Do you want to learn to be an active listener and reach out to others in a distinctively Christian way? On Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, Trinitarian Congregational Church will host a Stephen Series Caring Ministry Workshop from 9am-1pm. Registration begins at 8am, and refreshments will be served. 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.
“The needs for ongoing care in our congregation and community were much more than the pas-tors could handle alone,” said Jo Marshall, one of the Stephen Leaders who oversee Trinitarian Congregational’s Stephen Ministry. “So we enrolled in the Stephen Series and are now equipping our members to provide quality one-to-one Christian care.” The workshop is sponsored by Stephen Ministries, the St. Louis-based Christian training organ-ization that has been providing congregations with training and resources for Christian caregiving for more than 30 years. The workshop will be led by Pat Montgomery from Stephen Ministries in St. Louis, Missouri.
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 stag-es. They’ll gain the skills and confidence to do so. “Stephen Ministry helps our members fulfill their Christian calling to love one another,” said Lou Soiles, Associate Pastor. “Loving and caring for people isn’t just the pastor’s job—all Christians are called to minister to one another. We really look forward to this workshop as a way of helping others become aware of this calling.”
The second session provides an introduction to the Stephen Series, a system of lay caring min-istry through which congregation leaders can equip members to provide one-to-one Christian care to people in need. Since 1975, more than 10,000 congregations representing more than 150 denominations have implemented the Stephen Series.
Over the past seven years, 26 members of Trinitarian Congregational Church have undertaken 50 hours of training to become Stephen Ministers; 18 of them are currently active. Each meets weekly with someone who is experiencing a life crisis or challenge, perhaps the death of a loved one, divorce, hospitalization, the loss of a job, loneliness, or relocation. "Stephen Ministry blesses both care giver and care receiver. Listening to your care receiver, acting as a sounding board for your care receiver and praying with your care receiver seem to bring forth many God-incidences, healing and a closer walk with the Lord for both giver and re-ceiver,” said Stephen Minister Margie Langsdorf. The final session of the workshop explains “How to Care in a Distinctively Christian Way.” Participants learn what makes Christian caregiv-ing 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 Series Caring Ministry Workshop at Trinitarian Congregational Church, please contact Stephen Ministries at: (314) 428-2600. You can also register online.
“I encourage people to attend,” said Lou Soiles. “Participants will go home with practical ministry skills and an understanding of how they can organize the members of their congregation for car-ing ministry through the Stephen Series.”
