5 Tips for Serving Others Despite Limitations

Once upon a time, we had calendars that included plenty of service opportunities for all of us, including our kids of varying ages. From serving at Mass to a wide-variety of parish events, school activities, group service projects, and more, there was never a loss of small needs for us to fill.

Enter COVID-related closures and restrictions and gone are, well, virtually ALL of those opportunities from Christmas caroling at homes for the aged to serving fish dinners. Nearly every opportunity has been wiped out.

And yet, there is more need than ever from people who are financially burdened, socially isolated, physically ill, and spiritually and psychologically stressed.

The need exists on this side of the service, too, by those of us feeling as though we’ve spent entirely too many months focused on ourselves looking inward (which is good, to a degree) instead of outward.

This post is as much for my benefit as for anyone else’s. I’d love to hear how you’ve been able to maintain service opportunities or create new ones to fill an existing need.

Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash

Here’s my short list of where to start, even when opportunities are severely limited.

Pray. I can see the eye-rolling from here either because prayer is a given or we secretly think (despite what we might say) that it doesn’t make a real difference. If we believe it does, let’s act like it does. Prayer is always and everywhere an appropriate response whether it’s able to be accompanied by another action or not.Go it alone. Brainstorm projects or tasks you can accomplish at home. Can you create and send cards or letters, assemble kits or packs, record a video, etc.?Get outdoors. Can you accomplish something outside? Roadside cleanup, park maintenance, or property cleanup?Give it away. Donate unused or outgrown clothes, household items, nonperishable foods, cash, blood, clothes, gift cards, etc. Challenge: Give the good stuff, not just the cast-offs or bargain-priced items. Pro-tip: If the local collection bin is full, do not pile your items on the ground. Wait until the bin is emptied or go the extra distance to take it to a proper drop-off point.Ask God to bring the need to you. Seriously. Ask God to present you with needs that need to be filled and watch what happens. He literally delivered a confused, elderly woman to my front door. Granted, it took me a bit to figure out what was needed, but there was my opportunity, right on my front porch.

Need some ideas? The Corporal Works of Mercy and Spiritual Works of Mercy are good places to start. I recommend these practical suggestions made by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for practicing the works of mercy precisely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What creative ways have you found for reaching out and helping others over the past year?

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