SUPPORT GROUPS

Courage

Courage is a group of Catholics who experience same-sex attractions and who are committed to helping one another to live chaste lives marked by prayer, fellowship and mutual support

Our Goals:

1. To live chaste lives in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality.  ( Chastity )
2. To dedicate our entire lives to Christ through service to others, spiritual reading, prayer, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and the frequent reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. (Prayer and Dedication)
3. To foster a spirit of fellowship in which we may share with one another our thoughts and experiences, and so ensure that no one will have to face the problems of homosexuality alone. (Fellowship)
4. To be mindful of the truth that chaste friendships are not only possible but necessary in a chaste Christian life; and to encourage one another in forming and sustaining these friendships. (Support)
5. To live lives that may serve as good examples to others. (Good Example/Role Model)

This confidential support ministry is sponsored by our diocese. For details about attending this meeting you may email courage.tampabay@gmail.com or call 727-223-1666. For more information about Courage International and view resources please go to www.couragerc.org

Encourage

EnCourage is a spiritual support group for family members and friends of men and women who experience same‐sex attractions.

1. to grow spiritually through spiritual reading, prayer, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and the frequent reception of the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist;
2. to gain a deeper understanding of the needs, difficulties, and challenges experienced by men and women with SSA;
3. to establish and maintain a healthy and wholesome relationship with their loved ones with SSA;
4. to assist other family members and friends to reach out with compassion and truth, and not to reject, their loved ones with SSA;
5. to witness to their loved ones by their own lives that fulfillment is to be found in Jesus Christ through His Body, the Church.

This confidential support ministry is sponsored by our diocese.  For details about attending this meeting you may email encourage.tampabay@gmail.com  or call 813-591-3766.

To learn more about Courage International and view resources please visit www.couragerc.org

https://watch.formed.org/invited-to-courageous-love

https://everlastinghills.org/movie/

Grief Ministry

This group is for those who have experienced a loss within the past 12 months & would like to be in a setting with others on a similar journey. The group meets for 8 weeks at a time on Thursdays at 1:00 pm. All are welcome to attend. Contact Katie Holland at kholland@ctk-tampa.com.

Stephen Ministry

Do you have a friend, neighbor, coworker, or relative who has suffered a loss or is going through a difficult time? Here’s a great way you can help them—tell them about our Stephen Ministry!

Stephen Ministers are members of Christ the King Parish who have received special training to provide high quality, confidential, one-to-one, Christian care to hurting people. Stephen Ministers meet weekly with their care receivers to listen, care, encourage, and provide emotional and spiritual support. (Males are matched with males, and females are matched with females.) The caring relationship lasts for as long as the person needs care. It’s free, and it’s a powerful way you can help a hurting friend.

To learn how to connect someone you know with a Stephen Minister, talk with one of our Stephen
Ministry Leaders: Mary Ann Edgar at 202-368-3668. Our Stephen Ministers are there to care!

Walking with Moms in Need: Resources to Help

If you are going through a challenging pregnancy or a difficult time with your pregnancy, we are here to help. Please visit our Walking with Moms in Need page to view resources that can assist you according to your need. If you don’t see something you’re looking for, please contact Katie Holland at kholland@CTK-Tampa.org

PRAYER SUPPORT GROUPS

Unbound Healing Ministry:

What if you could reach out and touch God’s love, and NEVER be the same? Everyone is fighting an invisible battle:

– negative thoughts, secret sins, and unhealthy relationships
– destructive habits, idols, and false identities
– resentments and bitter wounds that never seem to heal

Unbound is a ministry of healing in which a trained prayer team prays with individuals to assist them in overcoming the spiritual obstacles they encounter in their path of Christian discipleship and take hold of greater freedom in Christ. This ministry uses the Five Keys of the Unbound model of deliverance developed by Heart of the Father Ministries (heartofthefather.com). Individuals who come for Unbound prayer share their personal story related to the area where they sense they need freedom and are led by the prayer team through a series of prayers based on the Five Keys of Unbound:

▪First Key: Repentance and Faith ▪ Second Key: Forgiveness ▪ Third Key: Renunciation
▪Fourth Key: Taking Authority ▪ Fifth Key: The Father’s Blessing

Examples of situations where Unbound prayer can be an effective help for individuals include:

• Marital/family discord
• Inability to forgive
• Relationship struggles
• Habitual sin
• Persistently negative view of God or self
• Chronic fear, anxiety or sadness
• Stalled spiritual life
• Anywhere in your life where you feel “stuck” and desire greater freedom

Unbound Prayer does not replace the ordinary means of growth in the Christian life such as personal prayer and the sacraments. Nor does it replace the ordinary means of human development such as counseling and other forms of psychological support. It serves as an additional tool that addresses the specifically spiritual influences that are frequently a part of any personal problem.

Contact Dale Kennedy, Unbound Ministry Lead at Christ the King, with any questions or register for a prayer session here.