By Marta Castillo, Pastor at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life
“My mom just said that she can’t handle it! She is not willing to take care of the kids. She is afraid that it is going to be too much for her. What am I going to do? I have to go to rehab or I am going to lose my children. This is my last chance.”
God’s Spirit nudged me so hard I almost fell out of the chair I was sitting in. The words that came out of my mouth surprised me. “We will do it. We will form a team from people at the church and we will support your mother and take care of the children so you can go to get the care that you need. Don’t worry. That is what church is supposed to do. We will work it out.”
And amazingly, yes, we did. I sat down with my sister in Christ, the social worker, the boyfriend, and the grandmother and we worked out a schedule of care that included having me sleeping on the living room floor several nights a week so the children could stay in their own home overnight. The boyfriend covered the nights that he wasn’t working, and the grandmother covered afternoons and early evenings. We signed the children up for half day summer camp at the program where I worked. Church members planned special trips to the park, to their houses, and the zoo for the weekends and picked the children and their grandmother up for church on Sundays. There were offers to help buy groceries, prepare meals, and provide transportation. The whole team supported the core figure, the grandmother, as best as we could for three weeks.
Last Sunday, my sister in Christ told me that in June she will celebrate her one year anniversary of being drug-free. She faithfully attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings, has a job and a car, and has no fear that her children will be taken away. She is outspoken about the wonderful works God has done in her life and thankful to the team who made caring for herself possible. Challenges remain, but she knows that she is not alone, her mother is not alone, her family is not alone. She has company on the hard, long journey.
There are times when acts of hospitality make no logical sense in our culture and even in our church thinking. Being hospitable is inconvenient and stretches us beyond our comfort zones. We are not sure of the “how” but we are sure of the “why”. We must be hospitable to represent the hospitality of our Lord who welcomes all in the name of Jesus.
pportunity to reflect on the theme “Sistering for Life.” The term “sistering” refers to a practice in carpentry in which structural repairs are made by attaching new wood beams to weak (sagging, cracked or twisted) joists to make the original stronger. All of us are strong at times and can help those who are weak; all of us find it difficult to make it on our own at times and need others to support us. Sistering is a gift that we embody as God’s women who are following Jesus throughout our lives.
A children’s story, “Four Feet, Two Sandals”, was read to illustrate how something as simple as sharing a pair of sandals at a refugee camp can build sisterhood. Leticia Cortes, pastor at Centro de Alabanza, led us in activities that required teamwork and seeing how we felt in each other’s shoes. A sandal was given to each participant to decorate and to write a message on; these were then exchanged with another woman, with whom a prayer and blessing were shared.
I felt great joy in spending time with the women who gathered on March 12th. Not knowing Spanish, I had the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be in the minority for once, but also to listen to a beautifully expressive language. Hearing the stories of women often moved me to tears and to laughter, and I marveled at the deep, and often exuberant faith that has emerged in spite of, or perhaps because of, difficult circumstances in their lives. Each year, this event challenges my faith journey and stretches my world-view. The Holy Spirit is alive and well and very evident as we meet. It is a privilege to take part in creating a holy space for this gathering to happen and to take part in it.
