new beginnings

In January 2023 I accepted the call to be the newly formed Pastoral Care Coordinator at Christ Church Denver. Having never done this type of work before, I was a tad terrified, but now one year later, I am a little less terrified but so thankful to be serving in this capacity.

Goals for this past year have included:

Revitalizing the Eucharistic Visitor Ministry

Tracking of pastoral needs (prayers, meals, visitation ect..) making assignments to the appropriate groups and monitoring to make certain these needs have been met.
Creation of Cancer Support and Grief Support groups.
Transition of Meal Train to a new leader

EUCHARISTIC VISITATION

Rebecca Brown and myself have taken over the leadership of Eucharistic Visitation. During COVID there were no visitations, and after COVID there was no formal leadership. Due to health issues, the previous leader was unable to continue in this position. We now have a tracking system in place and process for eucharistic ministers and parishioners receiving a eucharistic visit.

The eucharistic visitor service returned to the pre-COVID style with longer visits and the return of the common cup. The number of individuals receiving this ministry is still low. There are members who are reluctant to have someone in their homes and those with memory decline who may no longer understand the sacrament of eucharist. This next year we hope to increase the number of communicants.

We welcomed three new eucharistic ministers, Judy Boyles, JoEllen McGugan and myself, Alice Bagley. We also saw the departure of several eucharistic ministers and we thank them for their faithful service.

PASTORAL NEEDS

Christ Church has a dedicated prayer ministry team that meets weekly to go over current and new prayer requests. Prayer requests are documented and closely monitored. These requests are usually received from parishioners, life groups, prayer forms, calls or clergy notification. There is a dedicated pastoral phone, 720-547-9418, which answers calls 24/7.

We unfortunately lost two of our prayer team members with the passing of Shirley Johnson and Kathy O’Dell. They were powerful prayer warriors and devoted to this ministry and will be greatly missed.

MEAL TRAIN

Margie Johnson after many years of service to the Friends in Need/Meal Train ministry stepped away from the leadership of this position. Carol Oliver is now in charge of the Meal Train and has done a wonderful job this past year.

CANCER COMPANIONS AND GRIEF SUPPORT

JoEllen McGugan began a cancer support group, Cancer Companions, along with co-leaders Janice Woodward and Judy Boyles. Now that the Cancer Companions class has ended, the 3 “Js” have started a new class for grief and loss.

PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY

Since 2011, the Prayer Shawl Ministry at Christ Church has given 390 shawls to parishioners, family, and friends who needed the presence of God in the comfort of a prayer shawl...whether suffering from illness, job loss, death of loved ones, anxiety, or just going through tough times. In 2023, the Ministry blessed 34 people with prayer shawls. The group usually meets on the first Thursday afternoon in Room 101 and welcomes new knitting/crocheting friends any time. Look for meeting announcements in your weekly E-News.

LOOKING AHEAD

In 2024 we are hoping to institute a ride ministry. There are members who wish to come to service but have no way to get to church. The goal is to provide a ride once-a-month through a parishioner or ride service such as Uber for these members.

WRAPPING UP

The ministry of pastoral care is never ending. Christ Church is a loving, caring church. When we say we will pray for you, we will. When you need someone to talk to, we will listen. When you need someone to just be there, we will be with you. This past year I have been honored to be a part of your lives whether good, bad or sad. Thank you for sharing and allowing me to walk alongside you.