Our Lady Queen of Martyrs

Consolation/Bereavement Ministry

The Consolation and Bereavement Ministry at OLQM works under the supervision of Bishop Sanchez, Father Passenant, and Pastoral Care Administrator Dennis Portelli. The Consolation Ministry attends Wake Prayer Services and assists families in preparation for the Christian Funeral Rite of the Church. We update the Funeral Liturgy Planner and Music Selection sheets as well as provide additional support to families during this difficult time for them.

The Bereavement Support Group offers spiritual support to parishioners (as well as non-parishioners) who have recently suffered a loss. We offer a caring environment, hope and comfort; we are non-judgmental and respect privacy in all aspects of the grieving process and point toward healing. We typically meet the first and third Monday of every month at 7 p.m. in the church rectory, unless there is a Monday holiday observance (e.g., Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Labor Day, etc.). In 2018, the support group marked the milestone of five years of service. For questions, contact group coordinator and Commissioned Lay Minister Yorke Mizelle.

Meetings of the bereavement support group are typically the first and third Mondays of the month, 7-9 p.m. in the rectory basement. Announced meeting dates for the remainder of 2019 are as follows:

September 16 (one meeting), October 7 & 21, November 4 & 18, and December 2 & 16. (Note: A previously announced meeting on December 9th is canceled.)

Please call the rectory (718-268-6251) or email the group coordinator if interested in attending a meeting. If you are attending for the first time, an RSVP is required.

About the Bereavement Support Coordinator

Commissioned Lay Pastoral Leader, Yorke Mizelle

Contact: Yorke Mizelle, Commissioned Lay Pastoral Leader & Coordinator, ymizelle@nyc.rr.com

I am a parishioner here at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs. I was baptized into the Catholic Christian faith at the 2007 Vigil Mass celebrated by Msgr. Joseph Funaro. Filled with the Holy Spirit, I volunteered to be a member of Pastoral Care, became a Minister of Holy Communion, and was accepted as a catechist, teaching the faith to third-grade public school Catholic Christian children. I heard the call and went on to complete the Diocesan Pastoral Institute three-year program of study and preparation for lay ministry. In May 2013, I was commissioned as a Lay Pastoral Leader in the Diocese of Brooklyn by Bishop Di Marzio. I am also president of the OLQM Pastoral Care group.