Stephen Ministry - A Light In the Darkness

To play the audio, just click the play button above at left.  To download, click the "Light in the Darkness" title in yellow in the box above, which will take you to a site where you can down load it as an mp3 file.  If you see no image above or the audio will not play, click here for audio. 

This is an exciting week in the life of our congregation.  This Sunday, we will commission a new class of Stephen Ministers for service in our community.  We are lifting up Stephen Ministry - here in our community Stephen Ministers shine light in the darkness for people in need of care.

In today's podcast, Pastors Bob and Brett are joined by Melinda Simmons, a Muhlenberg member. Melinda shares as we discuss Stephen Ministry - a one-on-one caring ministry that shines light for people in the darkness of any transition, loss, or need... We thank Melinda for sharing her unique perspective of both receiving transformative care as she received care from a Stephen Minister a few years ago, and now, she is trained as a Stephen Minister herself who will be commissioned this Sunday!  It's powerful to hear her story and her witness to the transformative way in which God is at work through Stephen ministry - a caring, confidential, one-on-one relationship between a trained caregiver and a care receiver.
Listen to the podcast above, and then here's what you can do:

• Keep our Stephen Ministry caregivers, leaders, and care receivers in your prayers
• Keep in mind that Stephen Ministry is here - recommend it to a friend or family member who may be helped by Stephen ministry - or reach out for yourself.  It's not just for Muhlenberg members - this is a service (without charge) for our community!
• To get in touch with Stephen Ministry, contact either Pastor Bob or Pastor Brett or Stephen Leaders - Holly Haney or Krisztina Szekely.
• Stephen Ministers are trained to care for people in a variety of life situations, and to know their boundaries and refer to other sources of care when necessary.  Keep in mind that a Stephen Minister may be a great help for anyone who is going through any type of loss (divorce, grief, loss of a job) or transition (of life stage, work, other), as well as many other situations where a caring, listening presence might be helpful.
• Be open to listening for God's call - are you called to serve as a Stephen Minister or leader?
• Learn more:
• Click here to learn more about Stephen Ministry.
• Click here for a great PBS segment on Stephen Ministry.  From this interview:  "It took a while for people to say, instead of 'I need to speak to the pastor,' to also say, 'Or can I have a Stephen minister?' And that’s a cultural shift, but it did occur, and we’re grateful it did. That old Lutheran concept of the priesthood of all believers—Stephen Ministry helps you live that out." 

Light in the Darkness - Hunger - at home and around the world

To play the audio, just click the play button above at left.  To download, click the "Light in the Darkness" title in yellow in the box above, which will take you to a site where you can down load it as an mp3 file.  If you see no image above or the audio will not play, click here for audio.


When you think of hunger, what images come to mind?  Who comes to mind?
In this week's podcast, we hear from Barbra Humphrey, who shares the experience of their recent trip to Kinshasa, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Listen in as she and Bob describe the experience and some images of the reality of hunger.

Food at Patchwork Pantry.

In worship this Sunday we'll be lifting up two efforts to fight hunger - locally, Patchwork Pantry, a food Click here to learn more about them or connect with them on Facebook.  Hunger is not just a "third world" issue but the story of neighbors right in our community.  Recent weeks at Patchwork Pantry have seen over 100 families coming to receive food - that's a lot!
pantry housed at Community Mennonite, which is where we bring our food collected on the first Sunday of each month. 
Globally, we'll be lifting up ELCA World Hunger.  Through churches, partners, and local relationships, ELCA World Hunger is seeking to address root causes of hunger and poverty and also provide food, education, and resources, here in the US as well as in 50 countries around the world.  We thank you for the generous ways you give and shine the light in the darkness through these organizations.  Last Sunday, we collected as a congregation about 600 pounds of food for Patchwork Pantry!  Through your gifts to world hunger, every dollar goes further to fight hunger for our brothers and sisters around the world.