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Education/Ministries
Caring
Ministries
Through the Caring Ministries of First Church,
we seek to use our time and talent in ways that demonstrate love for our
neighbors. Mother Teresa said that God has only our hands with which to
bless the world. We pray that God’s love may guide our hands and our
hearts.
Our Pastors provide pastoral care through
visitation in homes, nursing facilities and hospitals, as well as
contact with church members and friends by phone and letters. Please
contact the church office to request a visit from one of the pastors.
The Task Force in Caring Ministries (TFCM),
with the help of Rev. Ruth Martz, Associate Pastor, oversees Caring
Ministries and initiates ways in which to improve caring outreach and
build connections within our large church family. Our church is blessed
with so many Caring Ministers who share their gifts, time, and love with
others. We ask that all Caring Ministers attend at least one training
and informational session each fall, monthly meetings for updates and
support, and an Appreciation Dinner in the spring.
Caring Ministries
include:
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Faith Community
Nursing
(FCN) is a care program of lay leaders, who include licensed nurses as
well as individuals interested in health education and worship
services for healing. This team provides blood pressure screenings,
home visits, referral information, and educational programs on topics
such as end-of-life issues. A variety of services for healing and
prayer are also offered on a monthly basis throughout the year.
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Adult Education Task Force
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In Reach Callers
have a new name—“Neighborhood Callers”
They are a group of caring individuals, each of whom serves as a contact
person for a specific neighborhood or small group of families in
Glastonbury and towns where church members live. By calling, sending
cards, and delivering flowers, these volunteers seek to offer support
and additional connection for people in our large church family.
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Friendly Visitors
volunteer to visit one or more members from our congregation on a
monthly basis. Through such visits, they hope to provide additional
support and companionship to specific members. If you know of someone
who would like a Friendly Visitor, please contact the Church Office.
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Support Team Ministry
includes:
1) Basic Support Team members, who provide care in a variety of
ways for specific individuals or families in their homes
2) Members of a Mission Support Team, the Transportation Team,
which provide people with rides to medical appointments and Sunday
Worship
3) Administrative Support Team members, who provide training
for new Support Team members.
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Member of the Prayer Shawl Ministry
meet once a month for fellowship and the knitting of prayer shawls.
These shawls are blessed with special prayers and given to people in
times of struggle, transition, and joy, including patients in Hartford
Hospital and Back Bay Mission in Biloxi MS.
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The
Flower
Committee arranges for flowers
and plants to be in the Meeting House every Sunday. Members create
beautiful floral arrangements that our pastors, InReach Callers and
Friendly Visitors bring to parishioners. Thanks to the generosity of
the congregation, our flower program is a vital part of Caring
Ministries.
Additional Resources
Please visit our Church Library, where you may borrow
books on aging, healing, grieving, prayer, and other topics related to
Caring Ministries. If you are preparing for surgery, we recommend the
book and tape Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster, by Peggy
Huddleston (copies in our library).
A Reiki session may be scheduled with trained
practitioners who are members of First Church, before and/or after
surgery, or as the need arises. Please call the Church Office to
request a session.
and clowns from the
"Caring Ministries Appreciation Dinner"! | Nursing page for more
information on this ministry.
Task Force in Caring Ministries Annual Report
The Task Force in Caring Ministries was created three
years ago with a threefold purpose:
1) To oversee the different groups within Caring
Ministries;
2) To support the Associate Pastor of Discipleship
Ministries;
3) To provide a vision for Caring Ministries and to
strengthen the ways in which we care for others, according to Jesus’
commandment to " love your neighbor as I have loved you."
Five of our six members have served for all three
years; in 2010 Charlene Dann ended her term (thanks, Charlene!) and we
are welcoming one new member, Sue Stavola. Other members include: Lois
Harwick, Nancy Higgins, Bob Johnson, Marilyn McNab, and Charlotte Mowry.
The Task Force meets once every other month to review updates, discuss
challenges, and plan new endeavors. We thank the Task Force members for
their faithfulness and commitment to care for others.
--Nancy Higgins
Task Force in Caring Ministries
Lois Harwick
Nancy Higgins Chair
Bob Johnson
Marilyn McNab
Charlotte Mowry
Sue Stavola
Administrative Support Team
Annual Report
• Members of the Administrative Support team are:
Dianne Schwegler, Linda Yost, Valerie Escalera, Kim Aroh, and Sue
Stavola, with Ruth Martz as staff representative. There are currently
thirty-eight trained Support Team members on our active list. Margie
Kreitler went off the team after many years of service; we thank her
for her enthusiasm, dedication, and hard work.
• Four active support teams have been formed for
individual households in the course of the past year, and they are all
continuing at the present time. Members of the Transportation team
drive church members to medical appointments and Sunday morning
worship. A team of eight drivers has been formed to transport
residents of Mt. Laurel and nearby locations to the 10:30 a.m. Sunday
service.
