Unfortunately, suffering is a part of living. None of us have escaped this fact. Even so, it's difficult to know how to console someone going through a broken place. In The Gift of Presence, Bishop Joe Pennel offers practical help to give confidence and skill to clergy and laity serving the broken hearted. With a central message on the importance of simply being there, Pennel combines practical 'how-to's' with prayers, readings, and services. This small, casebound book outlines real ways to help through planning visits, writing notes, finding scriptures and prayers to read, avoiding cliches, and thinking through the theology of God, humans, and suffering. The Gift of Presence includes pertinent topics such as: the ministry of presence, quietness, sincerity, and the art of helping. |
