Pastoral Care Ministry

What is Pastoral Care Ministry?

Pastoral Care Ministry trains lay people in our church community to provide CONFIDENTIAL, one-to-one Christian care to individuals who are experiencing difficulties in their lives.  Saint James participates in an international program which includes approximately 1300 congregations and 180 Christian denominations in many countries.  

Who is a Pastoral Care Ministry?

• A congregation member with gifts for care giving who was carefully selected to serve in this role.
• A lay person who has received 50 hours of training in providing emotional and spiritual care.
• A caring, Christian friend who listens, cares, prays, supports, and encourages and will be “be there” for their care partner, meeting faithfully for about an hour each week, for as long as this serves a need.
• A Christian friend who provides the emotional and spiritual care we need when faced with crisis or difficulty such as: loss of a loved one, hospitalization, divorce or separation, loneliness or discouragement, spiritual crisis, unemployment, illness and many more.

Some patches in life can leave us feeling lonely and unsure about how to move forward.  Having a trusted companion to walk beside can make a difference to a person in distress.  A Pastoral Care Minister partner is not a trained therapist. Her or his role is to provide Christ-centered support as one works through a difficult time.

If you, or someone you know, could benefit from the care of a Pastoral Care Minister…If you are interested in possibly becoming a Pastoral Care Minister…If you have any other questions about Stephen Ministry……talk with one of our Pastoral Care Minister Leaders:  Joanna Edrington (540-272-5326, joanna.edrington@gmail.com) and Ed Jones (540-878-5088, ejones@gmu.edu).

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