Bereavement Ministry

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Description:

Bereavement Ministry is comprised of a group of about 15 people who lovingly perform various tasks related to parish funerals.   Team members support family members by listening to their stories, lifting them up with prayer and encouragement, leading the planning process,  and walking with them through the rituals of the Catholic Church, following the death of a loved one. We respectfully take care of the details for St. Francis services.

Activities & Events:

Our priest and a bereavement team meet with family representatives to  familiarize them with the funeral rites and plan a Mass of Christian Burial or Memorial Mass.  The team coordinates the required setup and notifies other needed ministries, such as musicians and servers. Our members provide hospitality,  lector and help distribute Communion. Walking with families means having team members at planning, prayer vigils, Masses
and interments.

In November,  our group sponsors  a Memorial Mass for all the families with deceased loved ones for whom our priests have prayed funeral rites in
the  past year.  

Bereavement Ministry gathers for two or three meetings a year, for a holiday party, and an occasional social event.

Once in a while , we attend workshops to learn how to better perform
our duties.

Time Commitment:

Funerals occur on an irregular, unpredictable schedule.  Some members commit to working with families, which involves a significant amount of time over several days. Having three or four lead planning pairs helps reduce the time commitment.  Other members come a few hours around the funeral Mass. Not everyone comes for every funeral, so we usually have about six in attendance.

Helpful Attributes:

Caring

Good listener.

Flexible time schedule.

Organized — good with details.

Contact: Julie Weaver 937-428-9226 or via email at weaverjmarie@sbcglobal.net