Work as Sacred Ground

Tanya Rasmussen is one of two Teaching Pastors at UCC Norwell, in Norwell MA. She and her church are a part of FAW's Mutual Ministry Project. Doug Wysockey-Johnson recently spoke with her about the workplace visits she does as a part of her ministry at the church.

Doug: You make a point of trying to visit people in their work place. Why?

Tanya: Because of our fundamental belief in this church that the people in this church's primary place of ministry is where they are most of the week -- in their workplace, homes or wherever. It is part of the reason we are called 'Teaching Pastor's'.

Doug: What is the connection between being a Teaching Pastor and the visits?

Tanya: I think that the best teachers don't pour information into their students heads. They show us that we have the resources, both in us and around us to accomplish whatever it is we want to accomplish. The best teachers show us and empower us to put those resources to good use. The title of Teaching Pastor reminds me and our congregation that my role in this body of gathered believers is to help them recognize and put to use the God given resources and experiences that they all have in order to accomplish the works of ministry that each of us are called to.

Part of it is just offering them another pair of eyes. Sometimes I try to reframe what they're doing and to help them see that what they are doing is ministry, or at least could be. So many people have a hard time believing that what they do really matters to God and the world! By having a pastor, or someone from the church come, (our hope is eventually to have more and more lay people doing the visits), we hope to help people live their faith in all of their life.

Doug: What do you get out of the visits?

Tanya: I often find it to be very moving. Last week I went to visit a woman who works with mentally retarded adults. Some of her clients can be tough, acting out in a variety of ways when they get frustrated. Her ministry of dignity to these people was so impressive. Most people would feel threatened being in the presence of the challenges that these people face. She was wonderful with them, and with her staff. With all these things going on, you would think it'd be hard, but she was just doing it in a natural and grace-filled way. Watching her I felt almost humbled.

Doug: How do people in the congregation respond to you visiting them?

Tanya: On a whole, they're really pleased to have a pastor visit them. Lately I have been wondering about wearing my clerical collar to the visits. My husband recently asked me if I thought that was calling attention to them in a way that made them feel uncomfortable. I hadn't thought about it until he asked me that. I always figured that this was my work uniform and I don't need to hide who I am or what I'm doing. Some people feel perfectly comfortable with that, and for other people it is a little bit odd. So I have not worn my collar to the last couple of work visits. On the whole, most people are proud to show me where they work. Like most of us, they like being able to show the significance of their life, and talk about the things they deal with.

The other thing I notice is that the visits have impact beyond the actual time that we spend together. People tell me that they think about my coming before I arrive, and reflect on the things we talked about after I am gone.

Doug: Do you find that people are honest with you about the struggles they face at work?

Tanya: It is never hard for a person to talk about the things they like and dislike about their work. I think we all do that pretty easily. But getting into ethics and gray areas at work requires more trust and vulnerability. Sometimes I wonder how deeply to probe, because my purpose of going there is not to make them ashamed or feel guilty about the work they are doing. It is not to browbeat them for choices they are making. If they want to talk about ways that they feel they have failed at work, that is fine. But basically I am trying to invite them into a deeper understanding of their workplace as their place of ministry.

Maybe more than anything I say, the most important thing is the power of presence and being interested in what they do and what it means to be faithful. This is what makes these visits to the workplace sacred ground.

Tanya Rasmussen has served churches in Illinois and Massachusetts. She lives in Cohasset MA. With her husband Joel, and three children Kit, Finny and Eli.

The Mutual Ministry Project is a research effort of FAW to discover how the church might do a better job supporting people in their daily life ministries. It is called the Mutual Ministry Project out of the conviction that both pastors and laypeople are called to ministry, and that they need each other for support in the living out of our daily calls. The MMP is being led by Doug Wysockey-Johnson and Dick Broholm.