Pastoral Care

It’s important to be extra sensitive about self-care—especially during these challenging times. We want to make sure that if you need help of any kind, you’re getting the care you need. That’s why we’ve put together the following helpful resources:

Pastoral Care blog

We will have a three-part series of weekly offerings that will help you deal with common challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

WEEK 1
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Tips on Mental Health & Self-Care During COVID-19

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By Ron Gonzalez, M.P.S.
Counseling Pastor of Christ Church

Over the last 20 years of my service as a pastor, I have never seen the level of disruption and chaos present itself in peoples’ lives as I have seen with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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WEEK 2
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Maintaining Healthy Relationships During COVID-19

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By Deborah Foulkes-Bert, Ph.D.
Health Care Professional

Many of you live in areas where you have to drive, and sometimes you go on road trips where you expect to encounter rough terrain. If you take care of your vehicle— checking...

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WEEK 3
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HOW TO DEAL WITH LOSS & GRIEF DURING COVID-19

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By Vanetta Hill, MA
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist

How are you? No really, how are you doing? The pandemic has many feeling isolated, disconnected, and lonely. Many have even…

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Mental Health Resources

Click here to see a list of local and national mental health resources. Qualified and certified people are standing by at these agencies to help you or someone you know.

Please note, that while our Pastoral Care team does everything in its power to help those who come to us in need, due to our limited resources, certain aspects of our ministry are limited to Christ Church members. However, we make every effort to provide alternatives to nonmembers if this situation arises.

For more info or to schedule an appointment, contact 973-783-1010 (ext. 341) or PastoralCare@ChristChurchUSA.org

To learn about our Care Groups, click here. And for a list of helpful resources numbers, click here.

Spiritual Guidance

Pastoral Care is focused on helping people—who are experiencing personal, marital, and spiritual challenges—overcome their struggles using Biblically-based practices. The staff is comprised of lay Christians; individual and group sessions are available through appointment.

Chaplaincy Ministry

The Christ Church Chaplaincy Ministry provides emotional and spiritual care to those in need within the congregation’s membership during serious illness, high-risk pregnancy, loss of a loved one, homelessness, divorce, and other life-altering events.

Funerals

Pastoral Care provides compassionate support to those dealing with the pain of losing a loved one. The team is trained to not only help with the grieving and healing process, but to assist with the planning of funeral and memorial services as well.

Baby Dedications

Dedicating your baby is a public testimony of your intent to raise your child in the Christian faith, with the hope that he or she will one day make a personal commitment to Christ as their Savior. Dedications are held on the fourth Sunday of each month, at the last scheduled Sunday service. Parents and guardians who want to have their child dedicated must attend a pre-dedication class. To begin the process, simply click here to fill out the Baby Dedication Application Form.

Marriage Enrichment

Is your marriage in need of a tune-up? Do you and your spouse want to build a stronger, healthier relationship?

If this seems like you, Christ Church offers ENRICH, a marriage enrichment program designed to help married couples build a more satisfying relationship.

What are the major goals of the ENRICH program?

The program helps couples:

  • Explore strength and growth areas
  • Strengthen communication skills
  • Identify and manage major stressors

Is there a cost for the ENRICH Program?

Yes, there is a minimal one-time cost for the initial inventory.

Sessions led by trained facilitators are available by appointment through Pastoral Care. Currently, the program is only available to active Christ Church members.

Financial Coaching

Are you facing financial hardship or struggling to make ends meet? Or perhaps you need a strategy for eliminating debt, or creating a budget for yourself or family? If any of this applies to you, then you are a candidate for financial coaching. Trained and certified individuals are available by appointment to assist in better financial management, practical suggestions for budgeting, and assistance in prioritizing long-term financial objectives.

Guided Prayer

What is Guided Prayer?

Guided Prayer is an inner-healing ministry of Christ Church and a resource for people who desire to reach their full potential.

  • Guided Prayer is NOT counseling, it IS prayer ministry that is Christ-centered, Bible-based, and Holy Spirit-led.
  • Through encounters with God and His Truth, many people experience significant breakthrough in specific areas of need.

Who is eligible to receive it?

  • Do you experience strong emotions that seem out of place?
  • Do you struggle with anger, fear, anxiety, panic, phobias?

Private sessions are offered with a trained prayer facilitator and a team of intercessors. Appointments are approximately 1–2 hours in length.

Water Baptism

If you’re interested in getting baptized, or just curious, you are on the right track. Baptism literally means to be immersed in water. It is a physical act of obedience by which a person identifies himself or herself with Jesus’ death, burial, and Resurrection.

Baptism services are held several times each year and candidates are asked to attend a pre-baptismal class. For more information or to sign-up for Water Baptism click here.

Referrals to Outside Agencies/Ministries

The Pastoral Care department’s goal is to connect people with resources and/or resource providers in the community when the current need and situation is outside of Christ Church’s ability to fully meet it. A comprehensive database is maintained of organizations and ministries that provide assistance to individuals and families related to the following needs:

    • Alpha Omega Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT)
    Christ Church’s Alpha Omega Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) is an official “Hotline Team” according to the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF).

    The team is poised to serve anyone that may be in need of crisis intervention, also referred to as “psychological first aid,” in the immediate aftermath of a crisis, trauma, or disaster. We can be contacted anytime at 973-783-1010 (ext. 340) or via email at pastoralcare@christchurchusa.org.

    We are also listed on the ICISF website at https://icisf.org/cism-team-listings/ under “CISM Support.”

  • Food banks
  • Professional counseling
  • Treatment programs