God is Deeply in Love with Us!
Care Ministry is a Catholic ministry formation program, sponsored by the Diocese of Green Bay designed to expand the pastoral care dimension offered by the church. Care Ministers actively bring the love of God into people’s lives by providing a sacred listening presence in a confidential setting. This kind of support does not replace nor simulate professional mental health counseling or medical advice. There is no charge for this ministry. It is funded in part through the Bishop’s Appeal.
Care Ministers are required to attend a training session sponsored in part through the Diocese of Green Bay. A listing of current training sessions can be found here: https://newcatholiccharities.org/pastoral-care. Care Ministers must complete a background check and VIRTUS training for volunteers on sexual misconduct and safe environment as required by the Diocese of Green Bay.
In an effort to address the needs of ANY suffering or alienated members of our parish family, the Care Ministry program offers pastoral support to ALL members of our parish family who are isolated, facing a time of crisis, trauma, or personal loss. These individuals that receive pastoral support are referred to as Care Receivers.
Each Care Minister is carefully matched to a Care Receiver including “interviews” and in-person introductions facilitated by the Coordinator prior to beginning any visits. A definitive schedule of visits is also established at the beginning—one that accommodates the needs of the Care Receiver while respecting other commitments of the volunteer Care Minister—all to ensure a fruitful experience for both parties and not to exceed more than one hour per week.
If you or someone you know might benefit from receiving this kind of pastoral support, please contact Leah Ackley at the parish center at (920) 788-7640. As we build upon our existing team of dedicated Care Ministers, we will humbly do our best to accommodate you.
Because we are human, we get sick. Sometimes, it’s just sniffles or the flu. Many times it’s an illness that causes us or one of our loved ones to find that getting to Church is difficult. We count every member as an important part of our parish community. If you or a loved one are unable to come to Mass due to illness or failing health, please let us know if we can help support you by bringing Holy Communion. We also visit parishioners who are temporarily unable to come to Mass after a surgery.
Our homebound parishioners are a vital membership in our parish, offering prayerful support to our mission as a parish, as well as offering their physical suffering up to the Lord who transforms that into spiritual strength. Our care and outreach to this wise and graced demographic of our parish is very important, and those who serve as Eucharistic Ministers to the Homebound find it a privilege to serve them and grow spiritually because of this ministry. It is central to our parish mission and who we are as Catholic Christians.
Eucharistic Ministers must be formally trained before they can volunteer.
The Church wishes to accompany those who are grieving and to show the Light of Jesus Christ Risen to those whose hearts are broken. The parish embraces those who are mourning and gives direction for ceremonies to thank God for the deceased’s life and to hold family and friends close in prayer.
Please contact our Funeral Coordinator, Margaret Franz at (920) 788-7640 to make arrangements or to join our Funeral Ministry team. We have an average of 50 funerals a year. We welcome any parishioners to join us in any of the following areas:
Experiencing the loss of a loved one is often a painful transition. In the words of Matthew Kelly, “it is critically important that we don't pretend; that we acknowledge our grief, that we acknowledge our pain, that we lay it on the altar of God and ask him to do whatever it is he wants to do with it…it is the difficulties, the challenges of life, that help us to build character, to make us clear about who we are and what we're here for.”
The grief support team at Holy Spirit Parish is dedicated to helping you on this journey in the hopes of providing a sanctuary allowing you to mourn well. We offer several support options:
A team of the Care Ministry team visits hospitalized parishioners of Holy Spirit Parish at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Theda Care (formerly AMC) in Appleton. We provide prayers, a pastoral presence, and sometimes Holy Communion. Consider sharing your time in this wonderful ministry. There are several requirements that a volunteer must meet, those are:
When a person is admitted to a hospital or other facility such as for temporary rehab at a nursing home, you are asked to verify your parish and if the facility has permission to release information regarding your admission. It is critical that permission is given to the facility. Without your permission, Holy Spirit will not be notified and our visiting Care Ministers cannot access this information and visit you.
In emergency situations, this step might be omitted, so please inform the parish if you would like visits. If there is a transfer to another health facility, please let us know. Due to confidentiality laws, hospitals will not give us this information.
Our Manna team brings meals to parishioners in their time of need. This could be a family recovering post-surgery when the extra help could make a lot of difference, after a new baby in the family, after a death of a loved one, and a number of other times.
This ministry extends the loving care of Christ to our parishioners. Meal-makers are needed. You will be notified of an opportunity for meals and given instructions on delivery address, time to deliver, food allergies, etc., and then can sign up for a meal. If you would like to be put on the notification list, please contact Leah Ackley at the Parish Office at (920) 788-7640.
Because we are always in need of prayer, we have a prayer shawl ministry as tangible evidence to those for whom we are praying. Prayer shawls are available for persons in health facilities, homebound, terminally ill and bereaved. Please contact Leah Ackley, Coordinator for Pastoral Care and Family Life Ministries, if you know of a person in need of the care of a prayer shawl.
Knitters are also needed as this ministry expands further and our parish continues to care for one another and share the loving embrace of Christ. A pattern/directions and the prayer are provided. The prayer shawl maker prays during the creation of the shawl while either knitting or crocheting in the comfort of their own home. The prayer shawl will enfold, comfort, shelter and beautify.
White baptismal shawls are knitted or crocheted for use during and after baptisms