Health & Human Care

St. Paul Lutheran Church

1075 Glenwood Ave. Napoleon, OH 43545

Church # (419) 592-3535 Fax # (419) 592-0652

2007-2008 Theme: "Hearts Ablaze"

Health & Human Care

Stephen Ministries

Stephen Ministry

Stephen Ministry is an international organization of which St. Paul Lutheran Church is a member. It provides one-to-one caring ministry by trained lay ministers to persons experiencing a personal crisis. Stephen Ministers provide trained, nurturing, objective support so that the care receiver can deal with his/her crisis, make appropriate decisions concerning actions to be taken, and recognize that, through another human being, God is caring for them.

Stephen Ministers are first and foremost responsible to their Care Receiver (the person who is experiencing a crisis in his/her life and has requested assistance). To provide the best caring ministry, the Stephen Minister is expected to meet regularly with his/her Care Receiver and to be committed to improving his/her caring ministry through continuing education.

To become a Stephen Minister, an individual must participate in the 40-hour training at our church. He/she then is expected to attend continuing education sessions as long as he/she is an active Stephen Minister. After the initial training, active Stephen Ministers are expected to meet once a month for two hours for continuing education and supervision of their work.

Currently there are two trained leaders along with the Associate Pastor. Our church has many active Stephen Ministers with new training sessions being conducted every other year.

Stephen Ministers are trained lay ministers of the church. They assist the Pastors with ongoing care for members in need. They do not have all the answers, but their extensive and ongoing training enables them to help people get through major crises and losses, as well as simply walk with those who are trying to handle the stress of daily life. There is no concern too big or too small to share with a Stephen Minister. On a confidential one-to-one basis, Stephen Ministers offer nurture, support, comfort, and prayer, thereby reflecting the love of God in other's lives.

If you or someone you know might benefit from the listening ears and caring heart of a Stephen Minster, please call Sandy Corey (419-592-6691), Kathy Bahler (419-592-8980) or Pastor Charles Kramer (419-592-3535) for a confidential referral.

Parish Nurses

Parish Nursing is an emerging area of professional nursing practice with basic beliefs such as:

The spiritual dimension is fundamental
A primary focus on programs that seek to identify risk factors for illness and that encourage healthy lifestyles
Self care and the care of others are expressions of our religious faith
Congregational health ministries supplement and compliment, but DO NOT substitute or replace care provided by traditional health or pastoral care providers
Congregational nurses can serve as health counselors, health resource persons, health educators and health support facilitators

Presently, you can benefit from free blood pressure screenings the first Sunday of the month after the 7:45 and 9:00 services and just before the 11:00 service or after the Thursday evening service on the third Thursday of the month.

If you have questions regarding this ministry, or are a nurse or other health care provider, or an EMT and you would like to know more or join us in providing service, contact the Pastors, Kathy Bahler, Joyce Eberle, Robin Hill, Brenda Murray, or the church office.

Grief Support

The pain of losing a child sometimes feels like it's more than you can bear, like your heart has been torn from your chest. Your family and friends try to help, but it's hard for them to fully understand. St. Paul has a support group especially for parents who have lost a child. It doesn't matter how old the child was that was lost, whether he/she was an infant, young child, teen or adult, you are welcome to attend. You don't need to be a member of St. Paul to attend. We meet once a month, on the third Tuesday, at 7:00 p.m. in the Trinity Center at St. Paul. The informal meetings are led by Kathy and Ron Bahler, who themselves have lost 2 children. If you have any questions please call Kathy or Ron @ 419-592-8980, or the church office @ 419-592-3535.

If you have lost a child, please come and join us. Or perhaps you know of someone who could benefit from our group, please pass the information along. Although it's really difficult to attend a meeting, it really does help to meet with others who have "been there".