Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Stephen Ministry leaders are (standing) Liz Myers and the Rev. Dave Hansen. Behind them are graduates of the program (from left) Anne Campbell, Carol Denniston, Larry Myers, Mack Boone and Ruth Boone.
Church program cares for those in need
Sharing burdens helps make them lighter
By Shari Kaplan
For some people, the holiday season brings an exhilarating mix of food, fellowship and fun. By the time the new year dawns, a certain anti-climactic letdown is just as natural for many of the same. But for others, the holidays are just a reminder of a state of affairs in which feeling troubled is the rule, not the exception, due to problems that know no particular season. These may be unemployment, relocation, spiritual isolation, relationship problems, divorce, serious illness or injury, or the death of a loved one.
No matter what the burdens are, they often become lighter when shared. That is one of the tenets of Stephen Ministries, a nationwide nonprofit, nondenominational program run through local churches. It began in 1975 in St. Louis, Mo., when the Rev. Kenneth C. Haugk, a pastor and clinical psychologist, trained laypeople at his church to assist him in offering emotional and spiritual support to certain members of the congregation and community. The program name comes from St. Stephen, the first layperson the Apostles commissioned in this way.
Saratoga's program started less than a year ago at Westhope Presbyterian Church and--through word of mouth, referrals and other means--is already making a difference in the community.
"[There's a] need we all have to be listened to, grieved with and supported when we are in some of the normal crises that we all face from time to time--not therapy, not solution-giving, but just plain care-giving," says Elizabeth Myers, a licensed marriage, family and child counselor.
Together with Westhope's pastor, the Rev. Dave Hansen, Myers is one-half of the church's Stephen Ministry training team.
The first group of Stephen ministers--Ann Campbell and Sylvia Ecke of Saratoga, Larry Myers of Los Gatos and Tom Anderson of San Jose--completed 50-hour training courses last spring. The second group, which graduated in October, consists of Carol Denniston of Santa Clara and Ruth and Mack Boone of San Jose.
These lay "ministers" are assigned to individuals in need of counsel, based on contacts made by Hansen or Myers, or perhaps by way of a concerned friend. All Stephen ministers assure confidentiality to the individuals they befriend and help.
"It was an exciting, fun and challenging course to take," says Anderson, who has served as a Sunday School teacher and Elder at the church. "Unlike these other positions [where] I've done most of the talking, the big success for a Stephen Minister is to be a good listener."
That listening proved helpful to one of Myers' care recipients, who was going through a bitter divorce and says she needed both a spiritual counselor and someone with whom she could unburden her heart without being judged or ridiculed.
"I derived a sense of hope through the sense that I was not bereft or alone," says the woman, who asked that her name be withheld. "I [also] got a sense of peace and love that was previously missing. I am now actually happy again, productive in my work and a better parent to my children."
For information about becoming a giver or receiver of Stephen Ministry care, call Westhope Presbyterian Church at 408.255.0955.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
