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Stephen Ministry
Caring That Changes Lives
What Is Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Ministry offers a proven and effective way to organize, equip, and supervise a team of congregation members—called Stephen Ministers—to provide high-quality, one-to-one, Christ-centered care to people in the congregation and the community experiencing life difficulties.
Who’s Involved in Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Leaders are church staff, lay leaders, and pastors trained to provide ongoing leadership for their congregation’s Stephen Ministry. They are equipped for this key role through the Bridge Leader’s Training Course offered by Stephen Ministries St. Louis.
Stephen Ministers are congregation members trained by their Stephen Leaders to offer care to people who are hurting. A Stephen Minister typically has one care receiver at a time and meets with that person once a week for about an hour.
Care receivers are individuals in the congregation or community who are going through a crisis or life difficulty. Potential care receivers first meet with a pastor or Stephen Leader, who assesses their needs for care and matches them with a Stephen Minister. The caring relationship lasts for as long as the need persists.
Stephen Ministries
Saturday Men's Group
Dates: Saturdays, June 15 & 29
Time: 7 - 8:30 am
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In person (Room 208) or via Zoom
Join the Zoom group: zoom.us/j/301891517
This group is for men of faith to come together throughout the year to share their faith and thoughts about challenging topics.
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Beginning on Saturday, June 15 for six sessions ending August 24, this group will be reading the book, viewing corresponding videos, and discussing Amy-Jill Levine's book Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi. Please join us.
Questions? Contact Pastor Chris at pastorchris@holycrosschurch.org
Women's Discussion Group
Date: Tuesday, June 11
(on summer hiatus after June 11)
Time: 9:30 am
Location: Room 208 (Zoom option by request)
This group typically meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month. All women are welcome to join.
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The ongoing discussion topics are being taken from ‘A’ is for Alabaster: A Preacher’s Alphabet by Anna Carter Florence, the Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and holds degrees from Yale University and Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div. and Ph.D.). Before joining the Columbia faculty in 1998, Dr. Florence served as an associate pastor for youth and young adults at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis.
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Questions? Contact Pastor Chris at pastorchris@holycrosschurch.org
FMSC "Pack The Place"
Date: Friday, June 28
Time: 5:00 - 6:30 pm
Location: 742 East Park Ave, Libertyville
Register at: https://bit.ly/FMSC628
Last year, Feed My Starving Children—Libertyville, had a significant shortage of volunteers and ran at only 47% of capacity of volunteers. Together with 20 other churches from Lake County, let’s help to “pack the place” during the week of June 24. You may volunteer for a shift at any time during that week or join the shift Holy Cross is organizing on Friday, June 28 from 5-6:30 pm. Register at FMSC.org
New to Feed My Starving Children? Learn more about their mission at fmsc.org
Grounded In Grace
On hiatus until September 2024
Grounded in Grace is a social opportunity for women of faith to connect together in fellowship.
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Contact Terry Berger at terryberger.08@gmail.com or (224) 775-1479 with questions, or to be added to the Grounded in Grace Messenger group for the most current scheduling information.
MP3: Men of Purpose, Principle, & Prayer
Men of Purpose, Principle & Prayer is one of our men’s ministries at Holy Cross. We meet on select Monday evenings for fellowship, food and conversation. The evenings begin with fellowship at 6 pm and conclude by 8:30 pm.
The theme for our current MP3 season is “sacred moments”. In Celtic spirituality there is the concept of ‘thin places’ where the everyday/ordinary moments intersect with the sacred/holy. The first three sessions of this six-part series were held in 2023.
Our plan is to deconstruct the idea of ‘sacred’ into six components. In 2023 we focused on three of the components: S for sanctuary/refuge/safe place; A for ancient philosophies/lessons passed on from previous mentors; and, C for ceremony/milestone moments/rites/traditions. We will finish with R for relational (Monday, April 15), E for emptiness (Monday, June 17) and D for deeper (September date to be announced later).
Men (21+) please plan to join in the journey.
Questions? Contact Pastor Chris at pastorchris@holycrosschurch.org
LIFT: Women's Ministry
Looking forward to Women's Retreat
November 1-2, 2024
More details to come!
Book Club
Date: Thursday, June 27
Time: 7 pm
Nancy Joiner's home, 1318 Vineyard Lane, Libertyville or via Zoom
The Holy Cross Book Club, open to anyone who is interested in reading and discussing books, routinely meets on the fourth Thursday of every month.
2024 Book Club Selections
January - The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
February - The Train to Crystal City by Jan Jarboe Russell
March - Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
April - The Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
May - The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
June - What's Gotten Into You by Dan Levitt
July - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
August - The Little Paris Book Shop by Nina George
September - Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
October - Meet to select 2025 books
November - Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
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If you have any questions, please email Felicia Brandt at felicia.s.brandt@gmail.com
Men's Breakfast Group
Dates: Tuesdays, June 4, 11, 18 & 25
Time: 7 - 8 am
Location: The Liberty Restaurant
419 S Milwaukee Ave, Libertyville
Begin the day with coffee, breakfast, fellowship, and thought-provoking and stimulating conversation. All men are welcome to join us.
Questions? Contact Pastor Chris at pastorchris@holycrosschurch.org