A TESTAMENT TO STEPHEN MINISTRY
FROM AN ANONYMOUS CARE RECEIVER
As someone who attends St. Mary's rather quietly without knowing many others, I have come to have feelings of deep gratitude for this place and my fellow parishioners. Not so long ago, several people at St. Mary's very kindly stepped forward to help me during a difficult period in which I was being treated for cancer and having to make decisions about further treatment. Among the people who were so generous in their kindness towards me was a Stephen Minister, anonymous to all except myself and the two people responsible for assigning the minister to me.
Each week, over a period of many weeks, we met and enjoyed pleasant conversation that helped to maintain my spirit. The conversation also included more serious moments in which I was able to openly speak about the treatments that I was receiving and about the hard decisions that I was having to make in the company of my doctors. During our time together, we also prayed for God's presence and help. I don't know many people outside of church who are willing to sit with me and pray over my deepest concerns. This was so comforting and meant so much to me at a time when there was such a heap of difficulties being piled upon me. I needed all the help I could get, and, thanks to this church, I was getting it. Even when all the decisions had been made and the course of my treatments was clear, I continued to meet with my Stephen Minister until I was definitely on my way to recovery.
The person who was my minister was well chosen for me and well trained to know how to just be with someone in need. From the beginning, I felt that I was able to speak openly and
comfortably about whatever was troubling me. Imagine needing help and having someone
suddenly appear in your life who is even-tempered, warm, cheerful, dependable, kind, and ready to help whenever possible. The person stays with you as long as you need help, leaves when the need for support is complete. They are being of service anonymously, voluntarily, and with nothing expected in return. They are not offering advice, but only being with you.
It seems like having a messenger from God come into your life in the form of an ordinary, good, fellow human, which is quite a bit, and which, I believe, is what we often need the most during our most difficult times. It is so basic and so essential, and feels like an infectious gift of the spirit that one can pass on to others during their times of need. It is so fundamentally Christian. I pray that all of us will have this kind of help when we need it.