New ministries could result from lay ministry training

March 7, 2005

A number of participants in the first lay ministry training sessions offered through Our Journey of Hope® believe the information they gained through the eight hours will be the impetus for establishing some new caring ministries through their churches.

"Lay members of my congregation are often around individuals who have cancer and are undergoing various therapies," said Rev. David Frerichs, Bethany Lutheran Church ELCA in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "The information in this training makes a huge difference because it provides basic information about what cancer is and how it is treated. The information comes in a form people can digest."

He continued, "This training provides a foundation for developing caring ministries within our congregation both for care of our long-term members but also to those who are on the edges and even in our community. Such ministry must be intentionally planned and the plan followed in order to be effective."

Another attendee, Vicar Brooke Petersen of First Evangelical Lutheran Church ELCA in Tulsa, commented, "The most valuable things I learned were the creative things you can do for people battling cancer and the base knowledge of what cancer is. But everything is just great."

Through the efforts of pastoral and other staff members of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, lay ministry training was presented Feb. 26 and March 5 to clergy and laity of Trinity Ministries, an alliance of nine churches in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and to clergy and laity at Ebenezer Methodist Church in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Comments from other attendees included praise for the handouts and materials provided and for the passion and knowledge of the speakers. One lay person said the training met her expectations but she now needed her pastor to give direction as to how it would be implemented in their church.

The next lay ministry trainings scheduled are for March 12 and March 19 at St. James United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.