From the

Official News Magazine of the Diocese of Spokane

Eucharistic Ministers provide ‘extraordinary’ service to the sick

by Bonita Lawhead, Inland Register staff

(From the Aug. 22, 2002 edition of the Inland Register)

Eucharistic ministers are those who distribute Communion at most parishes’ weekend Masses. They also take Communion to the sick and homebound. They are more properly referred to as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist.

Most people think of extraordinary in the sense of something remarkable or exceptional. But the word “extraordinary” has another meaning: being used for a special service or occasion.

That’s certainly the definition for the Eucharistic Ministers who serve at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. The dozen men and women in this group have volunteered for special service to hospitalized Catholics.

The ministers come to the hospital every day on a rotating schedule. They work from a list supplied by the chaplains’ office and the hospital’s floors to visit patients and give Communion.

Usually there are from 20-25 names on the list, with daily visits can take anywhere from two to three hours. Each minister works alone, unless there is an extremely long list of names.

Nan Roe, a retired chaplain, started the program and now serves as its director. “I recruit, supervise, train and schedule,” she said. She also substitutes as a Eucharistic Minister when needed.

Recruiting is done mostly by word of mouth, although Roe has availed herself of an occasional notice in a parish bulletin. Sometimes people are recommended by friends or acquaintances.

“I believe the Holy Spirit brings people,” she said. “When they indicate interest, I interview them.” Right now there are five men and seven women, a group size which she called “about right.”

The training, which Roe said is better “one on one,” takes about four hours, split into two sessions. Training covers hospital procedures and Eucharistic theology, she said. “But we spend time on communication skills, especially that of active listening. Many times patients want to talk,” she said.

Roe does the scheduling and makes herself available to help with any problems the ministers might encounter.

The ministry of Communion to patients at Sacred Heart began eight years ago, when Roe was on staff as a chaplain. She had started a similar program which only operated on weekends at Providence Hospital in Everett, Wash. Juli Dickelman, the chaplain for education and outreach at Sacred Heart, encouraged Roe to start the SHMC program on a daily basis.

Holy Names Sister Carol Qualley is one of the ministers on Roe’s list. Sister Carol has has been visiting to distribute Communion since 1990, when she made home visits in St. Joseph Parish on Dean in Spokane. Sister Carol believes that she has been called to this ministry. She also believes that the Holy Spirit is at work in each visit to a patient. “Each one is unique,” she said about making the visits. “I love it.”

Bill Witeman is a member of St. Augustine Parish. He has been an extraordinary minister at Sacred Heart since the program started.

He said he considers this ministry “an awesome privilege.” He gets more from the visits than he gives, he said, and finds them to be a “gratifying experience.” He, too, relies on the Holy Spirit, asking for guidance each time he prepares to enter a hospital room.

Greg Renner is another Eucharistic Minister from St. Augustine Parish. He has been in Sacred Heart’s program since 1997. He said his mother’s hospitalization for a heart condition “led me to (do) this,” he said, “and made me realize prayers are so important.”

Renner puts himself in the “shoes of the patient” to try and understand how they feel. Patients often feel scared, tense, and at times, isolated. “I let them know we’re there as support, that they’re not alone,” he said. Renner echoed Sister Carol’s words: “I love doing this.”

Chaplains Dickelman and Roe are extremely appreciative of the Eucharistic Ministers. “They’re thoughtful and generous,” Dickelman said. “The patients are grateful, too, and very responsive to them.”

This reinforces her belief that it’s “better that people in the parishes do it. It’s the Body of Christ ministering to each other.” When the Eucharistic Ministers bring Communion, she said, they perform a service that frees staff chaplains to do other work for which they are trained, such as pastoral counseling.

The Eucharistic Ministers currently in service, in addition to Sister Carol, Roe, Renner and Witeman, are Clare Agost, Evelyn Augustine, Marie McKay, Curt Wasson, Patty Lopez, Pat Burke, Azzelle San Nicholas, and Deacon John Ruscheinsky.

In all, 26 people have served in the program since it began.

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