Bereavement / Grief Support Ministry

To experience the loss of any loved one within our lives brings a great sense of loss and it is an experience that changes our lives forever. The Bereavement Support Ministry aim is mutual aid, emotional support, an opportunity to develop a new social system, provide information about the process of grieving and loss, provide information about resources and give encouragement.  

St. Stephen the Martyr parish wants to let you know, “we care” and want to assist you during this most difficult time.  We have a trained support team for anyone who’s suffered a major death loss in their life. The Parish Library also has information and books on Grief and Loss.    For a personal visit and additional supportive materials, please call Joanne Jones.

Divorced Catholic Ministry - Hope and Healing

Divorced Catholic Website  - Our mission is to help get you started–and keep you going– on the path to recovery, rebuilding, and renewal from divorce by providing you with information, resources, and encouragement.

Hope and Healing for Divorced Catholics.  This program is based 100% on Catholic teachings and doctrine, Recovering from Divorce will shorten your recovery time, help you regain hope, and restore peace to your life by helping you more fully tap into the power of your Catholic faith.    Guides you step-by-step down the path to hope and healing.
Available online.  Click here - Catholic Divorce Recovery Program

Guiding Divorced Catholics to Abundant Life  (Resources by Vince Frese)  vincefrese.com

Top 10 Mistakes Catholics Make After Divorce (and how you can avoid making them) Top 10 Mistakes Catholics Make

Video on Healing

Family Promise Ministry

Family Promise, of Gwinnett, is an Interfaith, non-profit, Community organization for Gwinnett families in transition.  It is part of a national organization founded in 1986. It brings shelter, meals, and support services to families without homes through a network of local congregations. familypromisegwinnett.org

In Gwinnett County, a new facility was completed to provide food and shelter to homeless families.   It is called the "Promise Haven" house located at 737 Moon Road in Lawrenceville.  In the past, The families in the Family Promise program were moved from one church location to another each week.   Now with the Promise Haven House, families will remain in a static location while part of the program.   Family Promise Churches and their volunteers will continue to provide meals, supplies, and volunteers at the new location during their particular volunteer week.

St. Stephen the Martyr Parish and St. John Neumann Parish have joined forces to serve together in a "Collaborative Ministry" between parishes to jointly serve Family Promise of Gwinnett.  

Our Family Promise collaborative ministry is looking for volunteers to serve the ministry by purchasing, preparing, and presenting meals along with socializing with the “guests.”  Additional volunteers are needed to stay overnight as contact persons.   We anticipate 2-3 volunteer weeks each year with the opportunity to serve at the Promise Haven House in this  ministry.

This program can only operate with volunteers like yourself, willing to provide this outreach to families and children in need.   HOW CAN YOU HELP?  Donations of Time, Talent and Treasure are means of helping. Volunteers are also invited to attend the core team meetings held throughout the year.   

Every volunteer who has direct contact with the families (day host, evening host, overnight host) will be required to get a new background check completed by Family Promise.  Likewise, the Archdiocese of Atlanta continues to require all ministry volunteers who have contact with children to have current VIRTUS/Safe Environment certification.  This requires attending a three hour "Protecting God's Children (PGC)" course in person at one of our local churches.  The certification lasts for 5 years and also requires a background check completed by the Archdiocese of Atlanta. 

If you would like to volunteer for this very important outreach ministry or help in any way,

Please Contact: 
Mary Moorman  jimandmarymoorman @ gmail.com   
or
Emily Cowdrick  ecowdrick @ gmail.com 

Healthcare Ministry - Care Team

Calling all medical workers, social workers, dietitians, companion sitters and those that simply want to give back to their parish.  At any given time in our parish there is a family or individual in need.  It may be respite care (someone to watch over the sick while the caregiver takes a break), it might be a referral to an agency that can assist them; it may even be a ride to the doctor or making phone calls to doctor offices, it may be just a little help around the house.   This is a chance to help the elderly and physically needy of our parish.   Critical to this “ministry” is the strength in numbers rule -   thereby, never creating a hardship on any volunteer.  Share your time and talents with others in the parish.  If you have given, you already know of the difference you can make in the lives of your brothers and sisters in Christ.  And last but not least, the joy you get from giving back to others in need.   A background check and VIRTUS training is required for all Volunteers.  

PATH Ministry

Did you know that one out of three women in the U.S. will experience an abortion in her lifetime? For every hurting woman, there is a hurting man. Thousands of men and women seek deliverance from the pain and guilt of an abortion experience. PATH Ministry is here to help.

PATH (Post Abortion Treatment & Healing) is a Catholic ministry which provides a safe place for all individuals suffering from post- abortive trauma to grieve their loss and reconcile with themselves, others, and God. PATH also educates the community regarding post abortion trauma, its treatment and prevention.  

We offer small group Save One bible studies for both men and women and also weekend Rachel's Vineyard retreats to help individuals heal.  We are endorsed by Archbishop Wilton Gregory, and have been quietly serving women and men in and around Atlanta since 1996.   Christ centered and confidential care is available.  

If you want to know more about this compassionate and confidential ministry, please visit us at:  

website -  www.healingafterabortion.org

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PATHPostAbortionTreatmentandHealing

Respect Life

All human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, therefore all human life is sacred.  The Respect Life Committee helps promote respect for life from conception to natural death.  We follow the U.S. Bishops’ Annual Respect Life Program by the following:  educating people on abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, cloning and capital punishment; supporting ministry which helps those in crisis pregnancies and those who have had an abortion; and educating people on legislative efforts with respect to life.

Link to Archdiocese of Atlanta Respect Life Webpage

St. Vincent de Paul Society

Service * Spirituality * Fellowship

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is a Catholic lay organization that leads men and women to join together to grow spiritually by serving the needy in our community through a variety of different activities.  There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with this personally rewarding ministry such as: delivering food, clothing, and household items; working in the Thrift Store; help collect donations; prepare Thanksgiving and Christmas food and gifts; home visitations.  Our St. Stephen Conference meets at the church the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.  The meetings are open to all, please feel free to sit in and learn more about our members and what we do.

St. Vincent DePaul of Georgia website  https://svdpgeorgia.org/    

Walking with Moms in Need

Walking with Moms in Need (WWMN) is a collarborative ministry of St. John Neumann Parish and St. Stephen the Martyr Parish

Vulnerable pregnant moms are present in our parish and in our neighborhoods. As Pope Francis reminds us, our parishes need to be “islands of mercy in the midst of the sea of indifference.” Especially as the legal landscape concerning abortion may be changing, it’s important for the Church to show mercy in assessing, expanding, and better communicating resources to local pregnant moms and families in need.

The goal is to demonstrate to every mom (or dad or family) who feels desperate in the face of a challenging pregnancy that it’s possible to welcome the baby rather than resort to abortion. We will lovingly reach out to the mom and help in any way we can--including accessing resources to empower her to choose life for her baby. 

We at St. Stephen the Martyr are excited to be partnering with St. John Neumann Parish to help the needy mothers in our local area.