Stephen Ministries<br/><br/>
In 1975, Rev. Kenneth C. Haugk, a Lutheran minister serving in St. Louis in the United States, founded the Stephen Ministries.  This group aims to serve members of the church who are struggling with difficult issues such as divorce, drug addiction, unemployment or relationship problems.  The volunteers of this group are forbidden to help financially; moreover they are not expected to solve the problems on behalf of those they help.  The volunteers need only know how to listen intently.<br/><br/>
There are 300,000 volunteers who have received training by this group, serving different parishes.<br/><br/>
The group takes its name “Stephen” from one of the first seven deacons of the early church.  Due to Stephen’s gifts of eloquence and competence, he was envied by the Jews and was stoned to death at Jerusalem’s west gate, called the Lion’s Gate.  The primary work of the seven deacons was to assist the apostles in equitably allocating the material goods among members of the community, as the members of the early relinquished ownership of all possessions to the apostles for the community.<br/><br/>
As a true companion to one another, we must put oneself in other’s shoes on the one hand, but, on the other hand, also maintain a healthy and balanced mental state for ourselves.  This is not an easy task; therefore it requires training, prayer and a spirit of trust and reliance in God.  Otherwise, it would be easy for the roles to be reversed in which case the volunteer would be the one that needs help in return.<br/><br/>
For information on the Stephen Ministries, visit www.stephenministries.org.  If you feel our parish should start this ministry, please contact me directly.