Stephen MInistry Workshop

Want to learn to be an active listener and reach out to others in a distinctively Christian way? On Saturday, March 3, St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral will host a Stephen Ministry Introductory Workshop from 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m., and refreshments will be served.

Stephen Ministry helps members fulfill their Christian calling to love one. After all, loving and caring for people isn’t just the pastor’s job—all Christians are called to minister to one another. Participants will go home from this workshop with practical ministry skills and those who don’t have a Stephen Ministry already will get an excellent understanding of how they can organize members of their own congregation for caring ministry.

St. Paul's Cathedral began its Stephen Ministry in 2015 and has cared for 41 people over the past two years. The Stephen Ministry headquarters noticed St. Paul’s success and is hosting this introductory workshop and are inviting over 900 congregations within 75 miles.

The half-day workshop consists of three sessions designed both to enhance participants’ caregiving skills and to help congregations explore ways to expand their caring ministry.

In the first session of the workshop, “Ministering to Those Experiencing Grief,” participants learn about the grief process—the stages of grief and how to minister to people in each of those stages. They’ll gain the skills and confidence to better care for individuals who are grieving.

The second session introduces the Stephen Series, a system of lay caring ministry through which congregation leaders can equip members to provide one-to-one Christian care to people in need.

The final session of the workshop explains “How to Care in a Distinctively Christian Way.” Participants learn what makes Christian caregiving unique and how they can use resources like prayer, blessings, and Scripture in their caring for others.

The cost of the workshop is $15 per person or $50 for a group of four or more from the same congregation. For more information, or to register to attend the Stephen Ministry Introductory Workshop, please contact Stephen Ministries at: (314) 428-2600. You can also register online at www.stephenministry.org/workshop.

All are encouraged to attend! For more information about the March 3 workshop, go here: https://www.smore.com/xa6b9.

Stephen Ministry: are you, or someone you know, facing a hospitalization?

Every month, our Stephen Ministers have continuing education on specific topics related to caring for others in our congregation. On January 23rd, Bev Franco taught our Stephen Ministers about caring for those contemplating, experiencing or having just had a hospitalization. We toured a hospital with a chaplain and learned some practical and important things, such as never sitting on a patient's bed and making contact with nursing staff and chaplain prior to entering a patient's room to follow any precautions required and alert them to our visit.

Our next continuing education session will be on February 27th at 10 am and will focus on caring for people who are aging and the challenges and losses they face. If you would be interested in attending the session, contact one of the Stephen Ministry leaders below.

And, if you know someone who could use a caring and listening one-on-one support, please contact one of the leaders.  We're here to help!

Ellen Meier (emeier.pf@gmail.com or (619) 922-5837)
Brian Mullin (brian@mybetterpath.com or (619) 800-8824

Stephen Ministry is alive and well at St. Paul’s

Stephen Ministry is the one-to-one lay caring ministry that has been taking place in congregations across the country since 1975.

At St. Paul’s Cathedral, under an anonymous grant, we trained nine Stephen Ministers in 2015. These lay caregivers have been providing high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting or healing from an event in their or their loved one’s life.

Stephen Ministers

Our Stephen Ministers usually provides care to one person at a time, meeting with that person once a week for about an hour. Twice a month, Stephen Ministers gather with their Stephen Leaders for supervision and continuing education.

 Pat Tedford, a Stephen Minister, describes the experience as a “ministry of presence” and feels she “listens with the heart”. Our January 2016 continuing education was focused on caring for people facing hospitalization. We learned several practical tips from guest speaker Bev Franco about visiting those in a hospital, such as not sitting on the bed and checking in with the nursing staff and chaplain prior to entering a patient’s room.

Our February continuing education, taught by Brian Mullin, will focus on caring for those who are aging. We’ve invited the Pastoral Care Committee to join us in this session.

Care Receivers

Care receivers are people—cathedral members and others in the community—who receive care from a Stephen Minister. These are people struggling through a difficult time in life—experiencing grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, or some other life event.

Some important guidelines for this caring relationship protect both the care receiver and the Stephen Minister:

• The relationship between a care receiver and a Stephen Minister is confidential.
• When a care receiver’s needs exceed what a Stephen Minister can provide, the Stephen Ministry team makes a referral to an appropriate mental health professional or other community resource.

Learn more:

If you know of someone you believe could benefit from a relationship with a Stephen Minister, or if you have an interest in being a Stephen Minister, please contact one of the Stephen Leaders at St. Paul’s Cathedral:

• Brian Mullin (brianm@mybetterpath.com or (619) 800-8824)
• Ellen Meier (emeier.pf@gmail.com or (619) 922-5837)