Pastoral care takes two forms at St. Timothy’s. As a community, we provide care for each other as we face life’s challenges and experience highs and lows. Covenant groups are small group ministries that meet once a week to hear what is going on in members lives, support them in times of need, and provide spiritual development, usually in the form of Bible study.
Other ministry teams provide pastoral care within and beyond our parish. Our Fishes and Loaves ministry provides dinners to families as they deal with a the joy and chaos of a new baby or any loss or crisis in their lives. Prayer Scrolls are provided to people when they are hospitalized for an operation so they know we are praying for them. Spiritual care visitors works with the Chaplain of our local hospital to visit people (usually they are not church members) when they are in hospital, and our Memorial Garden, a quiet garden beside the sanctuary, is open to the public for quiet contemplation, prayer or meditation.
Crises require a different form of pastoral care. Our clergy provide the emergency response. They usually make the the first hospital call or trip to a parishioner’s home. Stephen Ministers provide ongoing care when needed. Stephen Ministry has been a Team Ministry at St. Tim’s since 1999. What sets Stephen Ministry apart is that we are trained and our care is structured to continue in weekly meetings for as long as our Care Receivers are in crisis mode, be it a few weeks or many months.