Seeking Support

The Alcoholics Anonymous in-person group at St. Lawrence is suspended until further notice. The Sunday morning 9:30 am virtual meeting is available via zoom

Meeting ID #: 834 7620 1191
Password: notsomber

Per the South Bay Central Office meeting directory - for additional information, contact Jim H, group secretary, 310-739-6208 or Dorothy M 562-760-6768.

SLM information, contact Didi Egnatuk at 310-540-0329 x540.

The Caregiver Support Group is an informal gathering of people whose lives are directly or indirectly affected by their caregiving of parents, children, spouses, or any other loved ones.

Our group will be a safe place where feelings about God, spirituality, and struggles are shared; where issues of isolation and loneliness are addressed; where, as a group, individuals will find the courage and strength to continue on; where caregivers will teach each other ways to strengthen their relationship with God and with our community; where questions will be answered and resources shared.  

The meetings will occur regularly on the second Monday of each month in the pastoral center.  Please refer to our parish calendar for the schedule.  There is no fee to attend these meetings.
Please e-mail me at [email protected] if you would like to get an invitation to our meeting.  

Please contact Didi Egnatuk at (310) 540-0329 X 540 if you have any questions.

For resources regarding caregivers please go here – (external link)

You are NOT alone. Mental illness affects everyone directly or indirectly through family, friends or coworkers. Join us in a safe, confidential environment to share your experiences and learn from others. Starting on 4th Wednesday of the month will be a FAMILY Support Group for those with loved ones suffering from mental illness. (Please note that this group is for loved ones, not for those with Mental illness). For more information contact Kim Sheckler or Tracy Ayotte, 310-792-0244, or email.   Watch the bulletin for more info.

Meetings will take place in the Parish Hall at 7:00 pm.

During this difficult time, the NAMI HelpLine is here for you. HelpLine volunteers are working to answer questions, offer support and provide practical next steps. The resources on this page provide information to address many needs and concerns. 

https://www.nami.org/help

This is a group that extends its arms to those who are experiencing the loss of a loved one. We are here to listen and comfort.

For more information, please contact Didi Egnatuk at 310-540-0329 x540.

This ministry is open to members of the LGBTQ community, their families, friends or anyone who would like to be a part of this ministry. 

We are here to offer support, help and to make everyone feel welcomed at SLM, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Please contact Deacon Don Burt at (310) 540-0329 X 381 if you have any questions.

Providence St. Joseph Health is collaborating on a State-wide initiative to bring whole person care into our hospitals and communities. Whole Person Care means patients are involved in decisions about their care, families receive help supporting loved ones who are ill and caregivers receive help coping with the strains of care-giving. St. Lawrence has taken on the challenge of piloting a new ministry focused on whole person care in our parish. For more information contact our pastoral care hotline at (310) 540-0329 X 540.

We are women and men, daughters, sisters, parents, grandparents. We are people of love and people of hope. We have experienced loss and have emerged stronger than we were before. We see a deep brokenness in people we meet and long to help them. We see the isolation so many feel and want to reach out. If you let us, we’d like to be by your side as you journey from where you are now to a new place of forgiveness and peace.

Many of us are motivated by faith. Some simply want to share the peace that they have found. We are committed to the journey without judgment. At the end, we hope you will come to know that you are created out of love and for love. That abortion does not define you. That you can make peace with your decisions and build a life deserving of the amazing person you are. We are committed to the journey. We will stay by your side.  www.byyoursidela.org

Spiritual Direction is an ancient ministry, a unique one-to-one relationship in which a trained person assists another person in the search for an ever closer union of love with God.

Spiritual direction is the process of accompanying people on a spiritual journey that emphasizes growing closer to God.  In reality, spiritual direction is nothing more than a way of leading us to see and obey the real Director, the Holy Spirit, hidden in the depths of our souls.

Spiritual direction explores a deeper relationship with the spiritual aspect of being human. Simply put, spiritual direction is helping people tell their sacred stories.

