All Saints Church Seeks Volunteers to Visit Homebound Parishioners

When parishioners cannot make it to Sunday services, the church comes to them.

All Saints Church is recruiting volunteers for its Lay Visitation Ministry, which sends trained lay members to visit congregants who are homebound, hospitalized, or recovering from surgery. An information session on Saturday, January 24, will explain how to join.

The ministry has two branches. Lay Eucharistic Visitors bring communion to those who cannot attend services. Lay Pastoral Ministers offer visits without communion — simply presence and prayer. Both serve what the church describes as parishioners managing chronic conditions, recovering from medical procedures, or otherwise unable to leave home.

The session runs from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Guild Room at All Saints Church, 132 North Euclid Avenue. Registration is available online, and those interested can contact Thomas Diaz, the church’s Director of Connection & Care, at Tdiaz@allsaints-pas.org. The church phone number is (626) 796-1172.

The ministry is rooted in the Episcopal tradition of lay pastoral care, which derives from the baptismal covenant’s call to serve others. In Episcopal services, congregants affirm they will “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.”

Volunteers who have participated describe the experience as spiritually enriching for both visitor and visited. In a 2017 article on the church’s website, Mel Soriano, a Lay Eucharistic Visitor, said he sometimes left visits thinking about how meaningful the moments were. Hannah Lafler, then 96 years old, said the visits made her “feel more a part of the church community.”

All Saints, founded in 1883 as Pasadena’s first Episcopal parish, is located across the street from Pasadena City Hall. The church celebrated 100 years in its current building in 2024.

For those considering whether pastoral visitation is right for them, the church offers this guidance in its event description: the ministry suits those who feel drawn toward “deeper connection, compassionate presence, or extending the church’s care to those who cannot be with us in person.”

The information session will cover the ministry’s history, the expectations for volunteers, and the training requirements for joining.