In His service
By Ruth Schenk | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Rick Nally held an umbrella as he walked around puddles in parking lots at the nursing homes he visited on Sunday, May 15.
Earlier that morning, he had been to a worship service at the Blankenbaker Campus, served in the Junior High Ministry, picked up his visitation list and disposable communion set, then headed out to see people.
For the last 10 years, he has volunteered to take communion to people who are homebound, in nursing homes or in hospitals. He serves on this particular week, even though he
has just buried his father.
“Serving is the best medicine for a hurting soul,” Nally said.
Each week there are between 80 and 90 names on a list that Southeast Deacon Don Harris divides among eight volunteers. A team from the Indiana Campus visits those who
are homebound in their area, and a team is ready to launch at the Oldham Campus.
These volunteers have slogged through blizzards with 10 inches of snow, deluges of rain, sleet and oven-like temperatures.
“We’re better than the post office,” Nally laughed.
His first stop is the Episcopal Church Home on Westport Road to visit Dorothy Jean Herrick.
Nally said that taking communion to shut-ins is a blessing he doesn’t want to miss.
“Anybody you ask on this team will tell you that we are more blessed than what we give,” he said. “These people are so grateful, so thankful for what we do. I always go back to the
verse in Matt. 25:36, ‘I was sick, and you looked after me.’”
He often sees familiar faces on the rotation—people he has met at church or during earlier visits.
At the Episcopal Church Home, the sound of singing songbirds in elaborate glass houses fills wide hallways. The birds are not too far from small carriers where pet cats curl up
for naps.
Nally finds Jean in the dining room with her husband, Ray, who is feeding her Sunday dinner a spoonful at a time.
Ray tells Nally that they came to Southeast in 1962, before even Bob Russell arrived as the new preacher, and services were held in the basement of a house.
“I worked in that first basement at the red brick house they had,” Ray said.
Nally and Ray forge an instant bond by talking about church history. Ray tells stories of playing softball with Russell and longtime member Bob Dabney. While they talk, Ray holds
one of Jean’s hands while Nally holds the other. Jean seems unaware of the conversation, but it’s clear that Ray enjoys the company.
After talking a while, Nally takes out a little communion box containing plastic communion cups, a little jar of juice and crackers.
He talks a moment about the significance of communion, prays with the Herricks, then dispenses the bread and juice.
Nally’s second stop is Jefferson Place, where Southeast member Maury Poulter is staying because of an infection after a knee replacement. Years ago, Poulter volunteered to
take communion to those who couldn’t get to church. Now someone comes to him.
Nally gives him the wafer and the juice, prays with him and promises to keep in touch through the next surgery.
Through the afternoon, Nally stops to see Wilma Thurman, a diehard University of Louisville fan who has been at Jefferson place since a stroke several years ago. Nally, a
University of Kentucky fan, teases her about her team.
Family photos on the walls in Thurman’s room highlight happier days.
Helen Koch is in the bed next to her. She has never been to Southeast, but appreciates Nally’s visit.
“I’ll be 100 on July 12,” she said. “I’m here for the duration. I’m ready to go.”
Nally stops to pray with her, and she smiles when he calls her “young lady.”
“As you see these people, you can just imagine how much this ministry means to them,” Nally said.
Southeast members began taking communion to the homebound many years ago, said Bob Carpenter, a longtime elder.
“It’s a great outreach,” he said. “Many of those we see are lonely and appreciate so much if somebody visits and prays with them.”
Kent Evans, the deacon in charge of this area of the Care Ministry, said men have a “blast doing this, but the volunteer pool has been shrinking as need has increased.”
Evans takes his sons with him on communion visits.
“It’s a real blessing for them to be part of this,” he said. “They’ve loved it. It’s a great chance for us to serve together.”
Deacon Don Harris said people never forget those who visit.
“As a church, we’re a body of believers,” he said. “We’re called to serve those who are in hospitals, rehabilitation units or homebound for some reason. We cannot forget them.
They are part of the household of faith.
“I always come away blessed,” Harris added. “These people are thankful and sweet. They tell me that they’re praying for my family.”
If you would like to volunteer to be part of this team, call Teresa Kemp, (502) 253-8447. There is a screening process.