CHURCH NEEDS VOLUNTEERS FOR CRISIS HOT LINE

JACKSON -- When Carol Rohlfs was a teacher and school librarian, students often talked to her about their problems.

Now Rohlfs is one of 11 volunteer caregivers in the Stephen Ministry program at New McKendree United Methodist Church. The volunteers is is to talk with people about their problems.

"It can be anywhere from a short term kind of thing to situations such as an illness in the family, where you've got not only the emotional stress, but the financial stress," Rohlfs said. "Sometimes, they just need someone to listen. A lot of the Stephen ministers, that's what they do. They listen. We see a lot of shut-ins, and they have a lot of frustration and anger, because they are shut-in."

Stephen Ministries are operational at churches of all denominations worldwide, and were established about 30 years ago by a Lutheran minister in St. Louis, said New McKendree Associate Pastor Don Covington. The program started at New McKendree in September 1995.

The program is named for St. Stephen, one of Christianity's first lay ministers and the first Christian martyr, he said.

New McKendree in Jackson and St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau are the only two churches in the area offering Stephen Ministries.

Laypersons within a church's congregation undergo 50 hours of training on working with people in crisis and receive continuing education throughout their volunteer service, Covington said.

Part of that training is learning to recognize when the care receiver needs professional help, said Dee Anna Clabaugh, the leader of the program.

"It's important to remember that we're not cure-givers. We're caregivers. If someone has a problem that is beyond our scope of just listening, we refer them to professional help," Clabaugh said. "We don't profess to go in there and cure problems. That's not our job. Our job is to provide a support basis."

The training emphasizes listening skills and helping volunteers learn to remain objective.

"That's probably the hardest part, because everyone's inclination is to voice their own opinion, and that's a definite no," Clabaugh said. "You never say, well I would do this, or I would do that."

The next training session will begin in September, and volunteers are needed. Stephen Ministers must be members of the New McKendree congregation, but the service is available to anyone in the Jackson/Cape Girardeau area.

In addition to the Stephen Ministry, New McKendree will also soon have a crisis hotline up and running. Volunteers are needed to man the hotline, or "Care Line," 24 hours a day and seven days a week, Covington said.

"With that kind of service, we'll need 150, 200 volunteers," he said.

Volunteers for the Care Line will receive 15 to 20 hours training, which will include learning what resources are available in the community.

The Care Line will be fully operational in the fall, Covington said.

"To start with, we'll only cover the Cape Girardeau and Jackson areas," he said. Organizers plan to eventually establish a toll-free line to cover the entire Southeast Missouri region, he said.

For more information about volunteering for the Stephen Ministry or the Care Line, or to receive services through the Stephen Ministry, call New McKendree at 243-8487.