​Our Pastoral Care Team is ready to be of service, but we need to be made aware of your needs. This can occur through a phone call to one of the pastors from you or from a family member, friend or neighbor who knows of your need and your desire to receive a call from your church pastor or the Pastoral Care Team. Please call the church office at 815-741-4488 or email pastor.hoover@mlcjoliet.org

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When you enter a hospital either in the greater Chicago area or a local hospital such as Presence St. Joseph, Silver Cross, Edward in Naperville/Plainfield, Adventist in Bolingbrook, or any of the several area hospice care centers (Joliet Area Hospice) you will be asked to identify your religion.  Sometimes they will also ask you to identify your church. Whether they ask or not, please tell them to notify your church of your hospitalization. If we know of your hospitalization, we will attempt to call you to see how you are doing and if you want a visit.

Never hesitate to call when a loved one is in the hospital or hospice care. (815-741-4488)
 

If you are planning to go into a hospital for surgery or some other serious reason, it is helpful  to contact the Pastoral Care Ministry before you enter the hospital.  If you wish someone from the church to journey with you during this time, it is good to let us know by calling the church office and asking for someone from the Pastoral Care Team to contact you, or by email pastor.hoover@mlcjoliet.org.  If your hospital visit is more of an emergency nature and you are unable to contact the church beforehand, tell the hospital you would like to be contacted by the pastor or the Pastoral Care Ministry Team.  During a short stay in the hospital, we may not be able to visit before you are discharged. If we know about your visit, we will call you at home to see how you are doing.
 

If for some reason, you have not received a visit from our pastoral staff and you feel you should have received one, please call the church office and request a visit, or email pastor.hoover@mlcjoliet.org  Sometimes you may have requested that your church be notified and for some reason we were not notified.

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Ministry with those who reside in nursing homes or assisted living homes or the homebound consists of a variety of pastoral care ministries. Visits from our Pastoral Care Team, or those who bring communion are all possibilities. In addition, we compile a quarterly Home Visit List for those unable to attend worship regularly. If you or a loved one from our church would like to be visited, please contact our church office or email pastor.hoover@mlcjoliet.org.

Volunteers are always welcome who wish to help the Pastoral Care Ministry Team carry out its mission to visit those in need. Training and a background check are provided. Please call the church office if you are interested or email info@mlcjoliet.org. Thank you for considering service to your church family.

If you are looking for a health care facility such as a nursing home or assisted living facility that provides services such as Mass, prayer services with communion, or anointing of the sick through local churches, contact the team for help in times of transition.

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Providing the opportunity for the homebound and those in nursing homes and other health-care institutions to receive Communion frequently is an important pastoral responsibility. The link between Messiah’s Communion celebration and the communion for the sick is intimate and significant. Training as a Communion Volunteer is required as well as special training in ministering to the sick and homebound. Messiah requires a one-on-one training session and a background check as part of the volunteer process.

Volunteers are always welcome who wish to help the church carry out its mission to bring the Eucharist to the homebound and other healthcare institutions. Please call the church office or email pastor.hoover@mlcjoliet.org for more information. Thank you for considering service to your church family.

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But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

– Romans 6:21-22

Death is not the end! Please ask the pastor to visit often as you or a loved one begins this journey. Call with any questions concerning death, hospice, or funeral planning.  You do not need to be a member to receive this service.