Middleton Outreach plays Cupid

It’s the “day after.” After Valentine’s Day, of course.

So this is neither an advice column for the lovelorn, nor tips for where to take your sweetie on the Big Day. Instead, I ask you to reflect with me about your gifts and passion for service, and finding a “good match”—one that channels all that passion.

“Middleton Outreach Ministry connects neighbors for good.” This mission statement, hammered out in Board and staff retreats last Fall, defines who MOM is and why we exist. MOM is all about connecting neighbors “for good,” which suggests several meanings or applications: (1) abundance or bountiful, as in a good harvest; (2) suitable, as in good to wear, or good to eat; (3) sufficient, as in good care or good hands; (4) kind or benevolent, as in good intentions; (5) overall welfare, as in good of the community.

On the other hand, Cupid, as the ancient Roman god of love in all its varieties, is also connecting neighbors “for good.” Here the meaning of good connotes certain to last, as in good for years to come, or permanent, as in marriage, which is “for better, for worse, and ‘for good’!” The mythical Cupid is usually pictured as a winged, cherub-like creature with bow and arrow in hand. Cupid’s victims were stirred up to romantic love, passion, and good works directed to another, equally wounded or love-stricken soul.

According to ancient myth, I should be crediting Cupid for his benevolent hand in inspiring my pledge of undying love for Sue, to whom I proposed marriage 17 years ago on Valentine’s Day. From a Christian perspective, I rather like to think of it as a marriage made in heaven but lived out here on earth.

But I still like the idea of a Cupid the Matchmaker, and have seen myself and others in that role on occasion, especially here at MOM. Three examples come to mind.

The Referrals Coordinator for MOM’s Stephen Ministry program is my wife. Those who come to her for intake, counsel, and referral are often matched with an appropriate care-giving Stephen Minister. Sue is quite discerning in this, as she prayerfully matches care receivers with caregivers. The Stephen Minster chosen is most often tailor-made (by life experience) and equipped (with 50 hours of training and ongoing peer supervision) for this assignment. Often it is one wounded healer sharing with another, one single parent with another, one widow with another, or one cancer survivor with another. Sue likes to think of herself as a spiritual matchmaker, but Cupid might also fit.

Likewise, Carole Klopp, MOM’s Director of Volunteer Services, plays the role of matchmaker whenever she interviews potential volunteers looking to serve, matching them with appropriate service opportunities inside MOM. For some who volunteer at MOM, this ends up being just another job or chore, especially if the person is court-ordered to do weeks of community restitution. But for most, if we can tap their passion and vocation for service, it becomes the most rewarding experience they can have in our community. They see themselves as Givers not Takers or other kinds of selfish lovers. They are paying it forward, with no interest in payback. As for Carole, this role as matchmaker is her passion, which she fulfills in response to a call or vocation from God.

Another Cupid here at MOM, whose passion and vocation are identical, is Claudia Miska. She’s our Coordinator of “POP,” or matchmaker for the Project for Older People. She matches her elderly clients with appropriate volunteers and donors. A recent excerpt from Claudia’s email to me shall suffice as an ample case in point: “I love checking my messages and hearing the clients report on the success of their ride and how wonderful their volunteer was. “I love you,” “You are an angel,” and “I could not be here [living in their home] without you” are what I hear.

Claudia continues, “I deal with whatever comes over the phone.... Dee from the Voss Haus calls me when she has someone moving in that has nothing. This happened recently with a lady from India. I looked around my house and gave the lady a small kitchen table, a microwave, a set of dishes, and a stuffed chair. I mentioned the lady to [a POP volunteer who] provided a television. I called an ad in the MTT about a moving sale and the lady got a loveseat and table to hold her TV and phone. Of course, I do not move this myself; I have my gentle giant Dave. The client also needed beds, so I explained that she might have to buy a bed. The only other option was to email my volunteers…. By 6:45 the next morning I had a bed, and by 11:00 I had two more.

It’s after Valentine’s Day by the time you read this. But between Sue and Carole and Claudia and Cupid, we could have another kind of match for you and your love interest here at MOM. To find out, call us at 836-7338, or find us on the web, at www.mompop.org.

© 2005 Middleton Outreach Ministry

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