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This Page Last Updated 04/12/2006

Vision Statement For Stephen Ministry

To establish and develop a lay, Christ-centered ministry to address the caring needs of the congregation of St. Joseph’s Church and the Penfield Community.

Prayer for Stephen Ministry:
we invite you to use this prayer daily or weekly for the spiritual founding of this ministry.

O Lord, we are looking for ways to do your will. 
Open our eyes so that we can see the road you have laid before us. Open our ears so that we can hear the needs of your people. Open our minds so that we look beyond immediate barriers that might stop us. Open our hearts so we may willingly accept your Spirit’s guidance and follow you where you would lead us.

Lord Jesus, today we pray for Stephen Ministry. Guide our leaders as use this caring ministry to equip your people to provide one-to-one Christian care to others in need. Give them open and caring hearts as they serve in your name. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

What is Stephen Ministry?

At St. Joseph’s, Stephen Ministry is a one-on-one caring ministry through which one Christian walks with another in a time of need. Stephen Ministers are a trained and commissioned group of parishioners who, through prayer and service, reach out to live the Gospel message of Jesus to “bear one another’s burdens.”

What is a Stephen Minister?

Stephen Ministers are parishioners who are willing to walk beside another person, hurting or in need. Stephen Ministers are trained in a variety of skills over an initial period of 50 hours; such training enhances the individual gifts of a person of faith. This training develops such skills as effective listening, compassion, and distinctively Christian care. Stephen Ministers are committed to the rule that “all conversations and meetings, all observations, impressions and records made concerning the care receiver are and must remain confidential.”
A STEPHEN MINISTER is not…a counselor or therapist, a problem-solver, a casual visitor.

What does Stephen Ministry mean for you personally?

Stephen Ministry’s presence here states that there is someone who has been trained and who is available to you in times of need. It is the hope that through this caring relationship, you will come to know more fully the love, care and concern of the Lord for you. It also means that you can encourage a family member, a friend, or a neighbor to seek a referral to a Stephen Minister.

Who benefits from Stephen Ministry?

The Community:  it maintains a lasting lay commitment to caring; our community grows in warmth and love for Caring is contagious!

The Care Receiver:  this person experiences an increased ability to deal with their own lives and a whole new sense of wholeness.

The Care Givers:  the Stephen Minister experiences personal growth and enrichment in their own lives.
 

How does one become a Care Receiver?  How does the referral process work?

  1. The person either you, a relative, or a friend, is hurting and in need of Christian care.
  2. The Stephen Ministry Referral Coordinator learns about this need from the person or a friend, always with the person’s permission. (Use the Stephen Ministry extension at 586-8089, ext.30.)
  3. The Referrals Coordinator meets with the person in need to talk about Stephen Ministry.
  4. With the person’s permission, the Coordinator assigns a Stephen Minister to meet on a regular basis with the person.
  5. The Stephen Minister begins and continues to meet to provide distinctively Christian care for the person, with strict confidentiality.
To begin the process, call our Confidential phone line at 586-8089, ext.30 or speak to our pastor.

What do Stephen Ministers do?

Stephen Ministers care for people who are:

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St. Joseph's Church
43 Gebhardt Road
Penfield, NY 14526
585-586-8089