Health Ministries

Mission of Trinity's Health Ministries: To serve God's people in Christ's name by ministering holistically to physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness.

"When evening came, people brought many who had demons in them. Jesus drove out the evil spirits with a word and healed all who were sick." (Matthew 8:16)

This mission is rooted in Christ who spoke about the healing of body, mind, and spirit. To accomplish this ministry, Trinity has a parish nurse and an active health ministries committee comprised of physicians, nurses, social workers, and others who are passionate about our mission.

The parish nurse works in collaboration with the pastors, committee sponsors, community services, and resources to enhance health care delivery for the congregation. The parish nurse works with the congregation by:

• Visiting members wherever they are (homes, hospitals, or nursing homes)
• Counseling members on health concerns
• Assisting in obtaining health resources
• Helping to understand the relationship of body, mind, and spirit
• Assisting in lifestyle changes
• Organizing, coordinating, promoting and evaluating health education programs and screenings
• Coordinating congregational volunteers

How To Get Involved

Opportunities for involvement include:

• Taking monthly blood pressure checks (medical personnel only)
• Donating blood
• Working at the Bloodmobile
• Assisting with transportation
• Providing meals for those in crisis
• Providing respite care (sit with homebound person while their caregiver gets out)
• Assisting with errands or medical appointments
• Visiting homebound and nursing home residents
• Serve on the Health Ministries Committee

Renew! Challenge - Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength

View Week 1
View Week 2
View Week 3
View Week 4

The Renew! Challenge is a 4-week exercise in stretching ourselves. It’s a star chart and your goal is to put a star in each box each day. It’s simple – each day, maybe at dinner or bedtime, take a moment and remember back on your day. Have you used your heart? Put a star! Your soul? Put a star! Your mind and strength? Two more stars! If you commit to the 4 weeks, there will be a reward!

How do you use these gifts of God?
HEART: kindness and compassion. Speaking an intentionally kind word to someone, writing a letter (by hand!), giving a hug, listening fully to someone, choosing to think the best of someone, donating food to a pantry, praying for someone.
SOUL: imagination and creativity. Draw; dance; cook; play. Talk and listen to God. Create or imagine!
MIND: intellect and learning. Read a book or an article (or your Bible!), explore a website to learn something new, go to the library, have really good dinner conversation, go without TV.
STRENGTH: body and fitness. Walk instead of drive; stretch each time you stand up; breathe deeply after each e-mail sent; eat 3 colors of vegetables; get at least 30 minutes of cardio or weights.

View and print Renew! tracking sheets.

Visitation Ministry

The home visitation ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church serves spiritual needs of those members and congregational friends who are unable to participate in worship services because of confinement to their homes or residential health care facilities. Spiritual needs are addressed through caring personal contact, provision of opportunity to participate in Holy Communion, and sharing of prayer, healing blessings, and anointing.

As a team, Pastors Kurt Jacobson, Jim Page, and Heather Wigdahl, Parish Nurse Marti Hofer, and Director of Visitation Ministry Pat Garber share in implementing this ministry. In addition, specially prepared Home Communion Visitor volunteers provide vital connections to the Trinity community through on-going, regular visits with one or more members. Besides establishing a caring relationship, the Home Communion visitors extend Trinity’s service of Holy Communion by delivering the gifts of God’s word and sacramental meal.

Contact Pat Garber for more information about the visitation ministry, to refer someone for visitation, or to express interest in serving as a volunteer.

Blood Pressure Screening

The second Sunday of the month between services, the parish nurse and her team of screeners offer blood pressure checks.

Contact Marti Hofer, Parish Nurse, for more information

Bereavement Ministry

The parish nurse provides information on grieving to those members who have lost a loved one. Mailings are sent at intervals for the first year following the death of an immediate family member. Please alert the office of any Trinity member who has experienced a loss.

Contact Marti Hofer, Parish Nurse, for more information

Making Your Wishes Known

Five Wishes is a very popular living will because it’s written in everyday language and helps people express their wishes in areas that matter most — the personal and spiritual in addition to the medical and legal. It also helps you describe what good care means to you, whether you are seriously ill or not. It allows your caregiver to know exactly what you want.

Completing Five Wishes is a gift to your family, friends and your doctor because it keeps them out of the difficult position of having to guess what kind of treatment you want or don’t want.

Families also use Five Wishes to help start and guide family conversations about care in times of serious illness. Five Wishes is helpful for all adults – everyone over 18 years old – and anyone can start the conversation within a family. Sometimes it begins with grandparents and other times it is the younger family members who bring up the topic. Regardless of your age, you can bring this gift to your family. If you want to get started right now, you can use Five Wishes Online to complete and print a customized document immediately, and share instantly with those you care about.

Aging with Dignity website

Who should get the flu shot?

In general, anyone who wants to reduce their chances of getting the flu can get vaccinated. However, certain people should get vaccinated each year. They are either people who are at high risk of having serious flu complications or people who live with or care for those at high risk for serious complications.

People who should get vaccinated each year are:

• Children aged 6 months up to their 19th birthday
• Pregnant women
• People 50 years of age and older
• People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
• People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
• People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including:
  • Health care workers
  • Household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu
  • Household contacts and out of home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age (these children are too young to be vaccinated)

Flu shots are available from the Eau Claire City-County Health Department. For more information call 839-4718. Free flu shots for children under 18 are available at the City-County Health Department. Immunization clinics are on the 2nd and 4th Monday from 4-6 p.m., the 2nd Wednesday from 10-11:30 a.m., and on the 2nd Thursday, from 4-6 p.m.