Care Team Ministry
Mike Shea

During the past few weeks you've probably seen a notice in Crossings 'advertising' for volunteers to become members of the Chapel of the Cross Care Teams.

While the concept of church members helping parishioners in need is not new, Care Teams at our parish are new. They've been formally operating for less than a year.

The Rev. Vicky Jamieson-Drake is the guiding force behind the project. She describes the way Care Teams operate as, “a natural way people have cared for one another: someone gets sick, casseroles show up, people want to help, knowing that someday they'll be going through something like that. Care Teams just give a little more structure and organization to that help.”

Care Team support is not limited to any age group. According to Jamieson-Drake, “it may be particularly helpful for those who may not have a big network of friends or family to call on, especially the elderly with no local family and whose friends of similar age are coping with issues of aging themselves.” So younger people can form an intergenerational extended family within the church to address the need of elders. But, she says, Care Teams are not strictly for the infirm or elderly. They can also assist those “with major illness or disability who need extensive, on-going support that is more than one person could give”.

Our parish Care Team operation is associated with Project Compassion, a community based organization that has introduced Care Teams to the area based on an Alabama model.  Project Compassion is the end-of-life care coalition for Durham, Orange, and Chatham counties. They've helped establish Care Teams not only in our parish and in other churches but also in employee organizations and with specific health support groups too. According to executive director James Brooks the organization “has no public funding but depends on local donors and private grants.” The Care Team concept they've introduced is proving so successful that UNC Hospitals Hospice is introducing it as a model for its volunteer operations.

Currently, our parish has five Care Teams.  Ideally, each would consist of 8-12 members but some of the teams are smaller.

Jamieson-Drake says she wants to establish “as many as needed.” But she needs more volunteers. She says, “ I see this ministry as really expanding.”

Care Team members bring their individual strengths to their team. Each member does what he or she is most comfortable doing.  Some may prepare meals, others do minor home repairs or maintenance, some just provide conversation or, perhaps, play games while others may provide transportation to a supermarket or doctor.  Care Teams do not dispense medicines or provide medical services.

Care Team members know they cannot provide “all support services” for an individual. But one of the strengths of the broad based team-concept is the teams' knowledge of other resources that may be helpful. For example, a Care Team is unlikely to repair termite damage to a house but a team member may know of a carpenter who can make the repairs and a pest control company who can eliminate the termites.

The Chapel of the Cross Care Teams are part of the overall parish support network.  The Care Teams sometimes work in concert with other ministries. The Care Team might identify a need for more social interaction that Pastoral Visitors could provide, or the Care Team might need assistance from the Good Samaritans in providing for transportation needs.

Above all, Care Team members work as a team.  Members decide monthly how much time they can give the team.  Because of this, nobody is overburdened. And unlike one-on-one care, if a member needs to leave the team for a short-term vacation or permanently, another team member is there to continue the service.