What is the FGCC Care Community all about?

What is Care? A quick Google search reveals that it is the desire to pay close attention to, to feel concern and responsibility for and to look after and provide for those in your community. This is a very real definition of what Jesus has called us to do as a body of believers.

At FGCC we support by teaching, encouraging, and walking alongside, we minister through serving and, above all, we pray with and for those who are hurting.

By offering the compassion and care of a Christ-centered Registered Nurse (Parish Nurse), members have access to health education, personal health counseling, advocacy, a liaison with the community, and help in understanding the relationship between lifestyle, attitudes, faith and well-being.

Volunteers are recruited and equipped to offer support groups, visitation, meals, prayer shawls and help in time of crisis and/or change. To help us fulfill this mandate teams have been developed for members to join and work in their giftedness. These teams are Health, Outreach, Funeral and Crisis.

Health Team: Working as team, members promote health in body, mind and spirit by implementing healthy change through support groups, day seminars, bulletin board, and topical workshops.

Outreach Team: Working in specialized teams, members reach out in tangible ways to each other. These teams include Prayer Shawl team, Visitation team, Encouragement team, Flower Ministry team, Food Hamper team, Independent team and Prayer team.

Crisis Team: This team is on hold waiting for the results from the Crisis Preparedness Plan that is being implemented at FGCC.

Funeral Team: This team works together to serve at funerals held at FGCC. Persons are flexible with their daytime schedules and willing to serve members experiencing loss.

Why 'Parish Nurse'? According to Wikipedia, a Parish is a local church. It’s an administrative unit that has typically been used in Episcopal or Presbyterian churches. But, it also refers to an assembly of believers or a community of people with a shared belief. In this usage, a parish minister (or nurse) is one who serves a congregation.
Parish Nursing is a renewal of an earlier (19th century) calling to the Lutheran and Reformed churches of Germany, who responded to the displaced population, urban poor, epidemics, violence and crime that were fallouts of the Industrial Revolution. Women were called to take up service to the sick, poor and orphaned which led to a Nursing sisterhood of which Florence Nightingale was a student. She returned to England bringing spiritual care with her. This sisterhood in Germany worked as an extension of the mission of the church and moved out of institutionalized –based care to community – based care, namely congregations or parishes.

 

For further information on any health/spiritual concerns contact Judy Johnson PN