Care and Concern

Neighbourhood volunteers help identify needs, offer moral support and provide referrals to local social services of the Parish, before a crisis develops. The following are the various ministries under Care and Concern.

Food Pantry

In order to ease the daily basic needs of the homeless in our community, the Parish provides a bag of provisions to those who ask.Contributions to the Food Pantry would be greatly appreciated, they may be dropped off at the Parish Office during office hours.

Keep in mind that the recipients of the pantry are homeless, so they have no means to cook food. Canned or packaged foods that do not need to be cooked are ideal

Soup Kitchen

The outreach program to the local community began in 1998. We support the efforts of the Geneva-based charity ‘Carrefour-rue’ by bringing parishioner volunteers to help 5 or 6 times a year at a ‘Soup Kitchen’
that provides warm lunch to needy persons. New volunteers are always welcome. For more information, please contact the parish office or email: soupkitchen(at)johnxxiii.ch

Stephen Ministry

Stephen Ministry is a lay care giving ministry that supplements pastoral care. Stephen Ministry is a system for organizing, equipping, and supervising a team of congregation members to provide high-quality, one-to-one, Christ-centred care to people experiencing life difficulties in the congregation and the community.

Stephen Ministry Suisse Romande is a not-for-profit Christian organisation that trains people to become lay care givers and to provide support to those who request it. It is known for its excellence, practicality, psychological integrity and theological depth. If you would like to learn more about Stephen Ministry Suisse Romande, you can join our live, interactive online sessions which will introduce you to Stephen Ministry, how it works and the blessings it brings to congregations and to you!

This year’s training will take place online using Zoom. Participants who register will receive Zoom information at a later stage.  Starting Thursday, 29th September 2023 and running until March 2024. Training commences at 7.00pm sharp until 9.00pm. A contribution of CHF 150 is requested per person (which covers materials, freight, taxes, online Zoom license, etc.). If needed the contribution can be spread to avoid any hardship.  To aid our logistics please book early at https://stephenministry.ch/StephenMinistryTraining.php.

If you require further information please visit the Stephen Ministry website or for assistance, email us on stephen.leaders@stephenministry.ch.