Hospitality & Pastoral Care
Hospitality: Home is not just the place we live. It’s a feeling we get when we walk into somewhere familiar, safe, and friendly. When you walk into a church, it should give you that feeling. At St. Nicholas, we work to provide an environment where people of all ages are welcomed, invited, and integrated into God’s family.
Pastoral Care: We all have times in our lives when we need to know God is there. At St. Nicholas, we hope to provide every member with pastoral care so they may experience healing, peace, and God’s love. While this is done by the priest, we are all called to provide such care for one another. The Pastoral Care Committee has provided support, meals, visits, prayer blankets, phone calls and notes. They have been Jesus’ arms, reminding us that God is always there in the midst of all that life brings us. Below are the names of the Pastoral Care Committee and a description of the support they provide to parishioners and a recap of how the process works:
Father Jeff has been there (literally and figuratively) for families who have lost loved ones. He promptly responds to every call and is present for the families during the days and nights of grief and pain.
Peggy Martin sends hand-written notes to parishioners to remind them their church loves them. If you know of someone who could use a note, or if you have a gift of writing notes of encouragement and would like to help, contact Peggy at peggym132@gmail.com or 706 628-5696.
Katherine Johnson coordinates providing meals for those who are experiencing a crisis or have recently had surgery. There’s nothing better than having a meal provided by a friend. If you know of someone who needs a meal or if you would like to help make one, contact Katherine at djohn57@bellsouth.net or 706 628-5676.
Andy Butzon makes prayer blankets for parishioners who need a tangible reminder that God has us wrapped up. When Andy makes prayer blankets, she ties knots into them and says prayers for you with each knot. If you are interested in learning how to make these blankets or in helping Andy with them, contact her at andy.butzon@gmail.com or 706-628-5975.
Terri Townsend sends birthday and anniversary notes. Terri Townsend and the Teen Sunday School class write these notes every month. If you haven’t received one, be sure to let us know when your birthday and anniversary are! You can contact Terri at terri3@mail.com or 706-628-4646.
The entire committee makes check-in calls. At every meeting of the Pastoral Care Committee, we pick people who need a special “check-in” call. If you or someone you know could really use one of these calls, please let us know and we’ll get them on our check-in list.
Father Jeff provides home communion. If you miss Sunday morning and Holy Eucharist, Father Jeff can come to your home and provide you with communion. Please let him know if this is something you would like.
Anyone on the committee can receive requests, but mostly they come through Father Jeff. He will ask you if there’s anything specific you need and if he can have your permission to share with the committee. The committee knows not to share any information about you unless they’ve gotten your permission as well. Confidentiality is key, so if you have something that is for the priest’s ears only, please make sure he knows that. If it’s not confidential, he will pass it along to the committee and they will take care of the rest. You will also go on the prayer list that we read every Sunday (first name only).
