Ministry Mentors®

Epiphany 2009

Regional Clusters

Illinois

Dr. Arthur A. R. Nelson, Leader
   Rev. Richard Bergstrom

Rev. Jo Ann Deasy

Rev. Marc Eix

Rev. Herbert Hedstrom

Dr. Everett Jackson

Rev. José La Luz

Rev. Virgil A. Robinson, Jr., Leader

Dr. Gessel Berry, Jr.
Rev. Sarah Sarchet Butter

Rev. Sheri Delvin

Rev. Peter J. Hawkinson

Dr. Kirk Reed

Dr. James E. Roghair
 

 Thomas Ventura, Leader

Dr. Donald Dempsey
Dr. Jeffrey Dire

Rev. Howard Roberts

Rev. Kristina Weber
Rev. Kory Wilcoxson

Dr. D. Darrell Griffin, Leader 
 

Colorado

Dr. Ralph D. Anderson, Leader

Dr. John Bengston

Rev. Philip N. Erlander

Rev. Jerry Jordan            

Rev. Hank Maertens

Rev. Linda Patzke

Rev. Kenneth C. Stenman

Dr. Rodney Schofield, Consultant

Florida

Dr. Frank S. Lee, Leader

Rev. Michael Basden

Dr. Ronald M. Patterson 

Dr. Ted Sauter
Rev. Steve Wigdahl

North Carolina

Rev. Linda Foster Momsen, Leader

Rev. Joseph Harvard
Rev. John Singletary       

Rev. Ruth Harper Stevens

Dr. Gates Vrooman

Wisconsin

Dr. Richard H. Jones, Leader

Rev. Bruce Bartel
Rev. Charles Bauer-King
Rev. Nancy Bauer-King

Rev. David Busker

Rev. Frank Gaylord

Rev. Robert Kenas        

Rev. Lynn Kollath
Rev. Skip Meracle
Rev. David Werner

LENTIFICATION 2009

We all receive Christmas cards, but have you ever gotten a Lenten letter?

A parishioner shared her way of energizing her observance of Lent. Each day she carves out some time to compose a handwritten, custom-made letter to someone she cares about. It’s a minimum of one full page, and sometimes more. That means 40 epistles in as many days, a record that might rival St. Paul. When Easter arrives she will breathe a sigh of relief,  but she also suspects to experience more satisfaction than comes from a more conventional Lent for she will have reached out to some of God’s beloved people.

How does she decide whom to write? She started with her Christmas card list, especially people she’s lost touch with. But gradually the selection process itself became a rich spiritual exercise. While driving, she’d think of different possibilities. Obvious choices were people recovering from illness, or wrestling with  formidable problems. She found herself praying for them as she began to compose the letter in her mind.

There were others as well. For example, a couple of people with whom she had argued vigorously during the course of the long presidential campaign. She had wanted to disagree without being disagreeable, but hadn’t always succeeded. There were people whose habitual graciousness touched her, such as the checker at the supermarket, the woman at the dry cleaners, the crossing guard at the local school who was so kind to her grandchildren. Once in a while she’d write to someone famous, who wouldn’t know her from a hole in the ground, but perhaps could use a word of appreciation on a tough day.

Initially, she wondered if she’d have enough people to fill up the 40 days of Lent. She discovered that there were more possibilities than she had ever imagined. In fact she’s already started to compose a list of candidates for next year’s letters. Also she had wondered how folks would react to getting a letter out of the blue, but she’s received enough responses to realize that it’s almost always appreciated. Perhaps that’s because she tried to avoid platitudes and focus on substance. She tried to emphasize the positive and mention personal  qualities or experiences which she really appreciated.

Friends have expressed interest in following her example next year when Lent rolls around. One even suggested that the first letter might be one we send to ourselves. You might want to test that out now as Lent draws to a close! 

Tom

Tom Ventura
Leader, Chicago Suburbs
Retired Roman Catholic Priest

Mentoring Resources

Work is continuing on the new Guide to Mentoring which we hope to have available for each of our Leaders and Mentors by the beginning of summer.  The Guide will have expanded content and a new format. 

The Guide is meant to be an adjunct to our Reference Library which you can access through our website.  This password-protected portion of the website contains hundreds of documents relating to mentoring, coaching, and leadership to assist you in your work with other pastors.   The site is readily accessible to our mentoring team from the lower right-hand corner of the home page of our website at:

                                         www.ministrymentors.org 

©Ministry Mentors, March 2009