Pastoral Care at St James
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:35-36
Jesus said that people would know we are his followers by the way we love one another. This is our responsibility as Christians being brought together by God in the same family here at St James. In a large church like St James we have to work hard at caring for each other. So how do we do this?
It’s the role of all members of the St James family to care for each other and a lot of pastoral care is done through midweek groups. However not everyone is a member of a midweek group and sometimes you might need some back-up. The following pastoral teams exist to help with pastoral care.
The Pastoral Teams
The Hospital and General team visit people in hospital or in their homes, maybe as they recover from illnesses or those who are housebound. Unfortunately we don’t always hear about people who would like a visit so please do let the church office know if you know of someone going into hospital or someone housebound who would appreciate someone popping in to see them from time to time.
The Mums and New Babies team. This team goes and visit Mums with new babies, as part of welcoming the new baby into the family at St James. They also visit families after their children have been baptised, especially if they are families that aren’t so familiar with St James to let them know about what is on offer for young families at St James. Again if you know of a family in St James who has just had a baby please do let the church office know.
How You Can Get Involved
As usual people have come and gone on the different pastoral teams, so we are always open to recruiting new members, especially for the Newcomers’ team and the Mums and New Babies team. If you want to find out more about how you might help with this important ministry Clare Hendry is always very happy to meet up with people, who would like to get involved with any of the pastoral teams or help with pastoral care in some other way. (contact details below)
Christian Counselling
Sometimes a person may need more than some practical help and someone to talk to and pray with. It may be possible through the church for you to be put in contact with a Christian counsellor, who is either a member of the St James staff or someone we can refer you to outside of St James. If you want to find out further details please contact Clare Hendry, Minister for Pastoral Care clare.hendry@st-james.org.uk or tel. 020 8883 6277
St James’ Church Telephone Listening and Prayer Line
Do you need someone to talk to?
Do you want someone to pray with over a problem?
We are just at the end of the phone - if you feel depressed, lonely, worried or upset and need to talk or pray with someone in confidence
Available on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, between 7.00p.m. - 10.00p.m. Tel. 020 8883 3250