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If you are struggling with life's difficulties, you may wonder where to turn. St. Matthew's Lay Ministers are a team of trained lay persons who are ready to share your concerns and help bear your burdens. Sometimes just having someone to listen and care can be most effective. Lay Ministers are a compassionate, competent source of help who will respond with love and concern when you are hurting or discouraged.
Could you be a Lay Leader? You may have experiences you've come through that could help others. Training for Lay Leadership is offered periodically and focuses on the call to ministry, loving, listening, and being with those who are experiencing the difficulties of life: serious illness, divorce, depression, grief, stress, etc. The Lay Ministry at St. Matthew's is a dynamic example of God caring about people through people — an exemplary program of listening and caring.
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The Prayer Chain is an important ministry at St. Matthew's United Methodist Church. It is comprised of volunteers who wish to use the power of prayer to help others. As prayer requests are received, they are sent out to members via email. Each request remains a part of the participants' daily prayers for one month unless notified that prayers are no longer needed or a request is received to continue to pray for the individual or group.
Prayer can be requested by contacting the church office.
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Nothing says warmth and love more than a friendly face and a smile. The Welcoming Ministry provides teams of greeters for worship services to help you feel right at home as soon as you enter the church doors. Our greeters or ushers will direct you to the Information Table in the Narthex where another member can assist you with locating appropriate Sunday School classes or provide information about our many ministries and programs for all ages.
If you would like to volunteer to assist with any of our welcoming ministries, or are new to the area and like more information about St. Matthew's and its programs, please contact the church office or Holly Markwalter.
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Help care for the homebound in the form of providing transportation when possible, sending greeting cards and remembrances, regularly calling our homebound members by phone, and visiting in person, especially on Sunday afternoons.
Join the Sunshine Ministry today by contacting the church office.
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The first thing that someone sees in the name "Lay Speaker" may be the expectation of speaking in front of your local church as a replacement for your pastor. Well, this isn't necessarily so.
Lay Speakers work in many areas of their local church that do not involve speaking in front of their congregations:
- Teaching a Sunday school class,
- Working as a committee chairperson or
- Chairing a special task force within their local church or within the district they preside.
These all involve learning how to be comfortable in speaking to small groups, and grouping your thoughts together to present ideas on particular issues. A small percentage of Lay Speakers in the Alexandria district actually are used as pulpit fillers within their local church. Another group of Certified Lay Speakers serve in this capacity district-wide.
The second thing is that volunteers in the local church already are doing these kinds of activities and they are not called "Lay Speakers." Are they qualified to do the things they do? Of course they are, or they wouldn't be asked to serve. What marks the persons who are called to the level of commitment for Lay Speaking, apart from these other very important church volunteers, is the level of commitment to learning and practicing the roles of a Servant Leader modeled by Jesus; and, how you can be of more value to your local church pastor(s) in this role.
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Lay Speakers are focused on three roles - Caring, Leading and Communicating. These roles are designed to help you serve your local church in one of many ways, from relating to others in their times of pain and need, to developing new ministries; from serving in outreach ministries to being a liturgist or preaching during worship services; from serving as board chairpersons in your local church to serving in district and conference positions. In serving in the roles defined above, you encourage and support others in developing and re-enforcing a deeper commitment to Christ and to faithful discipleship.
One of the exciting things about the program is the opportunity of getting specialty training on topics such as Caring Ministry, Small Groups Ministry, UMC Heritage and Worship, to name a few. These advanced classes are offered for the Local Church Lay Speaker to advance to the rank of Certified Lay Speaker, as well as to maintain his/her status in accordance with the Book of Discipline.
What can it mean to be a Lay Speaker? It can mean a new life in Christ that makes you different from what you were before you became a Lay Speaker. It gives a new perspective on your Christian Walk as you seek to understand what Servant Leadership means to you, and to those around you. Remember that the only Bible some people may ever read is you. Your life's witness to Christ, through your actions and your words, can be measured by acts of loving attention to others.
If you are interested in the program, contact the church office.
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