The Elizabeth Ministry is an international movement designed to support women and their families as they raise families.
How does it work?
Volunteers become Elizabeth Ministers in the areas that they have experience. For example, a woman who has twins would visit and mentor a woman who is pregnant with twins. Continued support is given through the pregnancy and after the birth as needed. This support comes in the form of visits, prayer, phone calls, cards, etc. Areas of the Elizabeth Ministry include pregnancy, birth, miscarriage, stillbirth support, regretted abortion, infant or child death, adoption, and family crisis as examples.
The ministry can also include family mom group outings, meal outreach for parish members in crisis, welcoming baptism families, prayer support for families in need, outreach to celebrate baptism anniversaries, to name a few.
The Need:
In past generations, the presence, intimacy, and support needed during the childbearing years were found within the structures of family, neighborhood, church, and community. In the past, women were near family members and home with neighbors and raised children together. Today, they may lack that support due to work commitments or family issues.
Many women feel isolated during their childbearing years, particularly in times of crisis. Elizabeth Ministry will afford a great opportunity to touch women and their families and to offer them support, encouragement, and affirmation during this time. The Ministry will engage many women of the church in active ministry with other women that will provide outreach, service, and love in the name of the entire church.
The Elizabeth Ministry offers women an opportunity to minister to others, and to be ministered to, as needed, especially when in crises.
What are the benefits?
Elizabeth Ministry supports a faith community’s commitment to the sanctity of life. It’s a way to reach young adults as they build their families. It also provides a focused dimension to bereavement ministry and marriage enrichment. It builds community and is especially successful in parishes with schools and young families.
Elizabeth Ministry is a perfect forum for meeting new people in the church and greeting newcomers with a true spirit of welcome.
Please contact Mary Chic at 262-497-1376 or email if you are in need of assistance or if you are interested in volunteering.