• Members of the Support Team Ministry are also
working with a group from the Board of Christian Service, to respond
to requests for yard work and house repairs. Support Team members are
currently working on one project.
• Four additional people were trained in March to
participate on Support Teams, and there are three additional people to
train.
• The Appreciation Dinner was held on April 27,
2010, with the Pratt and Whitney Chorus for entertainment. About
thirty-five people attended. Thanks to the Task Force in Caring
Ministries for helping us with this dinner.
--Susan Stavola
Administrative Support
Team
Kim Aroh
Valerie Escalera
Dianne Schwegler
Sue Stavola, Chair
Linda Yost
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Prayer Shawl Ministry Annual Report
Sponsored by the Parish Nurses, a workshop was held
on February 2, 2001 for members of First Church to learn about Prayer
Shawl Ministry. The workshop leader was Janet Bristow, co-creator of the
concept. A small group of interested women attended and, in February
2002, the first prayer shawl was given to a church member. By the end of
2002, 19 more shawls had been created and shared. As stitches are knit
or crocheted, prayers for comfort, healing, joy, love, peace and
thanksgiving are offered for the one who will wrap themselves in these
shawls. Thank- you notes remind us of the love the recipient feels from
the First Church knitters.
Over the past nine years, at
least 35 members have shared in this ministry creating over 300 shawls
which have been given to people in transition and needing comfort in our
own church family, to friends of our church, to Back Bay Mission in
Biloxi, to Hartford and Middlesex Hospital Chaplains to aid in their
ministry and to hurting people unknown to us. Currently our group
consists of 23 who enjoy knitting and crocheting, and we meet on the
third Monday of each month in the Lehman Library. Members of the group
also gather on the first Tuesday of each month to knit and enjoy
fellowship. Our group is open to all who are interested in this ministry
of outreach at First Church.
We look forward to beginning our
10th year of ministry in September 2010.
Submitted by: Wanda Bates, Co-Coordinator
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Flower Committee Annual Report
As coordinator of the Flower Committee I arrange for
floral arrangements to be in the sanctuary every Sunday, when possible.
Most often members of the congregation will request for flowers to be
placed on the altar in memory of loved ones or to celebrate special
occasions. Sometimes flowers are left after weddings or sometimes
flowers are requested by persons with some tie to the church through our
members. During the summer there are members who will share the bounty
of flowers from their gardens to adorn the altar.
The flower arrangements are sometimes taken by the
donor, but most of the time they are left to be broken down into several
smaller arrangements. These smaller arrangements are then available for
Pastors and visitors to bring to church members or to nursing homes
facilities. The members of the committee who do this are Roz Bennett,
Marti Curtiss, Gloria Emanuelson, Sara Jane Munshower, Sally Whipple and
Joyce Young. Each person commits to rearrange the flowers for a month.
It is done after the second service on Sundays or on Mondays. There are
fewer than twelve volunteers to do this simple but important job, so I
fill in or impose on my task force to take on an extra week when needed.
Attempts to recruit new people through the Reminder have not been
successful. But more volunteers would make the job easier.
At Easter and Christmas, I coordinate the purchase of
plants with monies donated by members of the congregation. Some of those
plants will be taken away by the people who order them but many will be
left after the holiday services for delivery to selected parishioners by
Neighborhood Callers and Support Team members. Pastor Ruth Martz
identifies parishioners who would benefit by the gift and visitation.
Thanks to the generosity of the congregation, our flower program
continues to be successful. This year, however, there were fewer plants
available for delivery than in past years.
An issue that came up this year is that the company
that provided Easter plants stopped dealing with spring plants due to
the economy. That meant finding another supplier on rather short notice.
I was able to arrange for Pennock’s, the company that provides Christmas
poinsettias, to provide Easter plants. Consequently we are dealing with
a single company for our plants.
I also arrange for the purchase and hanging of the
wreaths both inside the church and outside. Emmy Lou’s orders the number
of wreaths we need. I pick them up, add bows which we keep from year to
year and then hang them.
Lastly, I keep track of the supplies of oasis and
plastic dishes for breaking down the large arrangements into smaller
ones. Oasis and dishes are ordered locally from Keser’s Flowers and they
deliver the supplies. They also are the major source for the weekly
floral arrangements and conveniently deliver the flowers to the church.
Submitted by Susan Bonitsky
Flower Committee
Roz Bennett
Marti Curtiss
Gloria Emanuelson
Sara Jane Munshower
Sally Whipple
Joyce Young
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SOURCE:
Annual Report for First Church of Christ, Congregational, Glastonbury,
Connecticut,
April 2010 |
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