Pastoral and Congregational Care

​Pastoral or 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 or contact Rev. Karen Hering at karen@unityunitarian.org or 651-228-1456, x109.

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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. 

To Apply to Serve as a Care Associate
If you would like to serve as a Care Associate, applications are accepted annually, December-January 15. All associates must attend the annual training in February and are commissioned in March for a two-year term. Information on the Care Associate tasks, expectations, and qualifications, along with an application form are available online.

CARE ASSOCIATE DESCRIPTION AND APPLICATION

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. These programs will be recruiting additional volunteers early in 2022, and more information will be posted here when that recruitment begins.  

Support Groups

Contact Rev. Karen Hering if you would like to participate in one of the following support groups co-facilitated by the Associate Minister and a Care Associate. 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.