Pastoral Presence

"...I have come to believe strongly that a 'pastoral presence' is more important than any plan or project.  This conviction has grown out of the observation that, more than anything else, people want you to share their lives....The greatest news of all is that God is with his people, that he is truly present.  What greater ministry, then, can be practiced than a ministry that reflects this divine presence?  And why worry?  If God is with his own, his own will show me the way." - Henri Nouwen (Sunday, February 21, 1982 journal entry from ¡Gracias! A Latin American Journal)