Members Assisting with Pastoral Care

Looking out for each other is an activity that goes on continuously in a good church! The Congregational Care Council at Piedmont UU exists to support our two ministers in the provision of pastoral care. Everyone in the congregation is welcome to assist! Here are some areas in which the council is currently seeking volunteers to assist:

• Respond to an e-mail request from Ilene McFarland to send a message of caring or a card to a member who is ill, hospitalized, has suffered a loss, etc. The recipient does not have to be another member you know well. You share membership in the Piedmont community and you are writing as a fellow caring member!
• Respond to an occasional request to assist with food for a member or member’s family at a time of need. Usually this would entail bringing a dish to church that may be taken to the member’s home by someone else.
• Sign up for occasional assistance with transportation for another member. This may be driving someone to a doctor’s appointment or test at a hospital, etc. For example, a person living alone without nearby family may need someone to accompany him or her on an appointment.

Michelle Murphy, Congregational Care Council Chair, will talk briefly about this in February at one of the services, and she and the other co-chairs will have sign-up sheets available to interested members to sign up. You may also e-mail Anne Laukaitis at Laukaitis@windstream.net or talk to Michelle, Nancy, or Anne at any service. Our hope is that many members will want to participate in one or more of these pastoral care activities!

Nancy Delux, Michelle Murphy and Anne Laukaitis, Congregational Care Co-Chairs.

Pastoral Care Associates

The Congregational Care Council has eleven members who have recently received training from Rev. Justin Martin to serve other members as Pastoral Care Associates. These members are now available to members who seek an empathetic and caring listener for a problem or situation they would like to talk about. This is a ministry of Piedmont UU Church, for which there is no charge. Meetings may occur at a neutral place, such as a coffee shop or restaurant – probably not in each other’s homes. The care provided is not intended to be long term but meetings can take place over several months. Confidentiality is assured.

The Pastoral Care Associates are not intended to be therapists or professional counselors but would refer to Rev. Justin if appropriate for further referral, if that is what is needed. Examples of conversations with a Pastoral Care Associate could be a change in job status that is causing stress or the difficulties of aging parents. The Congregational Care Council has also gathered information about community resources that may be of use of members.

Members who received the training include Michelle Murphy, Val Whitfield, Cheryl Midkiff, Claudia and Alan Perkinson, Joyce Lemmond, Connie Byrne, Helen Patil, Alan Davis, July Dancing, and Merna Hesse. Nancy Delux and Anne Laukaitis, co-chairs of the council, also participated in the training but will not actively participate as Pastoral Care Associates.

If you are interested in this ministry, please contact Rev. Justin at Justin@puuc.org, and he will refer you to one of the Pastoral Care Associates.

Submitted by: Members of the Congregational Care Council: Rev. Justin, Nancy Delux, Michelle Murphy and Anne Laukaitis