The Stephen Care Ministry of First United Church in Commerce is extending its care program to all Commerce residents.
“This is a service for when someone is in crisis,” Sarah Cunningham, who organized the Commerce Stephen Ministry, said. “We are there for them and with them.”
The Commerce Stephen Ministry began a year ago.
“I was a Stephen Minister in another church in Irving and I felt that it was important to bring that here,” Cunningham said.
“Originally, it was just started for people in the church,” she said. “But we have decided it’s such a valuable program for people.”
“It’s a non-denominational program,” Dr. Fred Blohm, a retired head of the Health and Physical Education Department at Texas A&M University-Commerce, who works with the Stephen Ministry, said. “It’s not just members of the church who need caregivers.”
Most people receive a lot of support right after a traumatic experience, but support often decreases over time. Ministry members, called caregivers, provide free long-term support to people, he said.
“A lot of it is listening,” Blohm said. “People who are in trauma need someone to listen.”
“Whether it takes two weeks or a year,” Cunningham said. “We’re here.”
initial training to become certified. Once certified, they receive continuing education. The Commerce ministry currently has six certified members, but there are plans to add more as the program expands.
“We’re starting another training program in January or February,” Blohm said.
“It’s a Christian, one-on-one service,” Cunningham said. “It’s extremely confidential. When we assign a Stephen Minister only the individual, the Stephen Minister, and the pastor, Lisa Wolcott, know.”
“We don’t even discuss people with other Stephen Ministers,” Blohm said.
Care is available to anyone dealing with a traumatic event.
“We serve people in bereavement,” Lamont Cunningham, Sarah’s husband and fellow caregiver said, “such as loss of a family member or terminal illness.”
The program also serves those who’ve lost jobs, divorced, or been hospitalized.
“Individuals[those wishing to receive care] have to agree with the pastor that they will participate,” Blohm said. “Once they’ve agreed we give care.”
Caregivers are not therapists and those interviewed pointed out that the program is not set up to solve people’s problems but to provide comfort.
“We don’t fix, just listen,” Sarah Cunningham said.
The Stephen Ministry was founded in St. Louis, Mo. in 1975 by the Rev. Kenneth C. Haugk, Ph.D., a pastor and clinical psychologist. The program has since spread to over 7,000 churches around the world. The program is named for a biblical character from the book of Acts.
People seeking the services of the Stephen Ministry should contact the First United Methodist Church at 903-886-3220.