Pastoral Care

What is Pastoral Care?

Pastoral Care is the extension of Christian love, help and support to provide comfort and caring in times of grief, illness, family or personal crisis, and practical assistance to those in need.



How is Pastoral Care provided?



Pastoral Care is provided by an enthusiastic team of volunteers who are committed to providing pastoral service to our congregation.

What does the Pastoral Care Team do?

The Team works with the minister(s) to:

  • Visit members who are sick in hospital, home or a long term care setting

  • Arrange transportation for seniors to attend church services

  • Provide meals on a temporary basis for members who are sick

  • Telephone or visit members who are experiencing some form of loss, crisis, or difficult time in their lives

  • Send cards to acknowledge births, deaths, illness and significant family events

  • Co-ordinate the congregation's Prayer Line

  • Ensure team members doing visitation receive 10 week training in Pastoral Care

  • Encourage team members to take further education and keep updated.

How can I help?



You can help by informing the Team of anyone you know in the congregation who is in need of Pastoral Care. If you would like to be part of the Pastoral Care Team or to volunteer your services for some of the Team's activities, speak to any team member or leave your name with the church office.



How does someone in need contact the Pastoral Care Team?



Talk to Team members directly at church. You will know who they are by the white ribbon in their lapel. Telephone or email the church office and leave a message. Write your request on a Pastoral Care Request Form and place it in the Prayer Box located on the table between the Ministers' offices. A member of the Team or the minister will be in touch with you.

Did you know?

The Pastoral Care Team is represented at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital. One member of their Pastoral Care Team makes visits on a weekly basis to patients from our church as well as patients who have indicated they are members of a particular United Church. These visits are made on behalf of BCUC's pastoral care programme and outreach to the community.

How does the Prayer Line work?

The Prayer Line is a group of congregation members who offer daily intercessory prayers for those whose names have been given to them by concerned individuals. These names can be anybody known to be sick, bereaved or in distress of any kind. A confidential list is prepared monthly by the co-ordinator and sent out by e-mail or telephone to Prayer Line members. Additions and changes are passed along during the month by the same method. Utmost confidentiality is observed at all times and previous lists are carefully destroyed.

Requests for prayer are made by completing a form from the rack beside the locked prayer box on the wall to the right of the library and posting the form inside the box, telephoning or speaking to any member of the Prayer Line or Pastoral Care Team, or by contacting the church office.

All names remain on the prayer line for at least one month, longer if specifically requested. If a contact name has been given, the co-ordinator checks at the end of the month to see if the name should remain on the list. Some names remain on the prayer line for a much longer period. Bereaved families are kept on the Prayer Line for two months.

Those working on the Prayer Line are convinced of the power of prayer and have heard many times about the comfort it gives someone to know that they are being prayed for. "The truth is that we live in an invisible ocean of Spirit, one that connects us all together, and so our energy expressed as intention, as loving care and empathy, actually travels across or through the invisible spirit reality of God, to surround the other person." (from "The Uniting Spirit of Prayer" by David J H Hart)