When a member of Christ’s body dies, we are called to a ministry of consolation. The Church calls us to care for the dying, to pray for the dead, and to comfort those who mourn. As a people of faith, we believe that God created each person for eternal life and that as Christ was raised from the death we too will be raised to glory. 

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, though they should die, will come to life, and those who are alive and believe in me will never die” (Jn. 11:25-26).

The purpose of this ministry is to comfort families at the death of a loved one, to help them plan a funeral liturgy that is respectful and comforting and to offer support as needed. Bereavement ministers assist families in the planning of funeral liturgies, comforts them in their loss and continues to offer grief support as needed.

When Christians are suffering the death of a family member, their brothers and sisters are called to comfort those who mourn. 

St. Mary of Vernon’s Funeral Luncheon ministry helps those parishioners who are experiencing the death of a family member by offering to the bereaved family the option of having a luncheon at St. Mary of Vernon. Volunteers are needed who can provide side dishes and/or help serving and cleaning up. The family is asked to cover the cost of the main entrée.

If you would like to become a part of this ministry and/or want more information, please contact Chris Reinert ([email protected]). We welcome new volunteers.

Bereavement Ministers are trained lay people who comfort families in their loss, help them plan a funeral liturgy and offer support when needed. Bereavement Ministers visit with the bereaved families and help them choose appropriate readings and hymns. This ministry is open to any parishioner who has time during the day or evening, is familiar with Scripture and has a compassionate presence in offering consolation and support to those who are mourning the death of a loved one. 

For information about this ministry and the training needed, please contact the parish office.(847-362-1005). We welcome new volunteers.

Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 43:2
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

Psalm 18:28
“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

Psalm 46:1-2
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”

Revelation 21:4
“ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Psalm 119:50
“My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”

Romans 8:18
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

Psalm 18:2
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

1 Peter 5:6-7
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Psalm 73:26
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Psalm 22:24
“For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”

Psalm 27:4-5
“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.”

Psalm 30:5
“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

Psalm 34:18
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Lamentations 3:31-33
“For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.”

Romans 8:31-39
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 Corinthians 15:52-57
“in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Peter 1:3-9
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

John 14:1-4
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Is. 66:13
“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

Ps. 55:22
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

Jn. 11:25-26
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Jn. 6:39-40
“This is the will of the One who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Jn. 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

All Scripture used is from The Holy Bible, the New International Version.