Dear members and friends,
What a great time I have had getting to know all of you over the past year! We have done much good work together. One of the main things I have been working on in the last year has been to help the Board of Deacons reassess and clarify their ministries for the church. The Board of Deacons has a long history of working as the hands and feet of Christ in the congregation, charged with direct care for the church and community along with the pastors. To this end, I summarize here the changes that have taken place with the Board of Deacons during the past year. This is our current list of care teams.
Meals Team – provides meals and/or food to members and friends of our church family who are experiencing a stressful time in their lives and will benefit from the extra help of cooked meals or food.
Helping Hands Team (formerly included Dial-a-Ride) – provides assistance, as available, to a member or friend of the congregation with a need for transportation to church, doctor or errand.
Funeral Services Team (formerly Bereavement Team) – provides assistance to families of members who are having memorial or funeral services at our church for hospitality in services or kitchen with fellowship gatherings after the services.
Card Contact Team (formerly Milestone Celebrations Team) – provides contact with members by mailing cards for milestone days, get well, or sympathy alerting them to services our church provides.
Extending the Table Team – provides home communion to members of the church who are not able to be at church on the first Sunday of the month to partake in Holy Communion.
Prayer Shawls and Materials Team – provides a tangible expression of Christ’ love and compassion for members and friends of our church family experiences particular joys and concerns in their lives.
Prayer Chain Team -engages many people in praying for members and friends our church family who are in need of or have requested prayer for a specific need.
Pastoral Care Visitors Team – provides home visitation on a quarterly basis to those who are not able to get to church in person, and who are experiencing decreased contact with the church who would like the presence of their church family in their lives. (formerly hospice, nursing home and homebound teams.)
Monthly Sunday Greeter Team – provides usher/greeter services once a month at our 11:00 am service
Welcome Team – provides information and gifts for first time visitors who come to our church.
Flower Team – coordinates the opportunity for members to pay for flower bouquets in memory, or in honor, of loved ones. and sometimes covers the cost of artful decorations for our church worship areas at holidays or special occasions.
Church/Community Financial Help – provides emergency financial assistance to persons who are experiencing an inability to purchase basic living commodities by giving gift cards or direct payments to vendors.
We have coordinated this so the pastors are responsible to contact and care for those hospitalized, temporarily ill at home or experiencing more difficult situations; and our Stephen Ministers will care for those who are in crisis due to stressors in life that require more concentrated care.
As you can see here, our FPCA Deacons do a lot to care for this church congregation and our friends! I am so impressed with all we do together for God among God’s people. These Christ servants are happy to participate in these ministries. They extend this love because they all know how much God and others have loved them! They are “Living Christ’s Love” as our saying goes.
For more information, or to access these services, please contact the Board of Deacon officers: Deborah Giltz and Alicen Bailey Silfies (co-moderators), you can contact me, or the church office.
Grace and Peace to you as we Live Christ’s Love,
Rev. Kathryn Foster
Minister for Pastoral Care
