Pastoral Care

 

Our Ministry Goal . . .

. . . is to be present to those in need, being the heart, and eyes, ears, voice and hands of Jesus in this community (among our parishioners, and among our neighbors).

Our goal is inspired by the words of St. Teresa of Avila, and by the example of so many "saints" who have lived these words:

Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion looks out on the world, yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.

 

Adoptive Parents to meet Sunday, April 6th

You are invited to join others for a Sunday morning meeting of parents who have adopted children into their hearts and families:

St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church

Sunday, April 6, 2008

9:30 am in Lee 2 (a classroom adjacent to the patio)

Meet other “adoptive parents”. Ask your questions, share your wisdom and resources, and care for one another. Come and help the group decide how best to be of support to each other.

Nursery Care is provided for infants through five year olds. Children’s classes are provided from 9:45 – 10:30 am (crafts and drama). Teens are welcome to join the informal bible study from 9:45 – 10:30 am (or to have breakfast at that time).

The whole family is welcome in worship. At 10:30 am we offer a Service of Holy Communion in a traditional manner with the assistance of our Adult Choir. Children are invited to attend Kids Word in the Chapel at 10:30 am. After exploring the readings, singing, and praying with other children, all are reunited with their parents for Holy Communion in the main church.

Breakfast is served from 8:30 am until Noon, making it possible to come for worship, for caring and support, and for fellowship over breakfast. Please join the St. Margaret's Family for all or part of the morning.

For more information contact Father Dan at 760-346-2697 Ext 105

 

Encouragement for those who are married offered by Pastoral Care Team

In August 2001, Father Dan began to send email notes as a personal ministry and as a ministry of the Pastoral Care Team  to those who were married or engaged to be married. The short email list of August 2001 has now grown to over 200 couples and individuals and includes other pastors and counselors working with engaged or married couples.

More about the origin and purpose of these notes

From This Day Forward - An Index of Notes

If you would like to receive these notes send an email to Father Dan: drondeau@stmargarets.org

 

A perspective on hospice and "Dying Well" offered for your consideration

Dying Well by L. Gregory Jones looks at the death of his father-in-law from our Christian perspective and history. From this particular death Jones contrasts our approach to death today with our approach through the centuries since the Resurrection of Jesus. Commenting on the grace of being able to say goodbye to his father-in-law Jones writes, "We were able to share such wonderful family time because of another gift we received--the gift of hospice care."

If you are considering hospice care for yourself or a loved one, let this be one more affirmation to make your call today.

See also

Hospice Care by Kate Reeves, our Parish Nurse

What is Hospice? by Jack Gordon, Founder and CEO of Hospice Foundation of America

What is Hospice? an informational summary provided by the Hospice Foundation of America

 

Support and encouragement can be found in the company of others

Care giving and pastoral needs are year round. There are groups in the community for support of care givers, for the support of the bereaved, for those seeking counsel, for those seeking to find ways out of addiction and so on.

Contact Father Dan at 760.346.2697 Ext 105 or via email drondeau@stmargarets.org for more information.

 

Our Parish Nurse is here for your health and well-being

Kate Reeves, our Parish Nurse, has served our parish since 2000 on a volunteer basis. Available by phone and by appointment, Kate provides a wealth of information and resources to promote your health and well-being. As the Parish Nurse Kate writes a monthly "column" for The View. These articles are online for your benefit. Pastoral Care Ministries has also collected them into a printed booklet which is available on the patio after services, in Maggie's Corner, and by request from the Office.

Browse our Health and Education Webpage for information, inspiration, and the invitation to participate more fully in the mission and ministry of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, "Your place in the Son."

Contact information: Kate Reeves - 760-346-2697 Ext 171

 

 

Prayer Requests received with reverence and faithfully shared with God

At St. Margaret's, we take our ministry of Intercessory Prayer quite seriously.  We are often asked the question, "How do I make a prayer request?"

