The Neighborhood Lay Ministry Initiative
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Overview

The Pohick Neighborhood Lay Ministry Initiative was launched in January of 2003 as a way of organizing our congregation into more intimate neighborhood groups—a concern that arose from that fact that our parish of 500+ families is scattered across the better part of Fairfax and Prince William counties, with our children alone attending more than forty different schools.

Pohick Families have been divided into twelve different areas plus the Fairfax Retirement Home.These are each overseen by Area Coordinators, who coordinate the flow of information between the Church and the neighborhoods in their area. Assisting them are Lay Eucharistic Ministers, who make communion calls to shut-ins within their assigned area, and Lay Pastoral Ministers, who assist parishioners with a variety of pastoral concerns.

Under the Area Coordinators are three to ten Neighborhood Lay Ministers, who facilitate relations within the actual neighborhoods themselves. Pohick clergy minister within all the different levels of this Initiative, responding appropriately as ministry needs are communicated to them.

Because the concerns of our neighborhoods are diverse, their activities vary considerably, depending on their own sense of Christian calling. Nevertheless, the Initiative encompasses the following general goals:

• Getting to Know Each Other. If our Christian Faith is something that involves our entire being, it means going beyond worship on Sunday mornings and service in parish committees. It means, as Pohick's Mission Statement puts it, taking the experience of Christ's love beyond the church walls. We may not be able to form relationships with everyone in our congregation, but we can get to know our neighbors, forming friendships and being there when we need each other.
  
  
• Ministering to Each Other. We all have times when we need help. And, outside of our families, who better to help than our neighbors in Christ? The needs themselves will range the gamut. They may include anything from simply seeking someone to talk with, to finding help watching the kids, to carpooling to church activities. Or, they may include a more urgent pastoral concern. In that case, both the clergy and a Lay Pastoral Minister will be there to lend support.
  
  
• Welcoming Others. There are a lot of new people moving into our neighborhoods and a lot of people without a church home. While they might be reluctant to come to Sunday worship, they may be more inclined to come to a neighborhood gathering, as it is closer and less overwhelming. Neighborhood Groups can thus serve as a graceful means for sharing our faith with our neighbors, as well as a way to integrate newcomers who join our congregation separately from the Neighborhood Groups.

We hope that the Neighborhood Lay Ministry Initiative will help our congregation maintain and even expand its sense of Christian intimacy as we continue to grow in the coming years. Since it is still a "work in progress" please feel free to contact your Neighborhood Lay Minister if you have suggestions for improvements, or feel you could help with one of the leadership roles within your area or neighborhood.

Area and Neighborhood Listings