(The following excerpts were taken from the article with the above title written by Marta W. Aldrich for UMC.org. in 2006. The complete article can be found at stephenministries.org.)

WWJD?

Stephen Ministry is named for St. Stephen, the first layperson commissioned by the Apostles to provide caring ministry to those in need. Stephen Ministers undergo 70 hours of initial training (plus continuing education afterwards) and serve for at least two years. Among other things, they develop skills in reflective listening, learn guidelines on confidentiality, and prepare to minister to people in specific situations such as terminal illness, grief and divorce. They are also trained to recognize when to refer someone to a helping professional.

Stephen Ministry is based on “incarnational theology,” which means that “when you care for another person, Jesus is in that person and you are the incarnation of Jesus Christ,” says Dr. Kenneth Haugk, founder of Stephen Ministries.

In other words, “what would Jesus do?”

“If Jesus had a friend going through a divorce, He’d probably listen to them. If Jesus had a friend die, He’d cry, which is what He did when Lazarus died. This stuff is simple, but profound,” says Haugk. “Sometimes in the church and certainly in society, we’re not very good listeners. We tend to talk too much, myself included. We have to learn to bite our tongue and listen more. It takes discipline.”

Help in Adversity

Kathy Sansom, who was a care receiver and later decided to train as a Stephen Minister said this: “The difference between talking to a good friend and talking to a Stephen Minister is that a good friend still can be judgmental and have a tendency to want to fix things. But that’s not really what you need during a difficult time,” she says. “You don’t need someone to tell you what to do because, in your heart, you know. You just need someone to listen. Maybe I can be a good listener now for someone else.”

For information about Stephen Ministry at St. Paul Lutheran, ask anyone with the blue Stephen Minister/Leader nametag on Sunday morning, or contact one of our Leaders:

Helen Genter (682-6434; hlgenter@kc.rr.com);

Becca Mease (547-0763; rmease@kc.rr.com);

Lea Metz (772-8501; leametz@sbcglobal.net);

or Pastor Ed at (682-0387; pastor@splcs.org).