Bereavement Ministry At Saint Mary's Church
History
In January 2005, ten St. Mary’s parishioners formed a Bereavement Committee to minister to parish family members who had experienced a death in their immediate families. The duties of the committee included tracking parish deaths through the newspaper and parish bulletin, publicizing the importance of reporting deaths to the church, and ministering to families. In 2006, St. Mary's became a Stephen Ministry congregation and began providing a series of grief booklets titled Journeying Through Grief as well as having a Mass said for the family member who had died.
Purpose
"I came that you may have life—life abundant." St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral desires to honor the life and death of its members, to comfort its members who have lost a loved one, and minister to the families of our parishioners who have died. The mission of this ministry, now under the care of Stephen Ministry Leadership Team but inclusive of the entire parish, is to take every opportunity to comfort and care for those who are grieving.
How St. Mary's Fulfills the Ministry
The Bereavement Outreach Ministry wants to minister to anyone in our parish who suffers the loss of a loved one and to the families of our beloved parishioners who have died. In order to accomplish this, we must be made aware of the loss. While the Church and parish community may be aware of its members who die and their families, we may not be aware when a parish member loses a close family member, especially if they do not live in Amarillo. Under any circumstance, a phone call to the Church at 806-376-7204 or to the Stephen Ministry Confidential Care Line, 806-350-2930 is essential. Let us know the name of the parish member and who in the family has died and a contact number and name in order to obtain more information. At that point, the information will go immediately to Monsignor Waldow and the Stephen Ministry. Stephen Ministers serve on the Bereavement Outreach on a voluntary basis and the ministry is coordinated by Stephen Leader Cindy Cox.
Our Understanding of Death and Grief
"Jesus wept" is the shortest verse in Scripture, but one of the most powerful. Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. He was deeply moved at the sorrow of the family and friends of Lazarus, and he wept with them, even though he knew that their sorrow would soon be turned to joy. Our faith assures us that we too will know the day when our sorrow is turned to joy, and we also know that Jesus weeps with us as we walk the path of grief.
At the death of a loved one, we are sad of course, but more than that, death changes us. The place that person had in our life is now vacant and how do we cope? The answer is not simple. Coping comes in many ways and the desire of St. Mary's Bereavement Ministry is to assure that no one has to figure it out alone.