STEPHEN MINISTRY
Stephen Ministry at Trinity recruits, trains and supports lay volunteers to be present for and bring Christ’s love to people going through significant transitions and/or recovering from challenges in their lives for as long as it takes.
What is Stephen Ministry?
A pastoral care program which provides a caring friend to listen to and support those who are facing a time of challenge in their lives. First begun in St Louis, it has now spread across the US and abroad.
What kind of challenge?
Anything for which support would be helpful—from a recent bereavement, to job loss, to a new baby in the home, to serious illness.
Who are these caring friends?
Lay members of our congregation, identified for their gifts of caring and ability to respect confidentiality, who have agreed to serve as Stephen Ministers for two years.
What kind of support do they offer?
They visit weekly with those to whom they have been assigned, offering a listening ear and a caring Christian presence. These visits typically run about an hour in length.
How do these people know what to do?
They have been given approximately 50 hours of initial training, and receive ongoing support, supervision, and continuing education throughout their work with Trinity’s Stephen Ministry.
Aren’t many of these challenges pretty personal? I wouldn’t want everyone knowing my business…
Confidentiality is at the heart of Stephen Ministry. The only people who will know that a Stephen Minister is assigned to a parishioner are: the parishioner, the Stephen Minister, the Stephen Leader responsible for making the assignments, and the clergy.
What if the person needs to see a priest?
This program is a supplement to priestly, medical, and/or therapeutic attention. It is not meant to replace the professional care of a priest, therapist, or doctor.
I think I may want a Stephen Minister. How do I go about getting one?
We are beginning Stephen Ministry at Trinity, and will begin training our first “class” of Stephen Ministers this fall. We plan to have them available for assignment in April of 2010. At that time we will let the congregation know how to go about requesting a Stephen Minister.
I might want to become a Stephen Minister. What kind of commitment would I be making?
The commitment is a significant one. Stephen Ministers agree to attend all training sessions, visit their assigned person once a week, and attend ongoing supervision and continuing education meetings with the other Stephen Ministers. Click here [add link to training schedule] to see our training schedule. The commitment is for two years.
That sounds like something I might want to do. How do I go about signing up?
Contact the Trinity parish office for an application, or download the application from this site. The application is the first step in the mutual discernment of a possible call to be a Stephen Minister.
I have more questions. Where do I ask them?
Feel free to direct your questions to any of Trinity’s Stephen Leaders – those trained to run this program: Glenda Strother, Judy LaCroix, Laurie Trotto, Rick Chamiec-Case, and Pastor Kathie.
STEPHEN MINISTRY PROGRAM FORMS:
