You swing the hammer…

…and you miss!

And that feeling of pain causes you to say

What do you do when you need to say Ouch!

Just about everyone of us has used a hammer, missed the nail, and mashed our thumb. The moment you hit your thumb, the feeling of pain begins racing toward your mouth and in a moment out comes the expression, “Ouch!”

This sort of thing happens all the time. Very few people hesitate to say “Ouch!”

And when we say “Ouch!” very few people would think it strange or inappropriate that we say such a thing.

But when our life hits us with other kinds of hammers, we often hesitate to say the “Ouch!” we very much need to say.

At one time or another, just about every one of us gets hit by one of life’s hammers.

Cancer or some other serious illness, divorce, the death of a loved one, loss of independence.

The list of hammers is a long one.

And when one of these events takes place, instead of expressing the feelings that the event has caused, many people bottle those feeling up inside and don’t share them with anyone. But if left trapped inside too long, those feelings will take a terrible toll on a person’s emotional, physical and spiritual health. And if you are one of these people who need to say “Ouch!” please consider talking to a Stephen Minister. Or if you know someone like this, recommend Stephen Ministry to them.

WHAT IS A STEPHEN MINISTER?

A Stephen Minister is a Christian man or woman who has received training in how to listen and care when life delivers one of those hammer blows. Stephen Ministers share their gifts for bringing Christ’s healing love to people who are lonely, grieving, ill, divorcing, or experiencing any kind of crisis in their life. Stephen Ministers walk along side during the time of crisis as a friend and as someone who is interested in listening to the feelings with which a person may be struggling.

HOW DOES STEPHEN MINISTRY WORK?

A Stephen Ministry training program prepares men and women to become Stephen Ministers. Their 50 hours of basic training (plus continuing education) includes topics such as feelings, listening, confidentiality, as well as specialized topics on grief, divorce, aging, etc. People in need of support are matched with a Stephen Minister. It is always man-to-man, woman-to-woman care. Stephen Ministers are closely supervised and attend meetings twice each month for peer supervision and continuing education.

Mount Cross Lutheran Church has been providing the care of Stephen Ministers to the Camarillo area since 1995.

If you, or someone you know, would be interested in receiving the care of a Stephen

Minister, please contact:

Mount Cross Lutheran Church at

805-482-3847.

Or click on the link below and send us an e-mail with "Stephen Ministry" as the subject.

Send Stephen Ministry information

The pastor or one of the Stephen Leaders will answer your questions and arrange for a Stephen Minister to begin caring.

If you are interested in becoming a Stephen Minister, click on the link below and send us an e-mail with "Stephen Minister Training" as the subject, and we will be in touch right away.

Stephen Minister Training

Stephen Ministry Enters a New Era…

We are pleased to join with Trinity Presbyterian Church for the training of our three new candidates, beginning January 15 and continuing to mid-May. They are Diana Summers, Madaline Statton, and Evelyn Lacy. The classes will take place at Trinity in Camarillo and Pastor John, as well as some of our “retired” Stephen Leaders, will assist as needed.

These three candidates, when commissioned in May, will join our seven active Stephen Ministers in providing caring support of a Christian friend through periods of stress. Stephen Ministers focus on the process of caregiving and rely on God to achieve results.