Church installs pastoral care team

After five years without a rector, Ascension Episcopal Church in Amherst has come up with a novel plan –– the church has installed a ministry team of three clergy for the congregation’s pastoral care.

The Rev. Kathy Chase, who was ordained in 2006 and has provided pastoral care for the congregation, now will be joined by two veteran clergy members who were installed Sunday –– the Rev. Glenn Busch and the Rev. Christine Payden-Travers.

Chase now has the title of parish coordinator, which recognizes the tasks she has been performing as a vocational deacon. The Episcopal Church has three orders of clergy: deacon, priest and bishop.

The innovation is a new solution for this church that has not been attempted previously in the Roanoke-based Diocese of Southwest Virginia, as far as she knows, Chase said.

“Not to my knowledge, certainly not at Ascension,” she said.

The model has worked in other states, she said, and it’s not surprising that the model will be used in Amherst County.

“This is truly an opportunity for almost any denomination,” Chase said. “As our churches age, we’re going to have to pull together and use teams to deliver ministry, and by delivering ministry, you’re delivering the Gospel.”

“It really is wonderful,” said the bishop of the diocese, the Rt. Rev. F. Neff Powell. “It’s creative, it’s positive and it’s in response to the need of the congregation,” as well as the public at large, he said.

“I think the community is a better place because of the many ministries at Ascension.”

As a vocational deacon the mission “is to deliver pastoral care to the people in the community in that, I have one foot in the world and one foot in the church,” Chase said. “We look for needs in the world, bring them into the church and encourage and find people with gifts and abilities with interests in those topics,” she said.

“The church has a long history of doing that, the building itself is sort of a meeting place for a variety of people, it’s a ministry.”s

The church is used for several community groups and activities, including for senior citizens; Bible study; a men’s breakfast; a free community dinner; Alcoholics Anonymous; Al-Anon; Narcotics Anonymous; and the church also runs the Episcopal Thrift Shop on South Main and Second streets in Amherst.

“In a small town, clergy can get to know one another,” she said. “We call each other when we have a need and we can meet only part of it, it’s really wonderful when we can do that.

Busch and Paden-Travers have been priests for decades.

Busch is an accomplished author and preacher. Payden-Travers is a board-certified chaplain and now performs that duty for Central Health, with her primary responsibility being in hospice care, Chase said.