What's in my visitation bag?

Home and hospital visits are an important part of my ministry of providing pastoral care - both for the person who is sick or homebound and for their family members.

Here's a peek inside the bag I bring with me on all my visits!


  • Pastoral Care book - This small book has a great collection of prayers and Scripture readings, as well as liturgies for home communion, funerals, baptism, marriage, healing, and the commendation of the dying. 
  • Hymnal - I love to sing hymns as part of my visits, and this tiny version of Evangelical Lutheran Worship is well-used (as you can see!). Familiar hymns seem particularly comforting to those who have dementia (they often will hum or sing along, even if we can't have a regular conversation!) and those who are dying. 
  • Communion Kit - Bringing communion to those who are homebound is a wonderful way to connect them to the whole Body of Christ even when they cannot come to worship. I use a shortened version of the communion liturgy - a prayer, a reading from the Bible, the words of institution ("On the night in which he was betrayed..."), and the Lord's Prayer. If family members or nurses or nursing home roommates wish to receive, they're welcome to join us! If the person I'm visiting is able, I invite them to commune me after they have received the wafer and wine. It's a particular kind of joy to hear "The Body of Christ, given for you" and "The blood of Christ, shed for you" from these beloved saints. 
  • Anointing Oil - Though I don't use it often, anointing with oil along with the laying on of hands and prayers for healing is a powerful experience. The oil is marked in the shape of a cross on the person's forehead, tracing the cross made there at baptism as a reminder of God's claim on them.
  • Notebook and pen - I have to write things down or else I'll forget! Room numbers, family information, medical updates, favorite hymns, requests for the prayer list in the bulletin, etc. 
  • Business cards - These come in handy for family members to be in touch with me, or to leave a note on the back if someone is out of their room when I visit.
  • Bag - Small but mighty! Holds everything listed above plus my keys and phone so my hands are free (since women's pants/skirts/dresses often don't have functioning pockets...)
Have you ever received a pastoral visit when you were sick or hospitalized or present with a loved one nearing death? What was it like? What words or actions were particularly comforting for you?

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