While church is also canceled for the time being, plenty of churches are broadcasting sermons and making worship playlists available for not only their congregants, but for anyone who needs it. But pastoring is much more than this. A big part of a pastor’s role is to be available for those who need to talk, and to offer words of hope and comfort as well. 

Weyburn’s Mayor Marcel Roy recently met with the local Ministerial group via ZOOM, and not long after, the City posted a list of all of the local ministers and their phone numbers. Find the list HERE.

Discover Weyburn spoke with Tim MacKinnon, who is the Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Weyburn, as well as the Secretary of the Weyburn Ministerial Association. He said the list is there to ensure the community knows they are there if anyone would like to chat. 

“As all of you know, this is sort of an interesting time period right now, and we know and understand that a lot of people are going through some transition, there’s a lot of anxiety right now and a lot of people who need to talk and they may just not have somebody they can chat with,” said MacKinnon. 

“Hope is an awesome word, and an awesome thing that we need right now, and if we can be available to give a positive word for somebody or just to be there as a listening ear, and be someone that might be able to help them with what they’re going through, we want to be available.” 

“People just want to know that there’s somebody in control, and the truth is, our governments are doing what they can do, our healthcare people are doing what they can do, and they’re all doing an awesome job,” he commented.  

While there are call-in counseling services available, some want to connect with a local minister, in particular, for prayer.  

“We don’t push anybody, but to know there is a God who is in control, and we can have some trust that He will take care of us, it’s nice to know there’s someone who can give some guidance like that if people are looking for that,” he stated.

“At times of crisis it seems that, a lot of times, some of the ultimate questions of life come to the forefront. 'What will happen to me?, ‘What is the purpose and meaning of life?’, ‘Is there someone greater out there?’ These are questions we can give some guidance to and work through some of the thoughts they’re going through, be a listening ear.” 

MacKinnon said you don't have to go to any of the local churches to reach out to the pastor of your choice. He also assures the local pastors are trustworthy and will respect your confidentiality. 

“I know the pastors really well and all have hearts of gold that just love our community,” he shared.  

He said some may feel like they’re doing okay today, but many of us don’t know what to expect in the weeks and months to come.

“As the weeks go on, and we don’t know how long all this is going to stretch out, and things can change, and people may get to a point where they’re just feeling very distraught, you know? And so we just want to make sure people know we’re there, and we care.”  

He said while the church doors everywhere are closed, you can chat over the phone, or using video chats such as Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime.  

“Faith, hope, joy, love, peace,” MacKinnon listed. “Those are all beautiful things. They’re God words, as I like to say. So if we can share something of those wonderful words, just to give people some hope and peace right now, it's what we're here for,” he concluded. 

The list of local pastors and phone numbers can be found HERE.