PARISH CARE

CARE MINISTRY GROUPS

Supporting Others

The Care Ministry team focuses on the personal and pastoral needs of the members of St. Matthias. This is a crucial part of supporting fellow parishioners and showing that we care.

Team members will contact sick, grieving, disabled, and shut-in members of the congregation. These could be in the form of phone calls, home visits, and/or hospital visits. When a crisis arises, the Care Ministry team discuss with the person or family to determine how we can best help them. We then contact our volunteers and work together to schedule the delivery of whatever services they are in need of.

The team works under the guidance of our rector, The Rev. James M. Dorn, III.

Stephen Ministry

Stephen Ministry offers a way to organize, equip, and supervise a team of parishioners to provide quality, one-on-one, Christ-centered care to fellow parishioners and the community experiencing life difficulties of any kind. This group is made up of three roles:

Stephen Leaders are church staff trained to provide ongoing leadership for our Stephen Ministry team.

Stephen Ministers are parishioners trained by our Stephen Leaders to offer care to people who are hurting. They typically have one care receiver at a time and meet with them on a regular basis.

Care receivers are parishioners or others in the community going through a crisis or difficult time. They first meet with the rector or Stephen Leader who assesses their needs for care and matches them with an available Stephen Minister. The caring relationship lasts for as long as the need persists.

Refresh Group

Our parishioner Claudia Seitz-Ricklick found the need for a community to support those caring for loved ones with Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Anyone with a spouse or family member with Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease is welcome to join this safe space to share their experiences and find support and comfort from those in similar situations. This is a great opportunity for community and support between parishioners.