STEPHEN MINISTERS
Stephen Ministers care for people facing tough times. They are lay people who have received extensive training to provide emotional and spiritual care, both within the HPCUMC congregation and outside of it. Confidentiality is paramount; Stephen Ministers maintain privacy for their care receivers and regularly attend peer supervision sessions to ensure they are providing competent, compassionate support.
Stephen Ministers are well-trained listeners and spiritual companions; they are not licensed therapists and counselors. Stephen Ministers serve as an extension to HPCUMC’s pastoral staff; ministers’ support is available as long as a need exists.
StephenMinistry helps meet the needs of individuals who are…
- Hospitalized
- Terminally ill
- Bereaved
- Recently separated or divorced
- In a job crisis
- New members of the church
- Disabled
- Homebound
- Lonely
- In a spiritual crisis
- Looking for a caring, Christian friend
Referrals – Contact Rev. Dave Weaver, clergy leader, at (513) 979-8184 or dweaver@hpcumc.org
- HPCUMC’s Stephen Ministry Referral Coordinator learns about an individual’s need for care—always with the person’s permission
- With the care receiver’s permission, a Stephen Minister is assigned to make weekly one-hour visits
“We
all are broken people and that it is only through the cross
of Jesus that we are made whole.”
--From the Stephen Ministries brochure, St. Louis, Mo.
Are you interested in becoming a Stephen Minister?
Stephen Ministry training involves significant time and energy, but it is a deeply rewarding area of service. Ministers report they experience positive changes in their personal lives, too, which typically is the result of increased awareness and improved listening skills.
A minimum of 50 hours of preparation is required before someone becomes a Stephen Minister. Candidates attend classes in crisis theory, listening skills, assertiveness training, intervention and role-playing; trainees begin coursework in January and are commissioned in the early summer.
Contact Training Coordinator Carolyn Keil (513) 871-8949 if you are interested in learning more about becoming a Stephen Minister at HPCUMC. Additional details can be found at www.stephenministries.org
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