I think it is important that we have experiences at our presbytery meetings that remind us of the spiritual dimensions of what we are about. For the most part, a pastor is accompanied by an elder to the presbytery meeting. I would suggest that the following experience might raise our awareness of our mutual ministry.
Ask the elders and pastors to reach out and lay their hands on each others shoulders. It is our Reformed understanding that both of us, elder and pastor, have been called to serve God’s church. So ask them to take a few moments to share at least one way that each can be of support to the other as they jointly respond to God’s call with respect to their work in the church. Those who are not accompanied by an elder can reach out to each other.
After some time for this sharing to take place, then invite them to continue laying their hands on each other and share in a prayer that is lined out by the one leading this experience. The prayer should be brief and the sentences simple so that they can be repeated easily. It should include praying for each other and asking God’s blessing on the work of ministry that we are jointly engaged in. It also should include words of thanks for the congregation we serve and the gifts that God has provided that congregation.
An alternative for the shared prayer would be for the leader to line out a pluralized version of the 23rd psalm. “The Lord is (our) shepherd, (we) shall not want . . .” An additional benefit of doing it this way is that it connects our current ministry with that of Scripture. Either way, we are invited to experience the presence of God in our call to leadership of the congregation.
