Pastoral Care

Altar Flower Delivery · Prayer Team · Agape
Eucharistic Visitors · Love in Action (Visitation Committee) · Community of Hope

Hospitality for the Grieving

Pastoral Care at St. John's is provided by both clergy and laity. The Pastoral Care Committee oversees ways to coordinate and nurture the various efforts to provide pastoral care to all parishioners. This committee focuses on developing new pastoral care initiatives and increasing participation in pastoral care by parishioners. Members of the committee represent various pastoral care ministries described below.  The Pastoral Care Committee is assisted by the Vestry's liaison to the Pastoral Care Committee. 

Altar Flower Delivery

After the last Sunday service, volunteers deliver the altar flowers to sick or shut-in parishioners. Volunteers usually are scheduled for two deliveries per year. Contact Lisa Wilcox, 252-1180, to volunteer.

Prayer Team

The Prayer Team is a group of church members whose ministry is to pray confidentially for parishioners, their families, and others for whom parishioners request prayers in times of crisis. Such a crisis might be an accident, illness, surgery or divorce. The Prayer Team also prays generally for “those in crisis not known to us” and for “those known only to God.”

Any St. John's parishioner may submit such a confidential request. In response to your request, the Prayer Team will pray for one week.  Should the crisis continue, please re-submit your prayer request weekly and provide an update on the crisis.  You may submit your prayer requests through our On-line Prayer Request Form or by contacting Stacy Collins, moderator, at stacyncollins@hotmail.com.

The Prayer Team welcomes new members.  Even if you do not use email, you can participate.  One of the moderators of the Prayer Team will call you, when a prayer request has been received.  To join the Prayer Team, please contact Stacy Collins at 603.1771.

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Agape Ministry

This year St. John's Guilds will prepare Agape Ministry meals for parishioners who are experiencing sickness or death in their families and for families with new babies. Through the work of the ministry, a freezer at St. John's is kept stocked.

A second group of Agape volunteers delivers meals when they are needed. For families with new babies, volunteers also provide a packet of information about baptisms and special prayers for parents.

Love in Action
(Visitation Committee)

Love in Action ministers to parishioners who are either confined to their homes or are residing in assisted living facilities for an extended period of time. This committee's work complements the clergy and other pastoral groups in ministry to confined parishioners.

Community of Hope

Community of Hope is a training community to help those people who are called to lay pastoral ministry develop their spiritual gifts. The program is grounded in the Benedictine Way and supported in community in order to provide Christ's ministry of presence to others. More information about the program can be found on the website for Community of Hope.

Eucharistic Visitors

Eucharistic Visitors (EV's) are lay ministers who take the sacraments of bread and wine to our members who are unable to be present in the church. The EV is sent out from the church on behalf of the entire St. John's community and ensures that all of our members can remain part of this central part of our life together as a parish. This is one of the oldest traditions of the Christian church. To request EV visits, contact our Parsh Office at 799-4767.

Hospitality for the Grieving

This Hospitality committee provides simple food and a planning information booklet to parish families as soon as possible after a death in the family, in coordination with our clergy. When requested, hospitality volunteers also provide arrangements and refreshments for a St. John's reception following funeral services. To volunteer for the Hospitality ministry, contact Laura Williams, 787-2619.