Charism of Service

Description: Seeing obstacles that keep good things from happening and doing whatever it takes myself to remove them.

Testimony for the Charism of Service

I didn’t really see myself as someone with this charism but when I scored highly for it on the inventory I decided to explore further. I found that I was propelled to find solutions and do whatever was necessary to ensure the end result was achieved. This was further supported by the numerous feedback I have received – “always helping and always solution orientated”.

“With the roadblocks overcome, the training was successfully delivered enabling the attendees to deepen in faith as they learned about Jesus and His Church.”

One example I can give is during the pandemic we had to stop a course we had started in Church and it was crucial the first Holy Communion parents undergo this training prior to the children having their first Holy Communion.  I then approached my Parish Priest to discuss whether we could ask the facilitators if they would mind running the course online through Zoom, as we had successfully delivered many other activities in that format.  Initially concerns were raised around the use of technology, and could we maintain the same atmosphere as a face to face environment.  After sensing some hesitance to do this, I offered to be the host and be the technical support, allowing the facilitators to concentrate on delivering the training. With the roadblocks overcome, the training was successfully delivered enabling the attendees to deepen in faith as they learned about Jesus and His Church. The post course feedback was great!

“I feel as if the Holy Spirit is pushing me to test boundaries, be innovative and be that beacon of light that gets things done.”

The above example is one of many ways I have had to step in myself and be hands on to remove any obstacles that may prevent good things from happening. I feel as if the Holy Spirit is pushing me to test boundaries, be innovative and be that beacon of light that gets things done.  I’m forever discovering need of my assistance that will bridge certain gaps and allow something wonderful to happen.

Another example is that we’re trying to to grow as a parish and draw people closer to Jesus and His Church. I’m passionate and feel compelled to do all that is necessary to bring about this growth and am first to volunteer for new ideas, fix things that are broken or form groups or implement something if there’s a need and its not available. I noticed that our Church lacked any kind of welcome information when somebody was new to the parish. I took it upon myself to create a welcome pamphlet, that contained a welcome message, Mass times, key contacts and where to find more information. This was printed and distributed to family and friends who the welcome team identified as new.

I’m blessed to use my gift to do His work so that bigger things can flourish.