Bearing one another’s burdens,
Keeping hearts and minds in Christ.

Pastoral Care is the work of all the full- and part-time clergy on the Cathedral staff, who do daily hospital visitations and respond to special needs as they arise. The Cathedral has a strong Pastoral Care team composed of clergy and lay ministers, overseen by Canon Gary L’Hommedieu. The Pastoral Care Team responds to specific ongoing needs of the congregation through time tested programs. The Team holds itself accountable through ongoing supervision and training of those who participate

Programs of Pastoral Care

Prayer and Healing Ministries

Under the auspices of The Order of St. Luke, a variety of prayer and healing ministries take place at the Cathedral. There are two prayer chains - one telephone and one email - where individuals present their prayer requests and teams of intercessory pray-ers pray for these concerns. On Sundays worshipers in the pews may write their prayer requests on their weekly Connection Cards. After receiving Holy Communion, worshipers may request special prayer and anointing for healing at either of two chapel prayer stations. Members of The Order of St. Luke meet regularly, sponsoring various programs on intercessory prayer and spiritual healing.

Food Ministry

A long list of parishoners respond to calls for special meals to be provided for parishioners in "emergency" circumstances. New moms in particular benefit from a week or more of relief in meal preparation. The same service is frequently provided to families or individuals recovering from illness.

Spiritual Gifts Ministry

Participants take an initial course of Spiritual Gifts Discovery, to learn their Spiritual Gifts profile. The rest of the ministry has to do with matching gifted persons with needs or opportunities for service. This is the model of church participation displayed in the New Testament. At the Cathedral it is one of the core methods for identifying and strengthening those who participate in all our other caring ministries.

Lay Eucharistic Ministers

Lay Eucharistic Ministers (LEM's) are laypersons who have been trained and licensed to bring Holy Communion directly from the altar on Sunday to sick or shut-in parishioners who cannot be present at the Sunday Eucharist.

Stephen Ministry

Stephen Ministers are highly trained lay caregivers who exercise a powerful ministry of listening and encouragement, primarily to individuals who have experienced some difficult times. Stephen Ministers spend as little as a few months and as much as a year or more meeting with Care Receivers, and they meet twice a month with a Peer Supervisory Group to strengthen and enhance their caregiving.

Walking the Mourner's Path

Walking the Mourner's Path is a Christ-Centered bereavement support program, the purpose of which is "to transform grief into joyful living". The Cathedral has 10 facilitators trained to lead this eight week support group, which is open to both members and non-members. Walking the Mourner's Path is offered on the Cathedral campus two or three times per year.

For more information, contact Canon L’Hommedieu at 407-849-0680 or jgarylh@aol.com.

In case of a pastoral emergency, please contact the Church Office or call one of the Cathedral clergy.