There are four ways to make your prayer request known:

1.  As you come into the church, you may write your request in the book in the Narthex. This request book is located to the left of the main inner doors to the church.

 

2.   You may call the Church Office Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Pacific Time 760-346-2697 and speak with the secretary (Debby Jansma) or with one of the clergy to make your request known.
 

3.   You may call the Office at (760) 346-2697 after hours and press 105 (for Father Dan) or 106 (for Father Robert) during the welcome message and leave your request on voice mail


 

4.   Finally, you may make your request known to us by sending an email to our clergy:

     Father Dan (our Associate Rector for Pastoral Care):  E-mail Fr. Dan

We are honored to add our prayers to yours, for God's glory.

 

Bring the light of Christ into your heart and into cyberspace--light a candle

The Pastoral Care Team is pleased to make it possible to light a candle in cyberspace. We are pleased to present a link to Gratefulness.org whose purpose is "To provide resources for living in the gentle power of gratefulness, which restores courage, reconciles relationships, and heals our Earth; and to create a global network of people who practice the art of life as gift."

Among its resources in cyberspace is a room full of candles lit from all over the world for a multitude of reasons. From the website:

In many different traditions lighting candles is a sacred action. It expresses more than words can express. It has to do with gratefulness. From time immemorial, people have lit candles in sacred places. Why should cyberspace not be sacred?

You may want to begin or end your day by the sacred ritual of lighting a candle on this website. Or you may want to light a birthday candle for a friend. One single guideline is all you need: Slow down and do it with full attention.

Our Team invites you to join this time honored tradition. Follow the link provided here (click on the image, below), slow down as you arrive, and "with full attention" light your candle.

Click on this image and you will be taken to the Gratefulness website. You will be greeted by our Team. Follow the directions there to light your candle. When asked if you want to enter group initials you may enter smec if you choose. All candles lit with the group initials smec will burn next to each other.

Thank you for lighting a candle. Thanking you for your prayers of gratitude and intercession. Thank you for letting the light of Christ shine in our world.

 

Our Pastoral Care Team

St. Margaret's Pastoral Care Team is a dedicated group of lay ministers, including our Parish Nurse, and the clergy of the parish led by Father Dan Rondeau.

If you have a prayer request, need a pastoral visit from a member of the clergy, are hospitalized, desire communion to be brought to you or have counseling, sacramental planning or other need please call Fr. Dan at 760-346-2697 ext. 105, send a confidential e-mail, Fr. Dan - Pastoral Care, or contact the parish office at 760-346-2697. 

If you aren't sure who you need to speak with, our Parish Secretary, Debby Jansma, will be pleased to assist you. Debby can be reached by phone at 760-346-2697 Ext 104

 

Join in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer

  We invite you to pray for the churches and provinces of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Cycle of Prayer covers the whole church in prayer throughout the year. Please add your prayers to ours, and to the faithful throughout the world, that God's Kingdom might grow, and that God might be glorified.
 

We invite you to pray daily using Oremus, an online resource to give structure, discipline, and breadth to your daily prayer: Oremus

 

 

 

 

 

St. Margaret's becomes a Congregational Partner of National Episcopal Health Ministries

National Episcopal Health Ministries (NEHM) has developed from small beginnings in 1996 to become a national network of caring persons, professionals, congregations, dioceses, and provinces. The vision of NEHM is to see "that every Episcopal congregation becomes a vibrant, caring place of health and wholeness." Our Pastoral Care Team, Clergy, and Vestry, envision St. Margaret's to be such a place.

The Mission of NEHM is "to promote health ministry in Episcopal congregations, assisting them to reclaim the Gospel imperative of health and wholeness." We welcome the assistance of the people and congregational partners that make up the NEHM. The Pastoral Care Team is dedicated to improving the health and wholeness of all who call St. Margaret's "home" and all who come to us in need of healing and comfort.

