pastoral care Archives - Rest Ministries - Chronic Illness and Pain Support

Community Outreach Illness Scenarios Teaching Tool

May 11, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

Community outreach is more than just vacation bible school and Christmas programs. Read through these illness scenarios to see how your church can improve their community outreach and pastoral support for people in the church. By Lisa Copen Community outreach seems to be a common goal of many churches, but it often gets stuck on Christmas programs or vacation bible school. But community outreach, as well as support within our church body, is vital to the lives of so many people. Have you seen the T.V. show, "What Would You Do? With John Quinones"? In it, they have actors set up a situation and then wait to see if anyone gets involved. Do people stand up for the "underdog"? Will adults buy teens beer? Will people stop a drunk parent … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advocacy, Articles, Articles - Read, Caregiver, Church Leader, HopeKeepers Resources, Need to Know, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: bible study, Church Leadership, community outreach, Illness, John Quinones, pastoral care, teaching tool, what would you do, What Would Your Church Do? Illness Scenarios Teaching Tool

What I’d Like to Tell The Pastor About Living with Illness

April 13, 2012 By admin 14 Comments

If you had the opportunity to sit down and really share about your pain, what would you tell the pastor of your church about your chronic illness and daily pain? Lisa Copen Living with chronic illness is lonely. Everyone around us seems to be enjoying health, happiness, and the ability to at least pursue their dreams. But many of us feel lonely, scared, and disappointed. We are faced with so many insecurities and we are living with an illness that we have not been able to pray away, cry away, or confess away. So we turn to our church for guidance, for acceptance, for unconditional support during the most difficult time in our life. But churches are made up of people—all of us imperfect. And our church does not always give us … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Caregiver, Church Leader, Depression, Explaining Illness, Friend Has Illness, HopeKeepers Resources, Hurt Feelings, Loneliness, Medical Professional, Need to Know, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, Person w/ lll Spouse, Share Your Story, Spiritually Struggling, Support Group Leader, Teen w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: care pastor, Christianity, Chronic, Chronic pain, Church, church disabilities ministry, Conditions and Diseases, Congregational, congregational care, Denominations, disability ministry, Disabled, disabled ministry, disablity, God, Health, Illness, Jesus, Joni Eareckson Tada, joni erickson tada, joni tada, Lord, Online Communities, parish, parish nurse, pastor, pastoral care, pastors, Prayer, Religion and Spirituality, Rest Ministries, small groups, Stephen Ministries, stephen ministry

Chaplain Links and Publications

March 16, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Other Chaplaincy Links of Interest American Association of Pastoral Counselors AAPC is evolving into a more diverse professional organization serving within an increasingly complex world. Our members now represent a broader spectrum of theological and spiritual traditions and work among a wide variety of health care providers and settings. American College of Physicians Home Care Guide for Advanced Cancer An excellent resource for chaplaincy caregiving for those undergoing cancer treatments, through all the processes from grieving, to symptoms of treatments, respite, death, etc. Great resources for the chaplain to utilize to be there for the entire family. COMISS Network: The Network on Ministry in Specialized Settings A network … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Caregiver, Caregiving, Church Leader, Links, Medical Professional, What's New? Tagged With: academic, association of professional chaplain, chaplain, chaplain jobs, chaplaincy, chaplian, Christianity, Chronic Illness, God, hospice chaplain, hospital visitation, Mental Health, military chaplain, pastoral care, Religion and Spirituality, United States, United States Department of Veterans Affairs

A HopeKeepers Prayer

April 19, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

Creator, Almighty One, May today there be peace within each of us. May we trust that You are have called us to be here & that this is where we are meant to be. May You help us to remember the infinite possibilities that are born of faith, not only in You, but in ourselves & those around us. May we, even in our brokenness, use the gifts that You have given us, & pass on the hope & love that we find in Your presence. May You teach us to be content with ourselves just the way we are & to recognize You in everyone we meet & in all creation. Lord, let the wisdom & grace You provide settle into our bones, & allow our souls the freedom to sing, dance, praise, hope & love even when our bodies ache. Grant us the grace & underst&ing to share … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church Leader, HopeKeepers Resources, Poems, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: Cessna 150, Christianity, church illness ministry, congregational care, Faith, God, hopekeepers, Jesus, Kathy Troccoli, Lord, pastoral care, pray, Prayer, Religion and Spirituality, resources, Sea World, Support group

