Pastoral Contact Group Leaders Meeting

Deut 11: 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt . 20 Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

11:1 Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.

1. Pastoral Lists (new people? Removals?) Ben. Visitors Book?

2. Requirements of Pastoral Co-ordinators.

• Christmas Cards
• Keeping in touch
• Invite to the functions – Quiz Night, Outing, etc.

3. Scenarios.

• Pastoral Funds
• Domestic Violence statistics
• Loneliness
• SAD (Seasonally Affected disorder)
• Counselling
• Referral

4. Any other matters.

Closed Meeting

If you are still wondering about the role of your Pastoral Carer, we spent some time reflecting on this at our Church Council January meeting, and wanted you to know that this is how we see our task:

1. To keep in touch with you. Carers’ job is not to police your attendance at worship, or to be “heavy shepherds” of the flock, but to reach out with God’s love, and remind you that we care for you. This is done in various ways: sending the Church Christmas Card, invitations to special events (quiz nights, church outings, etc.), maybe a phone call or “I miss you card”, to remind you of our interest.

2. To pray for you.Your Pastoral Carer has a few names, and promises to pray for you. If you wanted to share something specific with them for prayer, then they would be delighted to hear from you. Otherwise, they will pray for you anyway!

3. To support the Minister.Together with Alison, Pastoral Carers will work together for the well being of the church community, sharing the load and offering good quality pastoral care to the whole fellowship.

4. To support in times of sickness and need. It is generally understood that Pastoral Carers will do all they can to care for their people, but sometimes this will mean, due to personal pressures, that your Pastoral Carer has to refer to Alison or someone else to visit the sick and meet specific needs. Your Pastoral Carer is your first point of call. If he or she cannot fulfil your requirements, then someone else will do this on behalf of the church.

5. To create a circle of caring. Our hope is to create circles of caring within each pastoral care group, allowing those in each group to get to know each other and to look out for one another. This leaves work for everyone to get to know those people within your group, and to seek ways to build relationships together, offering support and prayer for each other in times of need.

6. Your Pastoral Carer cannot offer total support! We wish we could – but let’s be honest – we just can’t! Despite our fervent desire to do all we can in the care of God’s people, we have to confess we do not have all the answers, and sometimes our task will be to point you to other people, organisations and groups who can help you with specific matters. In saying this we recognise our limitations, and also celebrate the wealth of support that is available through other channels.

 

Last Updated On March 5, 2006