There are many layers of Pastoral Caring within the Congregation… friends calling on friends, Elders visiting, members of the Pastoral Visiting Scheme and the Hospital and Bereavement Teams, etc. Here we would like to describe the work of the Core Pastoral Visiting Team.
Core Pastoral Visiting Team
The team of Rev Malcolm Rooney, Rev Linda Stevens, Mrs Christine Rooney, Mrs Agnes Mills and Mrs Rosanne Miller, seek to bring the love of God and the support and compassion of the congregation into times of need in the lives of people who live in the parish. They have found that their work focuses on the following areas:
Single Crisis Events –
These include funerals, family splits, work crisis, etc. Malcolm and Linda take the lead in visiting for events of this nature and they may be supported by Chris and then Agnes as appropriate. Normally there will be one to three visits associated with these events.Ongoing Crisis Support – This is the ongoing support that arises from the Single Event and here, Christine takes the lead. She is supported by Agnes and Malcolm but carries the main responsibility for this area of the Congregation’s work. There are usually a number of visits over a period of time.
Hospital Visiting -
Christine and Agnes have the initial responsibility for Hospital Visiting and one of them will endeavour to be in Stracathro on a weekly basis. Visits to Whitehills and Forfar Infirmary are less frequent. [These Hospitals are well served by the Rev Brian Ramsey who is their Chaplain] Malcolm and Linda will visit in Ninewells and Roxburghe House when we know there are members there. They will also visit in Stracathro when there is a time of crisis.Single Visits – These are for a wide variety of reasons and done by all of the Team.
Ongoing Visits – These are made to a wide variety of people ranging from the housebound and the Elderly to people with young families. Linda and Agnes take the lead here, supported by Christine and Rosanne.
New Members – Malcolm tries to visit all new members to the Congregation within a reasonable time of their joining. He is supported primarily by Agnes in these visits.
A First Visit – Malcolm feels that it is every important for the Minister to make at least one visit to every member in their own homes. The purpose of this visit is simply to say hello and perhaps ease the way for any future more serious visits. These visits will obviously take a number of years to complete and he will be helped by Christine in the first six months of the new Congregation. The visits tend to be arranged through the Church Office.