Pastoral care volunteers
Lay pastoral care volunteers
Throughout the year, we at St. Stephen’s care for each other in many ways. If you are interested in participating in pastoral care ministries, please consider the following opportunities.
Serve as a lay pastoral visitor
Volunteers form a team of lay pastoral visitors who regularly reach out to fellow parishioners identified as having pastoral needs. The visitors connect by in-person visits, phone calls, or notes, as assigned. Monthly meetings cover training, time to share pastoral experiences, and identification of needs as they arise.
Serve as a eucharistic visitor
Each Sunday we send visitors to share Communion with fellow parishioners who, for various reasons, cannot be in church. Eucharistic visitors discern a call to this ministry of pastoral and sacramental care and generally undergo training as chalice bearers as well as eucharistic visitors.
Prepare homecooked meals
Would you like to prepare casseroles or bake cookies and deliver them to parishioners? Many homebound parishioners greatly appreciate the comfort of a home-cooked meal or treat. You do not need to be on a pastoral care team to prepare food for this ministry. We do ask that items be packaged in such a way that they can be frozen and re-heated later (and in containers that do not need to be returned to you), and labeled with instructions and with ingredients, since some who receive these treats may have dietary restrictions.
Knit prayer shawls
Prayer shawls are knitted for distribution to those in our parish to whom we wish to give a tangible expression of love and prayers. Several times each year, we gather the shawls and bless them in church before they are distributed.
Explore a vocation to healing prayer ministry
Healing prayer is offered during our Sunday evening service of Celtic Evensong and Communion (5:30 p.m.). The lay people who serve in this way have worked with lay leaders and clergy to discern a call to this ministry, and to receive training and support. You may read more about our Healing Prayer Ministry here.
Contact
The Rev. Bill Sachs // 804.288.2867 // email