Pastoral Care

About Pastoral Care

The Good Shepherd Care Teams provide practical, emotional and spiritual support to members of our community during illness or emergency situations. Using their professional skills and working with our Faith Community Nurse, members of the team help to provide support, resource referral, crisis intervention and deploying of parish resources within the Good Shepherd community to assist individuals and families in need of support. If you are in need of assistance or would like to volunteer to help others who are in need please contact the church office.

Hospital Visits

If you are hospitalized at S.W. Washington Medical Center or Legacy Salmon Creek and have listed yourself as an Episcopalian when you registered, you will be visited by a member of our Hospital Ministry Team. They call on all Episcopalians at the hospital 365 days of the year. 

In addition, our clergy visit members of the congregation who are hospitalized in Vancouver and Portland. You may wonder, “How do our clergy know when you are in the hospital?”  There is a simple answer – you tell them. The easiest way to handle this is for you or a family member to call the church office several days in advance of your being admitted for tests or surgery. 

Most people appreciate brief visits and prayers from a member of the hospital ministry team or one of their priests during times of hospitalization and/or convalescence.  We consider visitation at such times to be an important part of our ministry on Christ’s behalf. We call it a ministry of “Presence.” We want to be present with you and your loved ones during life’s crises. Please remember to call us and let us know what is going on. For more information contact the church office .

Holy Communion For Those In Poor Health Or Cannot Make It To Church

For parishioners who are ill or unable to be present with the Good Shepherd family at the Sunday Eucharist, Eucharistic Visitors help fill the physical gap between home and church.  These lay people are chosen and trained by the church and licensed by the Bishop to administer communion following the church service. They receive the blessed bread and wine at the end of the services on Sunday and distribute them to persons in homes, hospitals, and assisted living facilities in the community. Our hope is that we can provide communion to those unable to attend services at least once a month. If you or someone you know are in need of receiving communion in this way please contact the church office .

Counseling

Christian counseling is provided as needed by appointment to assist parishioners in problems with emotions, relationships, or life-style.  Spiritual direction is provided to help people reflect and work on various aspects of their spiritual life in a structured way.

Contact Fr. Tom Warne or Rev. Shelly Fayette at 892-7770 to set up an appointment for Christian counseling. 

Good Shepherd Care Teams

The Good Shepherd Care Teams provide assistance to members of our community during illness or emergency situations.  Food, transportation, childcare, house cleaning and yard work are some of the types of help that have been arranged. If you are in need of assistance or would like to volunteer to help others who are in need please contact the church office .

Prayer

The ministry of prayer provides you or someone you care about immediate access to prayer support.

Prayer Wheel:  When you have a prayer request call or email any person on the prayer wheel and they will begin your prayer request around the wheel.  In a short period of time, there will be many people praying for you or your loved one. 

On a monthly basis, someone will call you for an update, as the prayer wheel team continues to offer prayers for the specific situation. To add someone to the prayer wheel now, the church office and tell them your prayer concern.

Sunday Bulletin:  At each service, the names on this list are read as we offer prayers for them.  There are many people in the congregation who consider it part of their ministry to regularly pray for this list of people.  If you have someone you’d like prayed for, contact the church office at 892-7770. Please remember to also contact the church office when they no longer need prayers and can be taken off the prayer list.

Healing Prayer:  A midweek healing service is held Tuesday mornings at 9:30.  This service provides the opportunity for healing prayers and anointing for healing. On Sunday morning during communion there are also prayer teams available to pray with you for your healing.  They are located on the gospel side of the church in the front. Please stop by after receiving communion and let us pray for your healing.

Surgery:  Clergy are willing to say healing prayers with you prior to surgery.  Let them know when and where your surgery is scheduled, and they will make every effort to be there to pray with you prior to surgery.

Prayer Quilts:  Quilts are made by our Prayers and Squares Ministry Team and tied by the
congregation on Sunday mornings with special prayers of healing for the recipient.  If you’d like to request a prayer quilt for someone, contact the church office at 892-7770.

Faith Community Nurse “The Nurse is In!”  Our parish faith community nurses: Helen Lehner is willing to answer general medical questions, medication concerns or to take your blood pressure. Call the church office at 892-7770 to set up an appointment.