Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group
Our Alzheimer’s Support Groups resumed meeting on Thursdays from 10 AM - 11:30 AM. The respite care room for the loved ones will not resume at this time. If you have not been vaccinated, we ask that you please continue to wear a mask. The church will not be providing refreshments, but you are welcome to bring your coffee or tea in a covered mug.
To participate, please call the Care office at (352) 750-4529.
Congregational Care Ministers (CCM)
Congregational Care Ministers are available to walk beside you in your time of need. These volunteers have been trained and commissioned to provide care for you in a variety of ways. Whether you need a hospital visit, or you or a loved one are in a care facility, or unable for a period of time to leave your home, they are ready to serve.
If you have a need or are interested in becoming a congregational care minister, please contact the Care office at (352) 750-4529.
GriefShare Support Ministry
GriefShare features biblical, Christ-centered teaching that focuses on grief topics associated with the death of a loved one. With GriefShare, you’ll learn how to go through a healthy season of grieving, then begin transitioning to emotional and spiritual wholeness. Through videos, workbooks, and discussions, we are here to walk with you in your grief journey. We want to help you find hope and healing.
We offer two sessions a year: January and September (both sessions run thirteen weeks).
Cost: $25
For more information call the Congregational Care office at (352) 750-4529.
Handy Fellas
This group of dedicated volunteers supply the person-power to do light home repair jobs for our singles, the elderly, and those with physical limitations in our church family. Jobs such as: changing batteries in smoke alarms, simple plumbing and electrical work, and light yard work.
For jobs north of CR 466, please contact Brady Placek.
For jobs south of CR 466, please call Jim Bensema.
If you have a need or are interested in becoming a Handy Fella, please contact the Care office at (352) 750-4529.
Hope for Hurting Parents
The support group meets in person and on Zoom.
A Biblically-based support for parents and grandparents of children who struggle with various paths of destruction and pain. These paths may include addiction, mental illness, incarceration, estrangement, and others. We have group meetings every Thursday from 2 PM – 3:30 PM.
For more information, contact the Care office at (352) 750-4529.
Prayer Ministry
Praying Together: meets Wednesdays at 3:15 p.m. Each week, a faithful gathering of people prays over the prayer cards and concerns of our congregation. They also pray for our church and our world.
To fill out a Prayer Request online, click here.
Prayers & Squares: quilts are being made by a dedicated group in our church who envision the quilts being a special gift of love for sick babies, for cancer and AIDS patients, for adults and children facing surgery, or for people facing difficult family situations — for many different reasons — but each for someone in special need of prayer.
To fill out a Quilt Request online, click here.
Happy Hands: our Prayer Shawl Ministry meets each Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. If you are interested in helping, join us any time. If you are able to help, please drop off your donations in the Care office. What started as skeins of colorful thread has become an intertwined wrap of prayers to cover shoulders that need divine love, peace, and hugging your heart telling you that God loves, God understands, God is with you. For more information, contact Anna Sivak below.
Stephen Ministry
“Christ Caring for People Through People”
Stephen Ministers provide confidential, one-on-one Christian care to individuals in our congregation and community who are experiencing difficulties in their lives. A Stephen Minister receives 50 hours of training in providing emotional and spiritual care. They listen, care, pray, support, and encourage.
As Christians, we are called to share in the joys and sorrows of others. Sharing the joy is usually a lot easier than sharing the sorrow. We may not know how to comfort someone in pain, either physical or emotional. We may not know what to say when facing another’s grief. Well, the good news is that we don’t have to say anything. We just need to be there. But can we be there for as long as our friend needs us? There is someone who can — that person is a Stephen Minister.
Your Stephen Ministers are trained to listen and not judge, to encourage through their presence and their prayers. If you or someone you know needs a Christian friend to walk with them until they are ready to walk on their own again, please call the Care office at (352) 750-4529.
Visitation Ministry
Hospital/Facilities Visits: Pastoral and lay minister visits are made to hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and rehab centers. If you know of anyone in one of our local area facilities, please call the Care office at (352) 750-4529 so we may arrange a visitation.
Home Communion: We offer Communion on a limited basis to those in our faith community who are limited in their ability to leave their homes or reside in assisted-living facilities or during a hospitalization or stay in a rehabilitation facility if desired. Please let us know if you would like to receive Communion or if you know someone that would appreciate Home Communion by calling the Care office.