HEALTH MINISTRY
Health Ministry is composed of twelve different ministries working independently toward
health and wholeness in body, mind and spirit for our parishioners and the greater
community.
The health ministries are as follows:
Blood Drive – occurs two times a year, one during Lent and the other at the beginning of the
summer. Our next blood drive will be during Lent. Call the parish office to sign up for a
donation time. Our last blood drive in July yielded 46 units of usable blood!!
Seniors Social Group - group of retired and semi-retired persons who get together at least once
a month for lunch and often times an outing. We have gone to Washington DC, Baltimore and
Annapolis to name a few. The members create the schedule for the year. Check out the most
recent schedule on the St Francis website at instrumentofpeace.org.
New members always Welcome! Literature helpful to senior citizens can be found on the
bookshelf in the gathering space.
Prayer Team – has about 14 people who take turns getting prayer requests out of the basket in
front of the church (to the left of the alter), from the prayer telephone line at the church and the
prayer request link on this website. Once the requests are picked up, the prayer team member
distributes the requests among the 14 members. Each member than prays for the requests given
each day for at least 7 days. Prayer has been found to be a powerful tool in healing. New
members are most welcome!
Blood Pressure Screening Team – has about 15-20 people who take blood pressures after
masses once a month. All of the people on this team have professional training in taking blood
pressures. They have all been trained as health care professionals in one way or another. We
have nurses, doctors, researchers and CPR trainers on the team. We take about 15 blood
pressures a month, but would like to screen many more people. The table set up for taking blood
pressures also has a lot of educational material about high blood pressure and heart and blood
vessel health. The parish nurse reviews the blood pressure readings and calls people who have
elevated blood pressures to encourage them to follow up with their doctor. Come on in and roll
up your sleeve to LIVE!
Postal Ministry – has about 4 volunteers. Some of these volunteers make cards and another
volunteer signs and mails the cards to people who have had someone in their family die,
experiencing a bad illness or going through a really hard time. We send about 25-30 cards each
month.
Lifeline – is a cancer support group that is facilitated by the faith community nurse. The group
meets once a month at a neighboring church. There are about 8-12 people who come at any one
meeting. Lots of information is shared among the group. Lots of written information is
available also to any one who comes to the group. All people are welcome. Meetings are the
2nd Tuesday of the month 7:30p.
Prison Ministry – has 20-25 volunteers. We go, 2 ministers each week and provide a
communion service and some fellowship for imprisoned men. The prison we visit is a medium
security prison for men. We also have ministers who run a bible study on Saturday 3p - 5p for
the men. We always go in with at least 2 ministers at a time. We provide a Christmas service as
well. The ministers in this group go into the prison about every 6-8 weeks. NEW MINISTERS
ARE NEEDED.
Here’s To Your Health – is a newsletter that is published every month in the bulletin.
“Potty Training” (Health Information in the Restrooms) – each month the faith
community nurse writes or finds health information which is posted in the men’s and women’s
bathrooms. Next time you go to the bathroom at St. Francis look for this!
Pastoral Visitors – visit people who are not able to get to church on their own either due to
injuries, illness or aging. We visit 2 large assisted living homes for senior citizens and 6 smaller
privately owned assisted living homes located in our surrounding neighborhoods. We visit
people either on a regular basis or as needed. Also some ministers visit hospitalized people at
Howard County General Hospital. There are about 15 people in this ministry. Most of the people
we visit are elderly. We bring communion and a sense of belonging to our faith community at St
Francis. NEW MINISTERS ARE WELCOME!
Medical Equipment Loan Program – where parishioners can borrow wheelchairs, walkers,
canes, potty chairs, shower chairs, crutches and other medical items. All items are donations to
St Francis. The faith community nurse tries to keep all the equipment in workable order. People
must sign out equipment at the parish office and let the office know when it is returned. All
donations go through the parish nurse.
Meals that Heal – is a program that provides meals to parishioners who are having a difficult
time due to illness or crisis. There is a parishioner who coordinates this program. We have
about 30-40 volunteers willing to make meals for others as needed. We always find out about
special diet needs, allergies and likes before setting up meal delivery. We will deliver to a
parishioner about 2-3 times a week as needed. NEW TEAM MEMBERS ARE WELCOME!
AED Program – is coordinated by the faith community nurse. The AED program means that
our church is registered with Maryland Emergency Medical Services System as a location with
an Automated External Defibrillator. This is used to help get someone’s heart started again after
a heart attack. People must be trained in CPR and the use of the AED before they can provide
this service. We now have the whole St Francis staff trained and several other parishioners.
Training will be ongoing. Training is offered by the faith community nurse and another
parishioner.
Caring for Christ - offers transportation, running errand/shopping, respite companion service
(no skilled care), prayer shawls to the sick. TEAM MEMBERS ARE NEEDED. Please call
Tracey to join or for more details.
Faith Community Nurse Services – are available to all parishioners. These services include
consultation on health issues, education, health care advocacy, and health related referrals.
The faith community nurse at St Francis is a Registered Nurse who focuses on health including
the entire individual/family in body, mind, and spirit. A variety of literature and resources are
available through the Faith Community Nurse.