PERSONAL SUPPORT MINISTRIES

NAMI

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill is a support group for families who deal with mental illness. This group is led by its members and meets with member-anonymity. They meet on the second Thursday of every month at 7:30 in the Hoag Parlor. New members are always welcome.

AA

Alcoholics Anonymous meets at our facility every Monday evening at 7:30 pm. The meeting is a “closed” meeting, meaning that it is not open to “visitors”, and thus is intended to offer identity anonymity. Newcomers to the program are always welcome.

Pastoral Counseling

Working with Dr. Mark Stanberry, and Candace Stanberry MSN, counseling services are made available to parishioners. Referrals are often made through any one of the ministers, but Dr. Stanberry can be contacted directly at 767-0802.

Parish Nursing

A team of nurses, working together with Carleen Gerber, provide support as best they can in specific circumstances of need within church families. Their experience and knowledge has been of valuable aid in brief times when a crisis emerges. Also, several of the nurses have expertise in nursing-home referral and access to “at-home-care” support. They can be reached by calling Carleen Gerber, at home or through the church office.

Congregational Care Connection Through the volunteer efforts of our church members, a “cache” of homemade soups is available to members who need help with simple meals. These are kept in a freezer designated for this purpose near our kitchen, and can be taken by anyone who would like to avail themselves of this support. If you would like to volunteer to help prepare simple meals for members of the congregation, please call Pat Saltsman at 434-5464, Judy Simmons at 739-5042, or Carleen Gerber at the office or at her home (434-0058).

Pastoral Support

Each of our ministers is available to offer personal support at any time. They can be reached at their homes, as listed below, or contacted through the church office, 434-8686, where confidential voice-mail boxes are accessible for each of them.

David Good   434-5307
Carleen Gerber  434-0058
Cathy Zall      434-9555
Ned Castner   767-0615     

1st Congregational Church of Old Lyme
Last modified: 03/26/10