St. Elizabeth Seton - Elizabeth Ministry

What is Elizabeth Ministry?

Elizabeth Ministry is an international movement designed to support women and their families during the joys, trials and sorrows of the childbearing years. Elizabeth Ministry’s mission is to cherish children, encourage families and build community. We offer peer support, mentoring, spiritual nourishment, educational and inspirational resources.
Click to visit Elizabeth Ministry International.

How does it work?
Volunteers become Elizabeth Ministers in the areas they have experienced. For example, a woman who has twins would visit and mentor a woman who is pregnant with twins. Continued support is given throughout the pregnancy and after the birth. This support comes in the form of visits, phone calls, cards, prayer, resources and assistance. The areas of Elizabeth Ministry include, but are not limited to: pregnancy, birth, miscarriage, stillbirth, regretted abortions, infant or child death, crisis or special needs, adoption, fertility and infertility. Support is available for women, men and children. Mothers, fathers, siblings and grandparents can benefit from Elizabeth Ministry.

Who are the Elizabeth Ministers?
Elizabeth Ministers are volunteer representatives of a faith community. They are not counselors, but are present to offer peer support, mentoring and friendship only. No lengthy training is needed. Ministers are women willing to share their presence, stories, and experience in the hope that these will encourage another woman and her family.

Why is this needed?
In past generations, the presence, intimacy, and support needed during childbearing years was found within the structures of family, neighborhood, church and community. Today, these structures are undergoing rapid change. Neighborhoods are fragmented, leaving many families isolated. Our churches have increased in size, making it more difficult to create a hospitable and loving environment. Mobility has caused extended families to be separated by many miles, making frequent visits impossible. Yet, the wisdom drawn from sharing stories of the joys and trials of bringing new life into a family is still needed. The support, reassurance and advice — usually given by the extended family — often needs to come from another source. Elizabeth Ministry is a response to this need.

What are the benefits?
Elizabeth Ministry supports a faith community’s commitment toward the sanctity of life. It is a way to reach young adults as they build their families. Elizabeth Ministry also provides a focused dimension to bereavement ministry and marriage enrichment. It offers wisdom in this age of reproduction technology, while building community.

How do I get more information?
Please contact Maura Marcotte, the Director of Elizabeth Ministry, by e-mail at maura_marcotte@yahoo.com.

Rosebud Program:

The Elizabeth Ministry of St. Elizabeth Seton Parish now offers the Rosebud Program. The Rosebud Program is the visual reminder of the precious blessing of new life.

On the bottom shelf of a table in the lower level of the church near the alcove with the statue of Our Blessed Mother, there is a basket of different colored silk roses. The colors represent

Pregnancy (Pink),
Birth/Adoption (Red),
Loss (White), or
trying to Conceive or Adopt (Yellow).

You are invited to remove a rose from the basket, fill in the attached tag, insert the tag in the heart-shaped box on the table and put the rose into the vase. The display is checked weekly by Elizabeth Ministers who pray for and/or contact (optional) the listed people on the tags. Prayers for these intentions are also offered by other groups within the parish, including the Knights of Columbus. All personal information is kept confidential and is shared only on a need-to-know basis with those members of Elizabeth Ministry whose participation is required. Prayer cards for the various situations are displayed next to the vase. Those filling out tags are invited to take a prayer card for their personal meditation.

Naperville, Illinois

Elizabeth Ministry