministry has been serving Owego for over twenty years, providing health education and spiritual care.

I am not a healer. The Lord is the healer. But he uses me, us, any of us, to help heal. We have a care team. And there are three RNs (registered nurses) here at our church and we have several laypeople. And we do visiting. We go out into the community and do different blood pressure clinics at various places. In fact I just came from one before I came here, at a senior center.

I feel like I am bringing Jesus to them in the way that they want to see Jesus. Not what I’m… how I think or feel. But they’re feeling the presence of Christ with just… talking, or not even talking. Just being with them. Holding a hand. Crying with them. Being with their families.

Especially with somebody who’s near the end of their time here. That is truly a special time and place to be. It is truly a gift to me. Just the gift of their love and the gift of them trusting me. The gift of… their gift of faith!

St. Paul’s stands on a streetcorner in the center of Owego. 

And it seems like we’re like the cornerstone here. We’re on a corner, and it’s like, this side of us are the poorer community, the people that we try to outreach to. And you go that way, and it’s like day and night. You know? Bigger homes… Every other year we have a community picnic here. And we invite people from the neighborhood. And to see that end of the street and that end of the street come together at the picnic is really pretty wonderful, special.

People that come in will usually tell us how they feel welcome, and loved. It’s a family.