Ministries to Serve Our People
Ministry to the Sick
Members and friends of the congregation who are patients in local hospitals are visited by the clergy on a daily basis during the week, and on weekends as needed. Holy Eucharist is available upon request through both clergy and dedicated Lay Eucharistic Ministers who bring the sacrament to hospitalized members. Every effort is made to contact and follow-up with members experiencing out-patient medical procedures. Phone calls, cards, and home visits round out your priests’ efforts to follow and assist you in times of illness or other medical crises.
Please assist us in this ministry by informing the Clergy Secretary at 802-6207 when you or someone you love is to be hospitalized or is scheduled for some medical procedure. For emergencies that occur outside of normal office hours (M-F, 8:30-4:30), please contact the priest-on-call (999-9867).
Valet Parking
For Senior Adults and Those Physically Challenged
Valet Parking on Sunday Mornings.
Saint Luke’s received a very generous gift to provide valet parking for our members and visitors who have reached their senior years and for those who are physically challenged, both permanently and temporarily. If you meet any of these criteria, this is just for you! Simply pull into the porte-cochere and you will be greeted by Russell or Barry for further instructions. NO CHARGE – NO TIPPING. This service is provided to make attending church at Saint Luke’s easier for you!
Ministry to the Homebound
The clergy, assisted by the Parish Nurse and lay visitors, provide visits and sacraments year-round on a regular basis to persons who are either permanently or temporarily unable to leave their homes to attend church due to disability, illness, or other infirmity. If you are aware of a member of the St. Luke’s family who fits in this category and is not currently being visited, please notify the Clergy Secretary (802-6207).
Ministry to Retirement Centers and Skilled Nursing Facilities
The clergy, assisted by the Director of Senior Adult Activities, make regular visits to St. Luke’s members who reside in local retirement centers and nursing homes. Episcopal worship and Holy Eucharist are provided to our “elder saints” by the clergy and lay visitors, and Episcopal services on site in the various facilities are supported and staffed by the clergy in cooperation with other Episcopal churches. In addition, the staff seeks to reach out to these elder members with special activities such as lunches, holiday visits, and birthday remembrances.
Tier Three
Support Group Ministries
A variety of support groups offer care and counsel to members and non-members alike as they seek to overcome and grow through life’s many challenges.
Cancer Support This group meets monthly for both cancer patients and their loved ones. Led by a professional consultant, this group seeks to provide strength, support, and coping skills to all those affected by a loved one’s diagnosis of cancer. Contact the Clergy Secretary (802-6207) for current meeting time and place.
Tier Four
Care Givers Support This group addresses the increasingly common and formidable challenges faced by those who must provide home care for spouses, elderly parents, and other family members with chronic health problems. Contact Mrs. Gail Sharp (871-7025) or Rev. DeGweck (802-6203) for information about meeting time and place.
Tier Four
Grief Support Individual counsel and pastoral care are always available from one of the clergy. Contact the priest of your choice (871-3583) to schedule an appointment. Persons seeking group-oriented grief support are encouraged to call the Community Grief Support Service (205/870-8667) or the Amelia Center (251-3430). These superb community ministries provide a wide variety of grief support groups tailored to age and circumstance, facilitated by professional staff counselors, in a caring environment. Both provide services free of charge to the participants.
Tier Four
Divorce Support Individual counsel and pastoral care are always available from one of the clergy. Contact the priest of your choice (871-3583) to schedule an appointment. For group-oriented care, St. Luke’s supports and recommends The Beginning Experience Ministry, a peer ministry for separated, divorced, and widowed persons. This Christian ministry includes weekly support groups and weekend retreat experiences. Questions? Contact Rev. DeGweck (802-6203) or Ms. Helen Bowers (802-6216). Information may also be obtained by logging on to www.Birminghambeginningexperience.org.
Stephen Ministry – What It Is
Stephen Ministry at St. Luke’s is a ministry of Christian caring and support. Stephen ministers are lay members who are carefully selected for their gifts of empathy, listening, and spiritual maturity, and are then given an intensive 50-hour training experience in the dynamics of grief and loss, as well as skills in active listening and caring Christian support. Stephen ministers provide one-to-one Christian care to the bereaved, hospitalized, terminally ill, separated, divorced, unemployed, relocated, and others facing a crisis or life challenge. Under the direction of the Associate Rector for Pastoral Care ministries, Stephen ministers provide an extension of pastoral care, giving support and caring to more people than the clergy by themselves could hope to touch.
How It Works
Stephen ministry is protected by the same code of confidentiality members would expect from their clergy. Stephen ministers are paired one-on-one with a care receiver of the same sex, and meet with their care receivers as often as necessary (typically weekly or bi-weekly) until both feel that healing and wholeness have been achieved. In addition to their training, Stephen ministers meet twice monthly in small groups, called Supervision Groups, with a trained leader, to gain insight into their work and receive guidance from their peers and leaders.
How Stephen Ministry Can Help You
If you or a loved one is going through a period of struggle with loss, grief, illness or other life crisis and would like the support of a Stephen minister, contact Rev. DeGweck (802-6203). Care receivers are normally restricted to members of the congregation, but exceptions are occasionally made if circumstances and resources allow.
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