I am a pastor of an immigrant church. Our current church has been in existence for 16 years and we have a very close relationship. Since about four months ago, our church has been working with the Kiwi Church's outreach ministry to people with disabilities. Seeing people who have difficulty walking, talking, and moving makes me grateful to be able to speak, see, and hear normally with all four limbs.

During my three hours of service every Thursday, something stands out in my mind. There are so many people in the small church that I wonder if all of Auckland's disabled people are here. People with disabilities who might not normally be seen.

To put it in perspective, there are a lot of patients in Auckland that I don't see very often. I see them when my friends are hospitalized, when I'm sick and in the hospital, and when they're in pain. Especially during my wife's battle with cancer many years ago, I probably saw more cancer patients than I have ever seen in my life, some of them cured, some of them dying. It's something that you don't know or care about in your day-to-day life, but when it becomes relevant to you, you seem to be able to see the pain and darkness of others differently.

In the past 30 years of ministry, 14 were spent in theological studies and associate ministry, where he was passionately and diligently trained. For the last 16 years, I have been a solo pastor, and I have connected with many people in a small community. I saw as many different personalities as there were people. As a person who loves to socialize, I think it is a ministry position that I have no regrets about.

I would say that the past 16 years of pastoral ministry have been especially unique because I have been in close relationship with the members of the church. Being close means getting to know each other deeply. As I got to know them, I realized that we have quite a few sick people in our church community, spiritually, mentally, and physically. You have to be in the community to know.

As we get to know each other better, it is beneficial to be able to practice the biblical commandment to love one another daily. I don't think we can get to know each other as deeply as we do in our regular Sunday services. We need to gather together during the week, eat at the same table, and share our deepest stories one by one. In that sharing, we can see each other's weakness, lack, and real thirst. My hope for the church today is that each person in the community will be able to open up about their vulnerabilities and pain, and that as they share, they will be united by the love that envelops, covers, and embraces them.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)