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January 14, 2010 The new manual for parish home care ministry produced by the Catholic Health Association of Saskatchewan (CHAS) is much more detailed than the 1995 manual it replaces. “That manual is really sketchy,” said Deacon Bob Williston of CHAS, “this one has much more detail about how to establish a parish home ministry of care.” The 1995 manual is mostly in point form and contains suggestions. The new manual contains more narrative and more how to suggestions and recommendations. The new manual was originally introduced at the CHAS’ October 2009 convention. A group of about 30 people interested or engaged in providing health or pastoral care either through their parish or through a health or seniors care institution, got their first look January 13 at a presentation at Holy Child Parish. Williston who works for CHAS as well as the Redemptorist Mission team and volunteer Bill Fletcher who edited the manual did a tag team presentation of the new manual. The presentation talked about parish nursing, nurses hired by parishes to carry out the mission, organize and coordinate volunteers. The meeting opened and closed with music and singing of Williston compositions about Jesus the Healer. Hiring a nurse can be financially daunting for some parishes said one of the participants to which Fletcher and Williston agreed but they used Saskatoon parishes as examples of what could be done. St. Phillip Neri has 2 nurses job sharing the equivalent of 1 position and has managed to finance the position with normal revenue. St. John Bosco and St. Mary hired a nurse to serve both parishes and finance the position through auctions and several other fundraising activities. Both have provided the ministry for about 6 years. Holy Trinity in Regina has a volunteer program established for many years. Williston said a parish centred pastoral and health care ministry is required because it provides services the regular health system does not. ”What parishes are offering are volunteers who can go to those who are sick, shut-ins and spend some time with them, pray with them, play with them. That kind of service is not provided by health care. Health care looks after the physical and psychological but the spiritual is something we in the church pride ourselves on always providing, in facilities, hospitals, long term care and the way we do that is in parish based service where they receive training on how to do this.” The manual also has a section on how to go about determining the need and convincing a parish to establish a program, either with volunteers as at Regina’s Holy Trinity or with a salaried nurse. Frank Flegel 
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