Our trained volunteers assist our priests by providing:
Our Ministry of Pastoral Care reaches out to those who are unable to attend Church for a variety of reasons, whether short-term or long-term. As was so aptly said by one of our members, it’s “how God reaches out TO his people THROUGH his people”. If you wish to be involved in this ministry of compassion, or if you have need of our services, please contact the Parish Office or the Ministry Coordinator. Jesus may be calling YOU to “come and see.”
ANOINTING OF THE SICK SACRAMENT
If you are admitted to any of Calgary’s five hospitals and wish to receive the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, please call the Diocese of Calgary Call Center at (403) 231-9505. For requests at other healthcare facilities, such as nursing homes and seniors’ lodges and CareWest, please contact our Parish office.
IN NON-EMERGENCY SITUATIONS:
If you are in need of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and/or Anointing of the Sick, please call the parish office at 403-251-3381.
FOR ONGOING VISITATION:
If you need pastoral care visits from an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (not a priest) because you have a long-term illness, are a nursing home resident, or are a homebound patient, please contact the Parish Office at 403-251-3381 or reach out to Susan Duckett at susaneduckett@gmail.com. It is also possible for a family member to be trained to bring Eucharist to their loved one. Please contact the Parish Office for further information.
*Please feel free to contact the parish office at anytime during office hours (Monday – Friday 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
with any questions or to discuss options for Pastoral Care for yourself or your loved ones.*
Pastoral Care team members assist our priests by offering Eucharist and compassionate, prayerful, faith-based support to ill, homebound, hospitalized, dying and bereaved members of our parish.
“Pastoral Care is the unconditional caring response to the lonely, shut ins, the sick and dying to meet their spiritual needs, being respectful of their own religious beliefs and practice.”
Pastoral Care Ministers are among those who help to strengthen our parish communities through a ministry of service and healing. They undertake this role, usually very quietly, with a true sense of compassion and faith. One of the more visible evidences of their ministry is in their bringing the Eucharist to the sick, the homebound and those in health care facilities.
Behind the scenes lies a great deal of prayer, discernment and dedication. Each area of service has its unique challenges and varieties of gifts and skills. The Diocese provides specific training for each of these areas, including the differences in ministering in public facilities, private homes, in groups and individually:
Pastoral Care ministers deliver God’s word and the Eucharist to the sick, shut-ins and dying. This course introduces the basic skills for visiting health care facilities, along with training to become Eucharistic Ministers.
Palliative Care promotes quality of life by controlling symptoms, whether physical, psychological, social or spiritual. Ministers have the ability to journey with the dying, praying with them, listening as needed, and assisting with their ability to cope. The training program helps ministers become an active, compassionate and caring presence for those whose disease is no longer responsive to traditional treatment aimed at cure.
Bereavement Care ministers have the ability to offer presence and support to the family during the mourning process. Ministering to those grieving the loss of a loved one involves learning to be a particular kind of caring presence and support to family, friends or colleagues on their grief journey.
Traditionally, pastoral care ministers have often made visits by themselves. As we move towards safer environments for children and vulnerable adults, like those we serve in this ministry, one of the challenges for parishes is having enough minsters to make visits in pairs. Anne Jones, from Holy Spirit Parish, identified this challenge but also noted that “We are witnesses.” We are, indeed, witnesses to Christ’s own love and caring. Jesus intentionally sent disciples out “two by two” to bring Good News to the towns he would later personally bring his personal healing, reconciling presence.
Pope John Paul II established the World Day of the Sick the year after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. On February 11, we celebrated the 22nd anniversary of this special day to pray for those who suffer and for their caregivers. It gave us all an opportunity to be more aware of the Pastoral Care ministry as well as participate in the healing and caring of those who are sick and suffering, wherever they may be. Pope Francis recently encouraged those “engaged in the pastoral care of the sick.” He declared that “It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, and finding meaning through union with Christ who suffered with infinite love.”
We encourage you to consider joining this important ministry. Talk to one of the Pastoral Care Workers within your parish, or to your parish’s Pastoral Care Coordinator.
This article, written by Halina White and Dave Wilson, originally appeared in the MARCH 2014 issue of the Carillon.
“Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless his people.”
—St. Teresa of Avila.
As a volunteer at Holy Spirit Parish, you will be expected to participate in the Volunteer Screening Program. All volunteers must read and sign an “Agreement to Model Code of Conduct”. Because Pastoral Care involves ministry to the elderly and vulnerable, a Police Check for the Vulnerable must also be completed. Please contact the Parish Office for further information, as there have been changes in our protocol. Pastoral Care volunteers must also complete Pastoral Care Ministry training. This course, offered through the Diocese, will introduce you to the basic skills required for visiting people in their homes or health care facilities
Alberta Health Services Grief Support
https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/programs/ps-1026229-grief-support-calgary-brochure.pdf
Alberta Health Services – Art of Compassionate Communication
https://secure.patientscanada.ca/sites/default/files/compassionate-communication.pdf
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Grief and Loss: Managing the Holidays during COVID-19
Tips and stories are shared to help those during the holiday season, who are grieving the loss of a loved one; an often difficult time of the year. The experience of grief may be more complex this year as many have experienced their loss during the pandemic and as it is more difficult to connect with typical supports..
Uncoupled – Dealing with the Death of a Spouse
Helpful for the bereaved who have experienced the death of a partner or spouse. You will meet four bereaved spouses and hear about how they have experienced their grief, what has helped them and ways they honour and keep connections with the memories of their spouses.
Dearly Loved: Dealing with the Death of a Parent
Helpful for adult children who have experienced the death of their parent. You will hear how four adult children have experienced their grief, what has helped them and ways they honour and keep connections with the memories of their parents.
A Family Disrupted: Dealing with the Death of a Sibling
Helpful for bereaved adult siblings. You will hear how three adult siblings have experienced their grief, what has helped them and ways they honour and keep connections with the memories of their siblings.
Out of Order: Dealing with the Death of a Child
Helpful for bereaved parents who have experienced the death of a teen or adult child. You will hear how three couples have experienced their grief, what has helped them and how they honour and keep connections with the memories of their children.
Lost Innocence: Dealing with the Death of a Young Child
Meet three parents who have experienced the death of a young child. These parents speak openly about their children and the many grief experiences they have encountered.
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Meet four parents who have experienced the death of a special needs child. These parents speak openly about their children and the many grief experiences they have encountered.
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Within the population of children & families requiring palliative care, there are children with multiple special needs. The families of these children embrace their child’s life with courage, love and hope, in the midst of uncertainty.
Meet four families who share their experiences
