Pastoral Care
If you would like prayer for anything contact during the Covid-19 pandemic, the church office will be very happy to arrange it for you.
We believe that God loves everybody and that He has particularly demonstrated this love through the life, teaching and death of Jesus Christ and His followers on earth.
God wishes to reach out to those who feel out of touch with him and to bring all into His heavenly family. Receiving forgiveness restores our relationship with God and brings us into a worldwide community of grace.
Who are the pastoral assistants?
The pastoral assistants work alongside the clergy, life group leaders and others to support and care for individuals both within St. John’s and in the community in a non-judgemental way. Our Pastoral Assistants are trained through a rigorous two year programme and have been authorised by the Bishop and Diocese of Guildford and the parish of St John’s, Egham. They receive regular on-going training, have DBS clearance and respect confidentiality where appropriate.
How it works
Pastoral assistants are available to visit people in their homes, to follow up Sunday morning prayer ministry if required or just to listen when they meet people. They also go out into the community currently taking services in two of the local residential homes and visiting people in hospital.
Weekday Prayer Ministry (currently not taking place due to Covid-19)
During the week, prayer requests are offered to God in St John’s Church. If you would like your needs to be mentioned, please complete a prayer request card which can be found at the back of church. Place the card in the offertory box by the sound desk.
Sunday Prayer Ministry (currently not taking place due to Covid-19)
Each Sunday after the 9.15 and 11.00am services members of the prayer ministry team will be on hand. If you would like private prayer after the service, please come forward to the font where members of the team will be ready to listen and pray briefly with you.
Four times a year the community are welcomed into St. John’s by the Pastoral Assistants and an extended team for a Songs of Praise service followed by tea and cakes.
There are currently thirteen trained Pastoral Assistants and the prayer is that this team will continue to increase and reach out further within St. John’s and the local community to share God’s love with them.
If you would like to speak to one of the pastoral team, you can contact Carol Peters, Pastoral Team Leader or the church office.
The Pastoral Support Team
Pastoral Team Leader
- Carol Peters
Pastoral Assistants
- Betty Wheeler
- Sue Beer
- Debbie Benefield
- Janet Parsons
- Bob McCance
- Kathy Owtram
- Sarah Kahn
- Emma Evans
- Kim Callaghan
- Teal Martin
- Guy Haberfield-Bateman
Clergy and Lay Workers
The Clergy and lay workers can offer additional help:
Clergy
- Esther Prior (vicar)
Lay Workers
- Rachel Upcott (Children and Families Worker)
- Brenda Richardson and Laurna Jamison (Safeguarding Representatives)
Your wellbeing is very important to us
Where specialist help is needed, referrals to appropriate agencies will be offered. Conversations with team members are confidential – sensitive information is only shared in general terms for training and supervisory purposes.
Exceptions to this would be if:
- English Law required disclosure through a Court Order
- It was considered that someone was at serious risk
- There was a child protection issue, in which case other church guidelines would be followed
Other ways to receive support
If you, or anyone else known to you, is in severe emotional distress and cannot wait for an appointment, it may help to contact the Samaritans who offer 24 hour emotional support. Find out how to contact them here.
Child Line is a free telephone help line operating 24/7 for children to ring and speak to an advisor about any problem or difficulty they may be experiencing. Child Line can be contacted on 0800 1111