Although the UUUS congregation is filled with generous and caring people, sometimes it struggles with meeting the pastoral care needs of its members. Some members have been held back from asking for assistance because they lack the knowledge of who to call. Other members have held back from lending a hand because they don't know who is in need or how to help them. How can this situation be changed?
At its April 2006 meeting the UUUS Board of Trustee posed this question to Sylvia Friedman, who recently moved to Orlando from Bethesda, Maryland. Sylvia has a life-long passion for pastoral ministry and for seven years served as Director of the Pastoral Care Program at River Road Unitarian Church in Bethesda. With her wealth of knowledge and experience, Sylvia has offered to chair a steering committee to lay the organizational groundwork for a pastoral care program. This program will integrate an informal collection of resources into a cohesive program to better address the chronic needs of infirmed members, provide episodic support to members suffering from life crises, and render spiritual, educational, and physical support to people lacking social resources.
The Board invites those of you who find joy in helping members with pastoral care needs to reshape our congregation into a caring community. Please review the PowerPoint slides to learn more about pastoral care and what you can do to make the Board's vision a reality.