St. Francis-St Maxmilian Parish at 23965 Twenty-Three Mile Rd., Macomb, MI 48042 US - Stephen Ministry

St. Maximilian has been a member of Stephen Ministries since November, 2002. We have four staff members that are trained Stephen Leaders and have had 2 training sessions for Stephen Ministers jointly with St. Mary Mystical Rose to date, with a third planned for the near future. Stephen Ministers are parish members who are recruited, selected, trained, and commissioned to provide one-to-one lay caring ministry to persons in crisis or with other needs for care. They participate in Supervision Group twice a month. They initially commit to serve for two years including training (50 hours) and may renew their commitment. Stephen Ministers use special skills to care for their care receivers. Among the most important are the following: listening, dealing with feelings, sharing distinctly Christian caring resources, remaining process-oriented, relating assertively, maintaining boundaries, and recommending professional care when necessary. Our Stephen Ministers are trained for over 50 hours in the many skills, but part of the focus is becoming aware of the life issues. Certainly our parish nurses capture this when they talk with people or give presentations.

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