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PERSONAL TOUCH

Parishes reach out to homebound

Homebound Catholics stay connected to their parishes in a variety of ways.

According to Harley McDevitt, coordinator of pastoral care for the Albany Diocese, in addition to visits from Eucharistic ministers, some homebound Catholics receive Christmas and Easter gifts or baked goods, birthday cards, transportation, prayer shawls and social visits. Some parishes even have Alzheimer's care teams to provide respite to caregivers.

"It starts with the parish itself," Ms. McDevitt said: A commitment on the part of the parish, including hiring a coordinator for pastoral care, will help a parish succeed. A coordinator can recruit and train volunteers as well as keep track of parishioners in need.

Ms. McDevitt said that, in addition to ministering to homebound Catholics, pastoral care involves ministering to Catholics in hospitals, nursing homes and senior care facilities.

Finding needy
But one of the biggest challenges to parishes is keeping track of parishioners in need of this ministry. In the past, hospitals and nursing homes could contact parishes when a parishioner was admitted. Due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), this is no longer the case. Families don't always notify the parish if a family member becomes homebound, either.

"Identifying the homebound is a challenge," Ms. McDevitt said.

Kathleen Sousa, parish life director at Blessed Sacrament parish in Bolton Landing, noted that one of the benefits of life in a small town parish is that identifying the homebound can be easier. 

"This is a small parish and a small town," she remarked. "There is word of mouth."

In addition to visits from Eucharistic ministers, Ms. Sousa said the youth of the parish visit the homebound during Christmas and Easter, bringing baked goods to approximately 30 homebound parishioners.

At St. Clement's Church in Saratoga Springs, Kathleen Empie, pastoral associate for pastoral care and outreach, said the homebound receive communion and the parish bulletin each week.

"The visits are both pastoral and social," she stated.

Help in grief
Mrs. Empie said many of the homebound are also grieving. These parishioners receive letters or phone calls each month on the anniversary of their loved one's death. On the one-year anniversary, the bereaved receive a letter from the priest who presided at the funeral.

At both Blessed Sacrament and St. Clement's, volunteers are trained prior to beginning their ministry to the homebound. Listening skills are particularly important.

"They need to be silent listeners," Mrs. Empie said of pastoral ministers. "They need to be able to listen and not talk. They also need to be full of mercy and compassion."

Ms. McDevitt said that, for volunteers in this ministry, "the graces are more than you can imagine. When you are journeying with someone, when you are connecting someone with their parish, you are the face of Christ and you are seeing the face of Christ."

(07/09/09) [[In-content Ad]]

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