Pastoral Ministry to the sick

St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church

As the name implies, The Ministry to the sick is a pastoral ministry, which is designed to minister to the needs of members who are sick and/or who are unable to attend regular church services.   

Ministry to the sick at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church serves the parish boundary hospitals such as St. Joseph’s, Northside, and Scottish Rite Children Care Hospital etc. Also, St. Jude the Apostle represents the other sister churches when the request is being made for Holy Communion. The ministry also visits Nursing care, Assisted living care, and Hospices within the parish boundary and to the private homes of St. Jude Catholic Church. 

The ministry recently added to its service to serve the expectant mothers with Holy Communion and prayers, who are in the hospital with the assistance of St. Theresa’s Circle, which is a ministry group for young mothers with children. 

The ministry to the sick is a traditional and spiritual ministry. We offer the same aspects of worship to the sick and shut-in on an as needed basis. The volunteers visit the sick every Sunday.  Scriptures are read, intentions are prayed for, short reflection of the Scriptures for the particular Sunday is given, and the most precious Holy Communion is offered and final prayer is being delivered. Most Precious Holy Communion is the essence of our faith. We believe it is Christ Jesus, who is the corner stone of our Christian Belief. Through the prayers and receiving Jesus the sick put their faith towards getting healed spiritually and physically.

As a tradition of Catholic Church there is always the most precious Holy Communion is reserved in the tabernacle to serve the sick.

The need for Holy Communion to our sister community of Hispanic and Portuguese are also being served by our ministry.

The Pastor Msgr. James Fennessy has approved a spiritual healing mass for the people who are sick at our parish, on every first Monday of the month. The people who long for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing are invited to receive the anointing. The congregation is prayed for by laying hands on the head and then anointed with Holy oils on the palms and on the forehead.  

Currently the Ministry consists of 30+ ministry volunteers and would like to add more to serve the need of the parish community of St. Jude the Apostle better. We are looking for volunteers who are:

	A listening presence
	Compassion and empathy
	A non-judgmental attitude
	Confidentiality
	Commitment and follow-through
	Prayerfulness
	Gentleness of manner
	Commitment to continuous training and spiritual development

 Since we understand the commitment for other day-to-day matters of volunteers the ministry request the service for one Sunday a month. The Diocesan Policy requires a successful completion “Safe Environment Program” which includes background screening, viewing a video about Archdiocese Policies towards children and vulnerable adults and completion of all volunteer paper work. The purpose of this policy is to ensure the safety of all those entrusted to our care. 

We would like to have you as one of our ministry volunteers to help this ministry to serve better and grow. Thanks for being part of our parish home of St. Jude the Apostle. 

For further information, Please contact the MTS coordinator                   

Chris Gnanapragasam

678-252-5684 or Chris@stjudeatlanta.net       

 

St.Jude the Apostle Catholic Church ©2007· 7171 Glenridge Dr., Atlanta, GA 30328· Office: 770 394-3896· Fax: 770-399-7866