Serving Vocations at HHO

There are many ways that volunteers can serve in Church communities.

Offering their gifts of Tithes*, talents and time to a community, every Christian can find deeper discipleship by getting involved in ministry work. 

The digital Church that we have formed at HHO is no different, in that service is at the heart of who we are.

However we do seem to be quite unique, in how we prioritise lay-leadership and creative ways of serving online.

Amidst the plathora of religious content that is produced and shared online for people to consume at their leasure, we are a living community, made up of people from around the world, who are creating a true experience of Christian communion using the vehicle of technology together. 

It is the greatest joy of my role as Chaplain to facilitate ministry training for our volunteers and encourage all members of community to have a go at serving in roles that enable them to take part in the life of the Church.

I love the one-on-one phone or Zoom Vocations Conversations that I get to have with HHO members, whenever they reach out for a chat about how they are called to serve. Often when first starting to discern their serving roles or when they might like to try something new.

Training and run throughs are also great fun, when I get together online with those who are about to try a new role for the first time. These are often playful sessions of preparation, where they can practice and I can share tips and tricks in the hope of bolstering confidence and enthusiasm. 

Handy hint : There is a link on the bottom of all my emails inviting members to use a Calendar booking system to make a time to talk - please feel welcome to make use of this!

We have also created a range of 'How to' or guide documents together, which detail some of our roles and offer some things to think about when approaching ministry. These are mostly listed on our Weekly Worship page under downloads. There are prayers included for our servers too, like this Prayer for Proofreaders: 

God of all creation, please create in me a clear perception, so that I may proofread with clarity and perceive where change is needed. Thank you for calling me to exercise my gifts by being part of the proofreading team at HHO. Please bless me and the others I serve alongside as we offer this ministry behind the scenes, so that we can witness you at work in our midst. Holy Spirit, we invite you to come and breathe on us, O breath of God. Amen.

We are made all the richer for sharing the gifts which are generously given to each of us when we are baptised and that Christ calls us to exercise in the midst of the people of God. 

It is good to celebrate this routinely in our calendar and the New Year is often a great opportunity to reflect on how God is calling each of us to give of ourselves in ministry. We also remember Vocations Season each year in May when we have intentional focus on listening for Jesus voice inviting us to serve, so look forward to that in 2025. 

At HHO we encourage all our members to give of themselves and their gifts generously. 

We seek to faciliate that by:

• Providing methods of making donations - You can visit the Give page to see more details there;
• Raising up our lay-leaders and servers who help to form our worship life together - You can see our roles listed on the Ministries page;
• Fundraising for charity and encouraging support for outreach projects together; E.G. Blog; Christmastide Subscriptions
• Encouraging our Ministry-Task Group members who attend workshops for our Contemplative prayer services; Companion Animal Ministry; Open Spaces and Prayer Group where we have composed prayers together, like our newly released A Prayer of Lament from our heart;
• Creating and Curating resources together like in our Seasonal Study Programs;
• Making space for our Online Retreats and Spiritual Direction which happen occasionally throughout the year;
• Honouring those called to behind the scenes ministry like all who create pages and resources for our Holy Hermit Remembrance ministry or our Prayer Group members who regulary make use of our HHO app prayer wall to uphold those in need;
• Experimenting with new ministries in daring ways - E.G. the 3D Dialogue group, the Reader Project and Digital Faith Artists.

We are always open to trying new ways of serving if there isn't a good fit already for new members too. 

So sing out if you are seeking a way to give your time, talents or tithes online!

*Tithes is another way of talking about financial offerings that Christians make to God through the Church. Traditionally a set tithe was expected in the Temple, and later the Church, which pooled resources together for the community to make use of in maintaining common worship, and in offering assistance to those in need. 

The tithe that each member of a community made was sometimes prescriptive. 10% of a persons means was one tradition. Another for the early Church was the complete sharing of all earnings with the community and then re-distribution based on the needs of that group and their ministries. 

For a long while the Anglican Church has not adopted a prescriptive approach to titheing, rather relying on each member of community to discern what they are able to give and to prayerfully consider how Christ is inviting them to make use of their resources for the building up of God's Kingdom in the place they are involved. 

At HHO we especially appreciate any financial offerings that go toward our sustainability, gifts of talent our volunteers share, as well as the time that all our members offer in sharing the gift of their presence at gatherings or spiritually in prayer. 

May all find ways to serve and belong in our midst and may God bless us with discernment and equip us all for our ministries together

And may you Dear Reader, feel the refreshing breath of the Holy Spirit rush through you and into the world via your ministry and service!