ONGOING
FORMATION
OF MINISTERS OF CARE TO THE SICK
Additional Formation: Ministers
of Care to the Sick
are strongly encouraged to take advantage of additional
formation and days of reflection to deepen their faith
and reflect on their experience within this ministry.
Programs are offered periodically through the Office
for Divine Worship and other groups of qualified
individuals.
Delegation:
In your care for this ministry please be
reminded that only those who have received explicit
delegation may be called upon to regularly assist
with the distribution of Holy Communion to the sick
and homebound. Those delegated may not begin
their service until they have participated in a
formation program that prepares them to understand
this ministry and enriches their faith and appreciation
of the Eucharist.
Structure of programs: Parishes
or institutions should
exercise great care to make sure their formation program
for auxiliary ministers to the sick is designed to cover the
six mandated topics listed below. Once a program has
been completed, the pastor or chaplain of a parish or
institution needs to submit names and addresses of the
minister of care candidates and state that they have
completed the program. These persons will then be
officially mandated.
Topics Covered: Parish training programs should be
a minimum of twelve hours. They should be conducted by a
qualified ordained, lay or religious facilitator and include
at least the following six topics:
A. The Spirituality of
the Minister
The Call to Ministry
Ecclesiastical Identify of the Minister
The Prayer Life of the Minister
B. The Experience of Suffering:
Aging, Chronic Illness, Death and Dying
Special Pastoral Concerns,
e.g. People living with HIV,
Hospice Care, etc.
C. Pastoral Listening Skills:
How to Listen and How to Respond
D. Theology of Suffering and Sickness:
What does our Catholic Tradition
teach us?
How do we communicate this to others?
E. Ministerial Procedures:
Relating to the health care agency,
hospice,
chaplain, family
of the sick or homebound
Reviewing local hospital policies
and
procedures for
ministerial visits
F. Prayer and Sacraments:
Theological Dimensions
and Practical
Administration
A Thorough Familiarity with
Pastoral Care of the
Sick
A Review of Eucharistic Theology.
These sessions do not have to be given in the order
shown above. The purpose of the outline is to list
the
areas that need to be covered in the training program.
Questions or requests for advice
on designing basic
Minister of Care programming
or Mandation information
should be directed to:
Mr.
D. Todd Williamson, Director
Office
for Divine Worship
1800 N. Hermitage Ave.
Chicago, IL60462
1101
773.486.5153
- Voice
twilliam@odw.org
- Email
773.486.5158
- FAX
Mandating of Persons
Who Complete a Basic Training
Course
Pastors or those who coordinate Minister of Care
Ministries in their parishes should request certificates
and ID cards mandating individual/s who have/has
completed the initial training. This should be done in
writing on parish
letterhead. This can be faxed to our
office at 773-486-5158. This letter should contain
the name of the individual/s and the training location
and program attended.
Letters for certificates
and ID cards should be written
to the attention of Mr. D. Todd Williamson, Director of the
Office for Divine Worship. Certificates and ID cards, to be
completed by the parish, will be mailed from our office.
Please allow seven (7) working days for delivery.
Certificates and ID cards can be issued in English,
Spanish or Polish. Please indicate how any certificates
you will need and in what language/s. For example,
a parish may have 13 newly trained individuals who
would like their certificates/ID cards as follows:
10 in English, 2 in Spanish and 1 in Polish.
Renewing of Persons
Who are Mandated Ministers
of Care
After Labor Day of each year, letters are sent to
pastors in parishes whose cycle is ending. This
mailing contains forms to complete and return to the
Office for Divine Worship
for their parish's new,
full 3 year term. When the paperwork has been
received, new certificates and ID cards will be
issued to the parish
to be completed for individuals
who will be continuing their service in this ministry.
Term of Service For Ministers of
Care
All
parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago are
divided alphabetically into 3 year terms or cycles
of service as follows:
Cycle A: Parishes
or institutions starting
with
letter "A" through "G"
Example:
St. Adalbert to St. Gregory the Great
Dates
for Cycle A:
December 2,
2001 to November 28, 2004
Cycle B Parishes or institutions starting
with letter
"H" through "M"
Example: St. Hedwig to Mother
of God
Dates
for Cycle B:
December 1, 2002 to November 27, 2005
Cycle C: Parishes or institutions
starting
with the letter "N" to "Z"
Example: Nativity of Our Lord
to St. Zachary
Dates for Cycle C:
November 30, 2003 to December 3, 3006
If a person has received training and wishes
to begin serving during
the parish or institution's
current term, their time of service is the
remainder of that particular cycle.
Commissioning of
Ministers of Care to the Sick
You will find the "Rite of Commissioning
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion"
in Chapter 63 of the Book of Blessings
(Roman Ritual, 1989). This can be used
for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy
Communion at Mass or Ministers of Care.