THE STEPHEN MINISTRY: Providing One-on-One Care for God’s People

In the book of Acts, the twelve apostles realize that having immersed themselves in spreading the Gospel and building God’s Church, they have sometimes neglected to provide immediate, personal care to some of the most vulnerable individuals among them. Thus, they ask seven men to fulfill this essential role, with St. Stephen the first to be commissioned for this type of ministry. Today, thanks to the Stephen Ministries, laypeople around the world can answer this Gospel call to serve others in a very special way.

Pastoral Associate Sister Lucy Clynes first had the inspiration to bring the Stephen Ministry to our parish a couple of years ago. Recognizing a need for more intensified support for our lay pastoral ministers, she approached the diocesan Office of Family Life about bringing this ministry here. This year, Our Lady Star of the Sea is blessed to be one of several parishes to receive a grant through the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese for the establishment of a Stephen Ministry in our parish.

As Sr. Lucy explains, this ministry is primarily one of accompaniment.

“The Stephen Ministry provides training and then support to those who will go out to the homes and the prisons,” she says. “It’s providing that listening ear and understanding heart as we’re invited to do as a Church, bringing the Eucharist and maybe even connecting people with some services. The Holy Father says we have to be a Church of accompaniment, so it’s a way of accompanying these minsters as they offer others support.”

The Stephen Ministries organization was founded in 1973 by the Reverend Dr. Kenneth Haugk. As a pastor with a graduate degree in clinical psychology, Dr. Haugk was passionate about providing quality, personal care to parishioners who were hurting. When he realized that he, as just one individual, was unable to meet the needs of his entire congregation, he began training laypeople in pastoral care. Today, congregations in all 50 United States and 30 other countries have Stephen Ministry programs.

This fall, parishioner LouAnne Hawkins attended a five-week virtual training session through the St. Louis Stephen Ministries office to become the “parish point person” for this ministry at Our Lady Star of the Sea. LouAnne is a natural fit for the role, having a higher education degree in counseling and a background as a professor of research methods for psychology. What’s more, LouAnne recently completed the diocesan ministry formation program.

LouAnne is looking forward to being able to serve our parish in this new capacity.

“When I was going through the ministry formation program, I became a lot more aware of a theologicalbased compassion and engagement with my fellow parishioners,” she says. “I saw many opportunities where I tried to be supportive or help individuals where I could, but I also saw much more need than any one person or two people could meet. Our priests are amazing, but there are only so many of them, and this ministry will enable us as a community of followers to be able to support one another more effectively.”

With the training she has received, LouAnne is now able to train the Stephen Ministry volunteers in our parish. These individuals provide loving care for individuals who are going through a difficult time, such as a death in the family, a divorce, or another life-changing experience. While the ministers do not provide counseling, they do offer a confidential, trained listening ear, and can inform care receivers about other helpful resources.

As our Stephen Ministers live the Gospel call to serve God’s people in a special way, they are sure to be a witness of His Love to many.

“This ministry enables us to help and serve each other, and then that spreads the Word of Jesus Christ out in the community,” LouAnne says. “It just has so much potential to help the lives of many parishioners, and as they pay it forward and help others, it can have an exponential effect on the lives of the community.”

As always, there is a great joy to be found in giving of oneself. As LouAnne reflects on serving with the Stephen Ministry, she knows that she and the other volunteer ministers will no doubt experience countless blessings as they act as the compassionate hands and feet of Christ here on earth.

“One of the things that made me interested in the ministry is this type of incarnational theology in which we are embodiments of Jesus Christ doing His loving work,” she says. “We are the body of Christ, we are the ones out there doing His work for Him. I’m very blessed God has given me this opportunity to do His work — I really just feel blessed.”

Are you interested in learning more about the Stephen Ministry at Our Lady Star of the Sea? If so, please contact Sr. Lucy Clynes at 904-285-2698 or srlucyclynesdw@olsspvb.org.

LouAnne Hawkins (pictured here with her children, Annie and Wil) is the parish lead for our new Stephen Ministry.