Finding a spiritual director is a very personal and spiritual quest.  Here at St. Lawrence, we are blessed to have a group of certified spiritual directors who are able to offer their services.

If you are interested in exploring and deepening your relationship with God, please call or e-mail for further information.  The spiritual direction coordinator will match you with a compatible certified director who will keep holy your sacred story.

We look forward to journeying with you!

For more information, contact Didi Egnatuk at 310-540-0329 x540.

Visit the Stephen Ministry website.

What is the Stephen Ministry?

The Stephen Ministry was founded in 1974 by Kenneth C. Haugk, a clinical psychologist and pastor of St. Stephens’ Lutheran Church in St. Louis, MO. St. Lawrence is one of more than 9,000 congregations from over 120 Christian denominations that have a Stephen Ministry. Over 300,000 Stephen ministers have been trained, ministering to well over one million people throughout the world.

What is a Stephen Minister?

A Stephen Minister is a caring, Christian friend who listens, prays, supports and offers faith-based, confidential care for those who are hospitalized, terminally ill, bereaved, in a job crisis, or suffer any one of the many life struggles of our time.

Stephen Ministers do not take the place of priests, nor do they find solutions to these problems. Ministers are not counselors, but trained caregivers. Their role is to listen and to care, not to counsel or advise. They are trained to make professional referrals when a caregiver’s needs go beyond the scope of their ministry. Our ministers have over 50 hours of training and participate in continuing education programs throughout their service.

How does Stephen Ministry work?

If you are in need of care, simply call the Stephen Ministry main phone line. One of the Ministers will talk with you and, with permission assign a Stephen Minister. The Minister will contact you and schedule a time to meet. The rest is up to you. It is very important to understand that this care is strictly confidential. Those receiving care can be sure that their identity and what goes on in the caring relationship will remain private.

The Stephen Ministry is a great way for our parish to reach in and reach out to more and more hurting people through our team of well-equipped, well-supervised lay caregivers.

Everyone goes through difficult times. Having someone to care, to listen, to share God’s love with you can help you get through the confusion, stress, or loneliness you may be experiencing.

If your life is more than you can handle alone right now; if your health, attitude, or relationships are suffering; if you are adjusting to the loss of a job, a change in marital status, a serious illness, the death of a loved one, or would just like to have someone in your life who really cares, then perhaps it is time for you to call the Stephen Ministry. Our Stephen Ministers look forward to the opportunity to carry out our Parish Mission Statement by accepting the call of Jesus Christ to love and serve one another.

For more information, call the Confidential Stephen Ministry Message Line at 310-540-0329 x540.

Maybe you’ve wondered about our women’s group at SLM, Women in Transition.  Maybe you’ve thought “I’m not in transition.  Nothing is changing in my life.”  In this past year, we’ve seen too many changes, too many transitions.  Our lives are changing from day to day, from moment to moment.  Our lives feel full one day and empty the next; happy one day and sad the next.  Change is happening.  We can’t stop it.  Sometimes we feel as though we are in the midst of chaos; that our lives are spinning out of control; that we are the only ones who experience these emotions.  We can find comfort in learning that we are not alone; that others are most likely spinning in similar orbits.

Right now, today, at this moment, think of how everything has changed this year. Are you working from home? Are you working from home and supervising your children’s distance learning? Are you caring for loved ones, either locally or long distance? Are you feeling lonely? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are you feeling disconnected? Are you feeling too connected with those in your home? Bored? Too much to do?  Ignoring what your body is telling you? Are you drinking too much? Are you eating too much? Watching too much TV?

On the flip side, are you feeling blessed to have a home, enough to eat, enough to read? Are you feeling blessed to connect more with nature, to have the time to examine what’s in your heart? Are you looking inward and liking what you discover? Disliking what you discover?

At our meetings, we have created a place to share our life situations, good and bad. Let’s get together with a cup of coffee or tea and talk. Our meetings are once a month via Zoom.

Please e-mail me at [email protected] if you would like to get an invitation to our meeting.  I look forward to our reconnecting!

Didi Egnatuk