Welcome to all new members and guests of St. Paul Lutheran Church! The months of August and September – with the start of a new school year and the arrival of new CGSC officers and families – always bring with them the opportunity to welcome new folks to our church and school. We are so happy to have you here! Since some of you have never heard of “Stephen Ministry” before, I’d like to explain what that means.

What exactly is Stephen Ministry? Stephen Ministry is a ministry at St. Paul in which trained and supervised lay persons – called Stephen Ministers – provide one-on-one Christian care to individuals facing life challenges or difficulties.

Who is involved?

Stephen Leaders are the ones who oversee and direct our Stephen Ministry. They recruit, select, train, organize, and supervise our Stephen Ministers, identify people in need of care, and match them with a Stephen Minister. We currently have three Stephen Leaders here at St. Paul: Helen Genter, Becca Mease, and Lea Metz. Each of these Leaders attended a week-long intense training session with the Stephen Ministries staff, which is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Stephen Ministers are the caregivers. They have been through more than 70 hours of training in Christian caregiving, including general topics such as listening, feelings, boundaries, assertiveness, confidentiality, and using Christian resources in caregiving. In addition, their training covered specialized topics such as ministering to the divorced, hospitalized, bereaved, and aging. We currently have 13 Stephen Ministers (including our Leaders). They are: Larry Bass, Velma Bass, Janice Denney, Pam Floetke, Nancy Fruechtenicht, Steve Fruechtenicht, Helen Genter, Lynn Genter, Margaret Hanawalt, Becca Mease, Lea Metz, Christine Strohm, and Linda Trottman.

Care Receivers are the recipients of Stephen Ministers’ care. They are people from our church, school, or community who are experiencing divorce, grief, loss of a job, loneliness, hospitalization, terminal illness, or any of an endless number of life difficulties. Stephen Ministers usually meet with their care receivers once a week for about an hour for as long as the care receiver will benefit by the relationship.

~ Helen Genter, Stephen Leader >

If you would like to learn more about Stephen Ministry, or desire the services of a Stephen Minister, please contact one of our Leaders: Helen Genter (682-6434; hlgenter@kc.rr.com); Becca Mease (547-0763; rmease@kc.rr.com); or Lea Metz (772-8501; leametz@sbcglobal.net).You can also contact Pastor Ed at the Church Office (682-0387; pastor@splcs.org). All requests for a Stephen Minister – as well as visits – are kept confidential.