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Elizabeth Ministry
Ministry Description:The Elizabeth Ministry is designed to bring the love and compassion of Jesus Christ to women during their childbearing years through other women. It is an outreach to women in special times of motherhood. "Special times of motherhood" could be basically anything from the celebration of a pregnancy, celebration of new birth or successful adoption, to more difficult issues like miscarriage, infant or child crisis, or infertility isssues. The Elizabeth ministry is based on Jesus' vision of the radical goodness, beauty, and truth of human life and follows the example in the Bible (Luke, Chapter 1) of the visitation by bringing women together who share a similar story. This ministry provides an opportunity for like-to-like ministry through personal visits. This kind of ministry is in such great need today because many extended families are very far away and cannot be present to offer help and support as once was done. Churches have increased in size, making it difficult to create a warm, hospitable, personal, and loving environment, and mobility of people makes it hard to find and make lasting friendships and finding the support needed. The wisdom of sharing stories about the joys and trials of childbirth is still needed. Reassurance and advice, usually given by the extended family, often now need to come from another source. The search to fill this need has resulted in the Elizabeth Ministry. By sharing their stories and experiences, women serve one another in an atmosphere of faith, hope and love. Each Elizabeth minister represents the parish community. She becomes an instrument of its care, support, and resources to women and their families during their childbearing years.What this ministry can do for you:This ministry is a very beautiful ministry in that it offers women the chance to be servants of Christ to other women. It offers the opportunity to make a real difference in someone else's life, by giving encouragement, affirmation, and support during the happy, sad, and difficult times of motherhood. Through the Elizabeth ministry women can become mentors for one another in the magnificent adventure of bringing new life into the world. As women, it is in our nature to share with each other. This ministry accentuates this sharing of life experiences and brings about a caring commitment and a sense of connectedness. Elizabeth ministers will be called upon, but may decline a case if it is not convenient for them at that time. The Elizabeth ministry stresses the importance of the family and that it should come first.Membership Profile:Number in group: Meetings:Meetings are held quarterly and have, for this year, been held on the first Saturday of the month from 10-12pm. Current Needs:The Elizabeth ministry delivers a gift and resource kit to each person we minister to. These kits contain materials, prayers, booklets, and gifts appropriate for each particular situation we face, such as Pregnancy Support, Celebration of new birth, miscarriage, infant or child crisis, adoption issues, infertility issues, etc. We are always looking for talented people who would be willing to make homemade articles for these resource kits.Another need of our ministry is that of childcare during our quarterly meetings. Many of the women have small children and would be very appreciative of this. And of course, as a ministry, we welcome any and all referrals within the St. Michael's parish community. If you or someone you know needs the care and compassion of another woman who has "been there" please do not hesitate to contact the Elizabeth Ministry. We are women helping women through the love of Christ. Special Events:Since we are a very new ministry to St. Michael's, we do not have many special events in place as of yet, but that may come in the future. In the month of May we will be hosting an appreciation breakfast preceded by Mass for all of our Elizabeth Ministers.
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