There are many opportunities here to serve those in need.  Here are a few areas of Pastoral Ministry:

Nursing Home Ministry – The clergy provide a service of Holy Communion at the Methodist Nursing Home, South Roanoke Nursing Home, Avante Nursing Home, and, Our Lady of the Valley Nursing Home. The Pastoral Ministries team is always looking for people who might be interested in this ministry. Often we need folks to help bring residents from their rooms to the service, read lessons, and play the piano. If you might be interested in participating in the Nursing Home Ministry, please call The Rev. Robert M. Hamner (343-9341).

Lay Eucharistic Ministry – Mike Hudson and Heth Thomas are the first Co-Coordinators of the Committee. Each year a new Coordinator will be selected from the current group of Lay Eucharistic Ministers. They are Andy Blanton, Harry Davis, David Dixon, Gwen Knowlton, Hugh Hall, Mike Hudson, John Levin, Joan Parham, Amy Rockhill, and Heth Thomas.  This is a dedicated and active group of lay leaders, each of them conducting in-home visits which include a brief Holy Eucharist service. Since its inception in June, this committee has held several meetings with clergy, office staff, and the Pastoral Care Committee, to insure that Holy communion is made available to any St. John’s parishioner who is unable to attend church services regularly due to illness or injury.  The LEM Committee is currently serving the communion requests from more than thirty shut-in parishioners and since June, the LEM’s of St. John’s have conducted a combined total of 32 in-home visits.  If you or someone you know would like to receive communion at home, please phone Kristi Brown in the Parish Office  (343-9341).

Pastoral Care Ministry – The Pastoral Care Committee has grown in both membership and mission over this past year. We continue to have our food basket ministry for parishioners fresh from the hospital, for those who have had surgery, a baby, an injury, a death in the family or those who have had a long illness. This year we realized that some of the St. John’s family might not need food, but need a gift box to cheer them up. We have been delivering these small boxes to residents of nursing homes as well as those in the hospital and rehab centers. Recipients have enjoyed knowing St. John’s Church is thinking of them. We receive grateful letters saying our visits and the prayers of the St. John’s community have truly played a great part in their recovery.

We also have a growing card ministry that stays in close touch with the staff and mails cards to shut-ins, bereaved parishioners, ill persons and those in the military...we feel this is a very import addition to pastoral care and we need more volunteers to help.

Now our success is very much up to YOU. Help us identify those at St. John’s who need our help. Let a member of Pastoral Care know or call the Parish Office, (343-9341) and inform a staff member of the need. They in turn will contact the appropriate committee member.