Allison Colberg, Director of The Micah Center, sent this phone call guideline and script to a member of G-RAP's Executive Team, Rev. Jack Kooreman, and she graciously permitted us to adapt it and share it here. Now that pastors are unable to care for their congregations through in-person visits, that care is going to move to the telephone and to video chat (FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, etc.). Because the whole situation of having to cancel worship services, figure out how move your worship online, how to to provide practical aid to those who need it, negotiate leaving the house, possibly with children underfoot is overwhelming, and adding a whole new way of providing pastoral care on top of that can add to the overwhelm, having a guideline can hopefully dial down the stress. This can also be helpful to share with any of your leaders who will be making pastoral calls to your members. G-RAP is planning to hold a ZOOM meeting soon for us to talk about how we're doing. Watch for an email newsletter once we have a date, or contact us to let us know you're interested. Use this script as a tool to guide your one-to-one phone calls with members in your institution. The purpose of the phone call is to strengthen your relationships with members in your institution -- you will accomplish this by calling members to check-in and understand their needs or concerns.It will be very important to report to your leadership team what you are hearing in your calls. And your core team should reflect together on the needs that are surfacing. How should I go about doing a Relational Meeting over the phone/online? If they don’t already know you, they need to know:
The person also needs to know:
Hi ____, this is ______. (If not the pastor: I am a role at your institution.) I am calling on behalf of (institution name) and (the pastor, rabbi, principal) because personally I wanted to check-in in an effort to talk to everyone in our congregation during this challenging time. We want people to know we are here to support each other and we also want to hear stories to see if there is a pattern of things we might act on within our institution or regionally. So, how are you doing in these troubling times? This will be an opportunity to truly listen to what they say and not worry about moving to the next question. Listen for words and when appropriate say something like, “How does that make you feel?” or “How is this situation affecting you?” It is important to ask open-ended questions so they can truly reflect and ponder with you. Be prepared to share something real about your life during this epidemic to set the tone of the conversation… be vulnerable in a way that is appropriate to your public life. Examples: ● “I was just at the store trying to purchase groceries, and noticed ……” ● “I too have been struggling with ……” Are there (church members/other people) you’re concerned about or some you may have spoken to? Is there anything you or your family need help with? (Be prepared to share any information/ updates/ or support from your congregation, city, self-knowledge etc. You may want to know what you plan to do about funerals, in case you are asked about it. [Here is an article about how faith leaders around the world are dealing with the issue of funerals and mourning.) Examples: ● “We want you to know that we have a lot of teams that are primed to help. If you need someone to pick up a prescription for you or just call and chat. Would any of these things be of interest to you in the upcoming days and week?” ● “Did you know the school district is offering breakfast and lunch meals Monday-Friday at different school sites for all students? I can send you the information I have.” ● “With the current mandated shelter in place (quarantine), people may still go to the grocery stores, banks, pick up medicine, basically any essential task is permitted.” Last thing, I’d like to confirm your physical address, email, or phone numbers, how do you best receive information (text, online, phone)? Make sure you have/get their accurate contact information and how to best reach out to them. So good to talk with you. If it's alright I will call you again. Is that okay? (If they ask you why you want to call again… you may say something like, “I’d like to call again to check-in and see how you’re doing/ if there’s any new concerns/ etc.”) In the meantime, if you have any questions or hear any emerging concerns or stories from other people please contact me. Thank you, take care, bye. Practical Resources to Share The abilities of non-profits and government organizations in Grand Rapids to provide help are constantly changing, so here are some good resources to stay up-to-date on as you make these phone calls:
If you know of other resources, please share them! Contact us and we will add your resource to the list. All Belong Center for Inclusive Education Guidelines for phone calls to persons who are isolated
Phone Call Guide Accommodation ideas:
11 Comments
4/9/2020 08:10:55 am
Nowadays, we need people to boost our confidence. We need to people to tell us that we can do it. if you are not with your family and you are terribly scared and clueless on what you will do, I guess, it would be a good choice to call a hotline that will help you with your needs. There will always be other people who will help you get thorough. In times like this we need to be there for each other because if we will not, then it would be a very dangerous thing for all of us!
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Dennis Gannon
5/12/2020 12:12:22 am
The churches and pastors are cowards and blind. 1. This is not a pandemic, it is a plandemic, Fauci bragged in would happen 2 years ago. Gates had training for this just last year. 2. According to Koch's Postulates, no one has proven the existence of a harmful virus. So the lockdown is bogus. However, the so called elites agree with Thomas Malthus in regards to depopulation. And, they may get permission to do that (from God), due to the current rampant Godlessness on Earth. The lockdowns gave the so called elites a taste of what a depopulated Earth may be like. No lines, no traffic jams, no overcrowded airports, etc. So, they may just do it, let some mass deaths occur. Weather it is by 5g or some poisons is unknown, but Earth is overdue for some judgments, considering how rampant the Godlessness is. Meanwhile, learn from history, after WW1 when millions really died, many from the falsely named "Spanish Flu", many churches closed and REGRETTED it! They felt like weak cowards afterward and their lack of faith made them ashamed. Today, most churches are fake. So, I don't expect a repeat of that shame.
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Mary
1/18/2023 10:30:31 am
This is not the place for political ranting or opinions. If you don't have anything nice to say, then probably just stay silent. Have a blessed day!
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john
4/25/2023 03:57:44 pm
wow! the uneducated at work in this one here
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3/2/2022 02:42:17 am
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12/13/2022 02:50:40 am
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Monica John
1/28/2024 08:38:24 am
Thank you for the information and I really love the script to modify for the homebound.
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