Discovering God's Vision for Your Life: You and Your Spiritual Gifts Leader's Planning Set
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The Good Listener
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Joy Comes with the Morning
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The Heart of Stephen Ministry - DVD
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God's Love in Action Bulletin Inserts--Finding Care Receivers
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Stephen Ministry Begins at
Infant of Prague Church
in Jacksonville, NC

By Sister Barbara Marie Cady, SU
Special to the North Carolina Catholic
Raleigh, North Carolina
September 19, 2002

Stephen Ministry is a program that equips lay persons to provide distinctly Christian one-to-one care to people in the parish and community who are experiencing a wide range of needs or crises, including the hospitalized, terminally ill, bereaved, elderly, disabled and handicapped, those in job crisis, the lonely, those separated or divorced, households experiencing birth or adoption, the inactive, shut-in and homebound, those facing life transitions.

Stephen Ministers are named after St. Stephen, one of the first deacons in the early church, commissioned by the apostles to care for the needs of the people in the Christian community.

The ministry began in 1975 when Rev. Kenneth C. Haugk, a pastor and clinical psychologist, trained nine laypersons in his congregation to assist him in providing Christian care to members of the congregation and community.

Since 1975, more than 9,000 congregations representing 100 denominations in all 50 states, nine Canadian provinces and more than 20 other countries have joined Stephen Ministry. More than 50,000 individuals have been trained as Stephen Leaders, who in turn have returned to their congregations to train more than 450,000 laypersons to be Stephen Ministers.

It is estimated that since 1975 more than a million people have experienced one-to-one caring relationships with the ministers.

The Stephen Series logo depicts the very essence of this lay caring ministry. The logo is composed of a broken person behind a cross and a whole person superimposed on the cross. This cross in the center reminds us that the path from brokenness to greater wholeness is through Jesus Christ and the caring ministry of his people.

Stephen Ministers are trained, commissioned, and supervised to provide crisis care when a listening, caring presence is needed; follow-up care, when life has re-inserted itself and family and friends have gone back to their daily lives; chronic care, when the situation will probably not improve and will no doubt worsen in time; preventive care, for those approaching retirement, childbirth, a move, when the last child leaves for college, etc.; and supportive care, for those who care for the one in crisis.

Stephen Ministers are not counselors. They are trained to listen and care--not to counsel and advise. Stephen Ministry is a confidential ministry--whatever is shared with a Stephen Minister remains confidential.

Although ministers attend twice-monthly peer supervision, the names of care receivers and specific details of their situations are never discussed. Stephen Ministers are assigned only after a care receiver has agreed to receive the care of the minister.

Last winter, I was able to attend a week-long training session and became a Stephen Leader. As such, I am now able to train ministers at Infant of Prague Church. Since the beginning of the summer, 12 members of the parish have been attending weekly sessions to prepare to take part in this important ministry of caring and concern.

Stephen Ministers must complete 50 hours of training before they are assigned a care receiver.

We at Infant of Prague are a Stephen Ministry Parish. Each one of us is becoming more aware of the needs and pain of others. Once this ministry is up and running, each and every member of the parish community will have the opportunity to apply to become a minister and/or to encourage someone in crisis to contact us for assistance.

Reprinted by permission of "North Carolina Catholic".

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