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Questions you may have about Pastoral Care:
How can I let the church know I need assistance?
Call and let the pastors and/or church staff know about your need.
Confidentiality is always honored. Since hospitals are no longer
permitted to notify churches automatically when members become
patients there, please call the church office or ask a family
member, friend, or the hospital to do so and let us know you are
in the hospital. When we learn that you have entered the hospital,
members of the pastoral visitation team will visit you. If you
would like to be on the prayer board, just call the church office
and inform us. If you do not want a visit, for any reason,
let us know; and we will honor your request. We understand! All
of us need different kinds of support when we are ill.
What does FPC Wheaton offer in pastoral care?
Pastors Paul Kirbas, Jay Moses, and Liz Walker are always available
to provide pastoral care to members and their families. They
visit
homes, hospitals, extended care facilities, make phone calls,
and offer counseling and prayer. Additionally, the staff prays
for different members of the congregation each week at their
staff
meeting.
Patients who are hospitalized are visited each day of their
stay in the hospital. Rev. Ed Lanier, Mabel Koshy, and Andrea
Schewe do hospital visitation in addition to Pastors Paul, Jay,
and Liz. Please let the Church Office know if you will
be going into a hospital so we can be sure to visit while you
are there.
Deacons, Stephen Ministers, and Caritas
Teams also offer many levels of pastoral care.
Deacons offer many
areas of care:
Ministry of Sympathy:
Deacons maintain involvement with parish families through phone
calls, care cards, family visits, emails, etc. Deacons also coordinate
and support Memorial Service Receptions.
Ministry of Witness (to testify to, bear witness): Deacons
promote community with our church neighbors; ministry to college
students; ministry to the military; send care cards and celebrations
cards; bring communion to the homebound; and support new members
by attending the new members’ reception and make family visits
and phone calls.
Ministry of Service:
Deacons pray for their Parish Units at each Board Meeting and
seek prayer requests from the parish members before each meeting.
Stephen Ministers are trained
lay ministers who provide distinctly Christian care to those
experiencing
all kinds of difficulties in life—both for our congregation and
for the community at large. Grounded in Jesus’ commandment “to
love one another” Stephen Ministers believe that caring for each
other is an intentional way of life for followers of Jesus Christ.
We know that there are often issues
that surface quite quickly in our lives that can use a compassionate
ear for a Sunday or two. There are men and women Stephen
Ministers in the Chapel between the 8:40 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
services each Sunday to pray with you, pray for you, or to listen
to you.Of course all issues will be kept in strict confidence
between you and the Stephen Minister. Your Stephen
Ministry team is ready to help you.
Caritas Teams are groups
of volunteers working together to offer practical, emotional,
and spiritual support to individuals and families with health
care concerns or other special needs.
Additional Member Care
is available through
Care Cards - These are
powerful little yellow pieces of paper that provide comfort, strength,
and support to others in need of prayers. They are available
in the pews at each service for quick little notes to let one
another know that we are thinking about them and praying for them.
They can be dropped off in the offering plate during services.
They can also be sent online from our website, with the church
staff then printing them on yellow paper. The church office
then forwards both the online and handwritten care cards to the
recipients.
Shalom Vesper Services
- A place to come and find wholeness for yourself; a time to pray
for yourself and others; a place to find strength and healing;
a place where we find shalom (a gift of grace, peace, blessing
from God). This service is held the third Sunday of each month
at 5:00 p.m. in the Chapel. All are invited to attend.
CareNotes are on display
in the Rotunda. CareNotes
are little booklets of encouragement on a myriad of topics. Take
one for yourself or a friend. Be alert, as titles may change
from week to week, and always monthly. Treat yourself to
a dose of encouragement! Teen CareNotes
are also available!
***
To ask for pastoral care or to learn more about any of
the care ministries of the church, please call 630-668-5147 and ask
to speak to Pastor Liz at ext. 13 or to Janet Rynne, Administrative
Assistant, at ext. 10.
***
“So then, whenever we have the opportunity let us work for
the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.”
Ephesians 6:1
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