he experience for me of traveling in the ministry as a spiritual companion is quite different from other kinds of ministry. From the moment of taking on the call for a specific visit, I focus briefly on the issue at hand or purpose of the visit. Very soon, my attention must shift to a deep alignment of my spirit with that of the individual with whom I am intended to travel. Distance becomes irrelevant as I reach out to hold that individual and God’s intention for their ministry deeply in the Light. Although I may turn specifically to think of and pray on this person and their journey from time to time, it becomes an integral part of my being, each day. It is one of those experiences of “constant prayer.” I seek only to hold the person and God’s intention together in the Light, each day from the time we begin to consider the visit until our visit has ended. During the visit itself, again my intention is to attune as closely as I can to the minister and their needs. I listen for those shifts in pace and tone that might indicate they are off message or off timing. Do they need water? Is it time for a break? Is it snack time? Are they attuned with Spirit? My ministry in these situations is to stay deeply focused and centered as an anchor for the task, a lightening rod for the Spirit. Both during and after the visit, it is my role as spiritual companion to help debrief, to look at where the minister might hone in more closely, to address those questions that come up. What could they have done differently? Why did they say that? What needs to happen next? How is this working?

My understanding of what it means to accompany another has been enriched by my own experience of being accompanied in a ministerial journey. Without question, the experience of being held in the Light by a companion or group of companions while being open to Spirit’s leadings in the discharge of a ministry is like no other experience for me. There is the physical sensation of being attended to, of being spiritually fed which is akin to those deepest moments in a covered meeting when I feel filled and surrounded by God’s grace and love. I have no question that ministry is not only facilitated, but also enriched with this support; without it, there is too much to do—to stay “on mission” to stay centered, to be open to the best way to present a message, to be flexible and open to the needs of those being ministered to and receptive to the leadings of the Spirit all simultaneously. With support from a spiritual companion, and where there is a good match between minister and companion, the minister can be open and the ministry can flow as it is meant to be.

After the visit, it is helpful to have time to look back at the experience both with the minister and for the companion alone. It requires effort to be closely tuned to another in the work of the Spirit. This effort is not only that involved in remaining faithful, it is also an outgrowth of the need to “stay out of the way” and be an open conduit of the will of the Spirit. I need a time of spiritual rest after this, to disengage from the other and to reconnect more directly with my own center.

I have been graced to receive some follow-up, even many months later, that indicates the way in which these visits serve as seeds deeply planted which continue to grow long after the visit is over. It is important to acknowledge that it is not only the connection to the meeting or other group that has been served which is important and which continues to flourish. It is also the connection between the minister and the companion that becomes a strong thread in the web which connects us all to one another as we move to do the bidding of the Spirit.

FGConnections Fall 2002 Home