If we handed each person present on Sunday morning a piece of paper and asked them to write down the three most memorable things they had ever heard in a sermon in thirty seconds, I doubt that many people could do it. If we handed the same people a piece of paper and asked them to write down the names of the three people who most influenced their lives of faith in thirty seconds, I imagine many people could. I certainly have no intention of downplaying the role of proclamation in the life of the Church! If there were no need for preachers, then I am wasting a great deal of my time on internship, and I would miss out on some of the greatest joy that I find in ministry. My point is that in faith formation, relationships with other people are very important. Faith is all about relationships; first and foremost faith is about our relationship with God. In the sacrament of Holy Baptism, we are called into loving relationship with God and are claimed by God as God’s own. This is a relationship that is fundamental to who we are.

At the same time we are called into relationship with God we are joined in relationship with the Body of Christ, which is the Church. The gift of faith is nourished in the Church through the sacrament of Holy Communion, and through the proclaimed Word (that’s preaching! I told you it was important.). It is nourished in the community of the Baptized. As the Church we need one another. Christianity is very much a team sport. Not one of us can be a Christian on our own. We need one another for encouragement. We need each other for comfort. We need each other to challenge one another. When we share life’s journey with one another, our burdens are lessened and our joys are increased. The Church, the Body of Christ, is Christ present in flesh in and for the world. It is through the members of that Body that God’s love is poured out on the world. It is through the Body of Christ that we experience God’s love in an unmistakable way in the many ways that we are able to care for one another.

Some wonderful new ways of caring for one another are being explored at Saint Nicholas. One is through Stephen Ministry. Stephen Ministry is a system of relational care giving which trains lay people to give one-on-one, confidential, Christian care and support to people in and around the congregation who are experiencing hardship or crisis in their lives. This is certainly a benefit for busy pastors because it frees them up for other kinds of ministry. It benefits the congregation as well. People with gifts for this kind of ministry receive training in order to practice it most effectively. They receive support and help from other caregivers. There is great joy and purpose in using the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given us. People who have received the care of a Stephen minister say that the experience has been life transforming, experiencing God’s love through the time spent with their care giver. People who have served as Stephen ministers say that the experience has been transformative for them as well. Everybody wins!

There will be an informational meeting about Stephen Ministry in Baltimore in April. A number of congregation members have signed up to attend. If you are interested in this kind of ministry and think you may have the gifts for it, I encourage you to attend this meeting. Saint Nicholas is richly blessed with our wonderful, caring pastor and energetic and enthusiastic saints. Stephen Ministry could bring new and unexpected blessings to the whole congregation.

Vicar Patti