To learn more about the National Episcopal Health Ministries you are encouraged to visit their web site: http://www.episcopalhealthministries.org/. You may browse through archived editions of their Newsletter "Body & Soul" at: http://www.episcopalhealthministries.org/publications/body.asp

 

Important Phone Features for Your Convenience

About Prayer: A new feature has been added to our phone line. If you call after hours, you can now leave a prayer request for yourself or a loved one by pressing 7 after the greeting and leaving your message. Of course, if you call during our regular office hours, 9 am to 4 pm, you can speak with one of the priests to convey your request. All our Office Staff, lay and clergy, work hard to serve you in a variety of ways, please let us pray with you, it is one of our most powerful ministries!

 

In Case of Emergency: The Pastoral Care Team of St. Margaret's would like everyone to know that their call is important to us, and if you have an emergency after business hours (9 am to 4 pm) and need to speak to Clergy, press 9 after the greeting and leave a message with your name and phone number. Your call will be returned promptly. Our phone number is 760-346-2697.

 

We support our men and women in the Armed Forces

 

Support of the men and women now serving here and abroad, especially those in Iraq , continues to be a special ministry for many within our parish. If you want to help from your home, you will find more information and suggestions at the sites listed here:

Log on to the following Web sites to show support, to include greeting cards, virtual Thank You cards and calling card donations to help troops stay in contact with loved ones:

http://www.dod.mil/americasupportsyou/

http://www.army.mil/operations/iraq/faq.html

In addition, plan to visit Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals (Loma Linda is nearby) and nursing homes. Volunteer your services to honor veterans who served in past conflicts.

While supporting those who serve in the military, never fail to pray for peace and for those men and women whose lives are dedicated to achieving peace through compassionate services of food distribution and health care, diplomacy, literacy training and many other avenues. With their success, our men and women now in harms way may be able to return to home, family and friends, that much sooner. Pray for peace.

 

We remember those who have died

We remember those men and women who have been killed in this conflict. We pray for them, we pray for their loved ones.

 

O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 839)

 

Almighty God, Father of mercies and giver of comfort: Deal graciously, we pray, with all who mourn; that, casting all their care on you, they may know the consolation of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 505)

 

CNN provides a resource for remembering those who have died in Iraq: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/

 

Life Planning Manual now available online

The Pastoral Care Ministry Team and Patrick Blythe, Director of Stewardship and Development, have compiled a Life Planning Manual to assist persons and families with end-of-life decisions and wishes. The Manual contains the popular Five Wishes document that helps a person designate a another to make health care decisions if necessary and expresses wishes about comfort level, extraordinary measures to be used or avoided at the end of life, what the family should know, wishes about the Memorial Service, and much more.

The Life Planning Manual can be downloaded as a PDF file (except for the Five Wishes). Within the Manual you will find a viewable (non-printable) version of Five Wishes. Links will take you to the website to order a copy, or you can request a copy of Five Wishes from the Pastoral Care Office of St. Margaret's.

Comments about the Life Planning Manual can be directed to Father Dan: 760-346-2697 Ext 105 or drondeau@stmargarets.org

Download the St. Margaret's Life Planning Manual

Download a copy of The Five Wishes (A PDF file that permits viewing, but not printing or copying)

 

Volunteer Ministries

Would you believe that there are well over 300 volunteer slots now being filled by members of the congregation ...and yet we need more? We can expand these ministries and add more as we have persons to carry them out. It's as simple as that!

Ready to volunteer? Wonder what needs doing? Please call Debby Jansma, our Parish Secretary, at our Church Office at 760.346.2697 for more information.

Some current needs you could help meet--click on a link to send an email to our Parish Secretary, Debby Jansma, to let her know of your interest:

Reminder: Contact Debby Jansma, Parish Secretary, to gain more information and to be put in touch with the ministry in which you want to participate. Debby: 760.346.2697 Ext 104 or debbyj@stmargarets.org

Revised posting: 30 March 2006