Providing Pastoral Care to Persons with Mental Illness & Their Family

March 3, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

Rev. Rose Anne Briotte, a psychiatric chaplain in Knoxville, TN, & a member of the Mental Health Ministries Advisory Committee, has put together a brochure on "Guidelines for Clergy: Providing Pastoral Care to Persons with Mental Illness & Their Family." It is available on the Mental Health Ministries website by clicking the link above. You may also be interested in an article in The Christianity Century. It looks at the high incidence of clergy depression in clergy that can lead to suicide. Submitted by Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder, Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries. Related articles How Do I Find a Good Psychiatrist? (psychcentral.com) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Caregiver, Church Leader, Depression, Health News, Links, Medical Professional, Mental Illness, What's New? Tagged With: bethany hamilton bio, Bible study (Christian), Brady Bunch, Christian, Daniel Cox, Depression, Good Samaritan, Health, janet dauble, Lisa Saunders, Major depressive disorder, Mental disorder, Mental Health, Ministries, Ministry, pastoral care, Rahab, Soul Surfer casting, soul surfer movie release date, Website, working with christian life coach, www.bethanyhamilton.com

New Study Finds Clergy Dismiss Depression, Anxiety The Most Often

February 25, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

This is a study that was released Sept 2009 that we are passing on to our readers. We have added the bold parts. New Study Finds Clergy Dismiss Depression, Anxiety The Most Often Released: 9/30/2009 11:50 AM EDT Source: Baylor University Newswise — In 2008, a Baylor University study found nearly a third of those who approached their local church for assistance in response to a personal or family member’s diagnosed mental illness were told by their church pastor that they or their loved one did not really have a mental illness. Baylor researchers have now built upon that research & have found that depression & anxiety are the mental illnesses that are dismissed the most often. Research consistently shows that clergy – not … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Caregiver, Church Leader, Depression, Explaining Illness, Health News, Hurt Feelings, Mental Illness, Need to Know, Person w/ Illness, Statistics, What's New? Tagged With: Bipolar Disorder, caring for ill in church, Christian, Church Leadership, Depression, disabilities, elders, Faith, Health, Herbal tea, hospital visitation, Illness, Live attenuated influenza vaccine, Major depressive disorder, Mary E. Siegel, Mental disorder, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Ministry, Ministry - Personal, parish nurses, pastoral care, pastors, PhD, Psychology, stephen minister, stephen ministry

4 New Resouces for Including Spirituality in Treatment of Mental Illness

February 12, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you are looking for resources/study guides for clergy & communities of faith, Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder, Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries has written four, in response to the many questions & requests for information that she has received from persons who want to include spirituality as an important part of the treatment & recovery process. She shares. . . Surveys show that over forty percent of Americans seeking help with mental health issues turn first to ministers, priests & rabbis. This is twice as many as those who went first to a psychiatrist, psychologist or family physician. Unfortunately, the response of clergy & congregations falls significantly short of what parishioners expect of their faith … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advocacy, Caregiver, Church Leader, Depression, Links, Medical Professional, Mental Illness, Need to Know, Our Best Tips, Person w/ Illness, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: Antarctica, Bible study (Christian), care, chronic pain disorder, chronic pains, Daniel Cox, Emperor Penguin, Epistle to the Hebrews, Faith, Family, Good Samaritan, Health, Hospital, Illness, Illnesses, India, Kleenex, Lisa Saunders, Madonna (entertainer), Mental disorder, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Ministries, Mount Sinai, Multiple chemical sensitivity, Noah, Parable of the Good Samaritan, Parable of the Lost Sheep, pastoral care, Praise the Lord, Rahab, resources, Steve Green, United States, what can a life coach do, Winston Churchill, working with christian life coach, Wound

