Congregational Care

Through the Gates of Grief with Rev. Karen Gustafson

Tuesday, November 29, and December 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., online via Zoom
Registration
As a follow-up to the Wellspring Wednesday program Everyone Grieves, Rev. Karen Gustafson is offering four Tuesday evening sessions on Frances Weller’s “Five Gates to Grief." The sessions will be free standing so the registration will ask you to designate the ones you think you will attend. You do not need to have attended the original session.

Unity's Bookstall and Anderson Library will have a few copies of The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Frances Weller available. Rev. Gustafson strongly recommends reading the "Introduction" and the chapter "Gates to Grief." It is also recommended that you Google "Francis Weller YouTube" and watch the videos in which he discusses his work, specifically the video "An Apprenticeship with Sorrow: Tending to the Losses of Everyday Life," Weller's address to the Jung Institute. And finally, please read "Apprentice to Sorrow" (scroll down page).

Congregational Care comes in many forms at Unity Church. It might be a comfort shawl knitted by a church member to wrap around your shoulders when you are ill or reeling from life’s troubles. Or maybe it’s a caring call or visit, a meal, a ride or a thoughtful card that comes your way when you were hurting, recovering or grieving. Or maybe it’s a support group where you can share with others who are also on a journey of grief or caregiving or living with a loved one with mental health challenges.

All these, and more, are examples of congregational care offered by Unity’s ministers and lay members on the Care Associates Team. We accompany church members and friends living through difficult times and, in our congregational life, we nurture the loving and healthy interdependence on which true justice and right relationship depend.

To Request Congregational Care
Do you have a concern or joy you wish to have shared in Sunday worship? Would you like to request a call from the minister or a Care Associate? Can the Helping Hands program support you with meals, rides or other assistance? Please let us know. Use the form on this page, email pastoralcare@unityunitarian.org, or call 651-802-1198.

Care Associates

Unity’s Care Associates are trained and commissioned church members who partner with the Associate Minister to offer spiritual, emotional and practical care. Care Associates are compassionate listeners who support fellow church members in moments of challenge, crisis, and celebration. Care Associates accompany people with confidentiality on “short walks” or “long ones.” This includes:

Naming congregants’ passages in Sunday worship’s Embracing Meditations (only with permission).
Texting, emailing, phone or video calls; postal messages of support, encouragement and care; and Sunday morning conversation at the pastoral care table in Parish Hall after worship.
Comfort shawls, knitted by church members for those experiencing illness or loss, as a physical reminder of the congregation’s embrace.
Support groups co-facilitated by the associate minister and a lay leader, including the Living with Grief, the Caregivers, and Families Living with Mental Health Challenges (see below for details).
“Helping Hands” support such as meals, rides, errands and other practical assistance, as well as memorial service hospitality.
One-time or ongoing in-person visits with people isolated by illness, aging or other circumstances.

Dick Buggs cares for Vivian Stone at the Ramsey County Care Facility

Helping Hands

The “Helping Hands” programs depend on church members, who provide meals, rides, or other important practical assistance. Volunteers also bake and serve treats for memorial service receptions, and others knit comfort shawls that are given to people experiencing illness or loss.

Support Groups

Email unity@unityunitarian.org if you would like to participate in one of the following support groups. Groups may be online or in person. Participants can come for a single session or return to the group as needed.

Families Living with Mental Health Challenges
Support for those who have loved ones living with mental health challenges. Meets the first Saturday of the month at 9:30 a.m.

Caregivers Group
For those supporting others as part-time or full-time caregivers of loved ones. Meets the third Thursday of the month at noon.

Living With Grief Group
A supportive space for people navigating the many stages of grief and loss. Meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m.