Stephen Ministry

Stephen Ministry has become an integral way in which Pine Street Presbyterian Church reaches out to members and to the community to provide a caregiving ministry.  It provides a completely confidential ministry and a safe place for those who need to talk without judgment or the fear of their story being retold.   Our Stephen Ministers are ready to offer faith based care to people in our congregation and community who are going through situations of grief, illness, loss of job, divorce, difficult pregnancy, loss of friends, financial problems, aging, worries about a loved one and other life challenges. 

Stephen Ministers are not professional therapists or counselors or have solutions.  They have, however, had fifty hours of intensive training and will always be in supervision and will have additional training as needed.  Stephen Ministry takes seriously the Apostle Paul’s urging to walk alongside those who are struggling.    There are a myriad of challenges facing our members and we want you to know that you can benefit by having someone walk with you.  There is no predetermined period of time commitment.  It might be a month or even a year but please know that you can feel free to determine when ending is appropriate for you.   The person assigned to you will be determined by your need and also availability of Caregivers.

Stephen Ministry at Pine Street started with the first Leader’s training in Pittsburgh in 2009 followed by its first training class in January of 2010.  Since that time, there have been nine Stephen Leaders trained in Pittsburgh and eight additional Stephen Ministers trained at Pine Street.    Currently the following people are trained Stephen Ministers and/or Leaders at Pine Street:

Jane Edgar Freet, Marty Gruver, Linda McKillop, Sarah Pearce, Keith Perago, and Jesse Weigel.

Stephen Ministry offers intentional, ongoing encouragement, prayer and support.  If you believe you can benefit from this Ministry at Pine Street, please, contact Sarah Pearce, our referral coordinator, at 717-350-5316 and together you can determine whether you think this ministry might be helpful for you.