Web Site Now Has Table of Contents

January 8, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

We are excited about all of the great articles, devotionals & more that we have now on our web site, but sometimes you may not be able to find exactly what you're looking for. If you have a key word, the best way is to click on the "search" box on the top right, but if you want a general overview you can now find it on our web page with just one click. It's listed under the navigation bar above that says "About" [under "Site Index"] AND "Online Support" [as "Table of Contents"] You may be a bit overwhelmed with all of the info, but at least it really is all in one place. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Links, What's New? Tagged With: articles about illness, awareness, chronic illness resouces, hopekeepers, Invisible Illness Week, pastoral care, Rest Ministries, Search Engines, site index, table of contents, toc, Website

Carved Dove is Perfect Comfort Gift

January 8, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

This beautiful hand-carved dove is one of the newest items we have added to our Comfort Zone Bookstore. It is the design of Kathy Myers Nave who has lived with multiple sclerosis. The dove is similar to the much-loved Clinging Cross. One holds it in his or her hand; even for those who have hands that are somewhat deformed (like our director Lisa Copen) it still works with ease. It's a wonderful way to feel God's peace when praying or for those times one does not know when to pray. It comes packaged in a sheer lavender gift bag & then that is in a clear plastic triangle-shaped box, ready to give as a gift. It would be a great item for those who are support group leaders, elders, parish nurses, etc. to have on hand. It would be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Caregiver, Church Leader, Depression, Friend Has Illness, HopeKeepers Resources, Medical Professional, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, RM Shop E-flyers, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: Associations, Chronic Illness, clinging cross, comfort when ill, elders, Film director, gifts for ill, Health, hold while praying, Hospital, hospital visitation, Indiana, parish nurse, pastoral care, Shopping, United States, Washington, Wood

Christian & Interfaith Caregiver Resources

November 1, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

Stephen Ministries They offer courses & ministry systems to fit the needs of every congregation & adult education ministry. Lay caregivers (called Stephen Ministers) provide one-to-one Christian care to the bereaved, hospitalized, terminally ill, separated, divorced, unemployed, relocated, & others facing a crisis or life challenge. Stephen Ministry helps pastors enhance caring ministry by ensuring that quality follow-up care is available for as long as it is needed. Illness-Disability-Healthcare-Caregiver Ministry Network Join this social networking group developed by Rest Ministries to get to know others who have the same passions for caregiver ministry. Equipping to Encourage Dedicated to helping people provide … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Caregiver, Caregiving, Friend Has Illness, Links, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ lll Spouse, What's New? Tagged With: Alzheimer's disease, care-giver, care-giving, Caregiver, Caregiver Support, Caregiving, Christian, Conditions and Diseases, congregational care, Health, illness ministry, Medicine, pastoral care, resources, stephen minister, Stephen Ministries, Terminal illness

Facebook for Pastors – Free Ebook

September 29, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

Is your pastor on Facebook? Or are you not yet on Facebook & wondering what it could offer you? Here is a great way to be introduced to Facebook from a ministry outreach perspective. Chris Forbes, founder of Ministry Marketing Coach, speaks & writes on the subjects of ministry marketing, faith-based nonprofit marketing, social marketing, & Guerrilla Marketing for nonprofits. He has written a 31 page e-book called Facebook for Pastors to help pastors & other ministry leaders make the most of Facebook as a great networking tool. And shows how to build relationships & connect with people. Tips included in this book are: How to make the most of your profile information Tips for Networking with People in Facebook All about … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church Leader, Need to Know, Our Best Tips Tagged With: . free ebook, congregational care, congregational care resources for pastors, E-book, Facebook, free e-book pastors, Guerrilla Marketing, Marketing, On the Web, Online Communities, pastoral care, pastors on facebook, pastors on social networks, Personal computer, Social network, social networking for pastors, tips for pastors on the internet