Stephen Ministry
What is Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Ministry is an organization through which members of St. Ignatius are trained and organized to help provide Christian caregiving to members of our congregation and community.
Stephen Ministry is a confidential ministry. The identity of those receiving care and what takes place in each caring relationship remain private. The Confidential Hotline is 513.389.3247 or you can email us at stephenministry@sainti.org.
Watch these testimonials from individuals who received care from Stephen Ministers to learn about the impact of our ministry.
A Stephen Minister is . . .
- A child of God who walks beside a person who is hurting
- A congregation member with gifts for care giving who was carefully selected to serve in this role
- A lay person who has received 50 hours of training in providing emotional and spiritual care
- A caring, Christian friend who listens, cares, prays, supports, and encourages
- Someone who will “be there” for his or her care receiver, meets regularly for as long as there’s a need
Description taken from Stephen Ministry’s God’s Love in Action Pamphlet.
When To Call A Stephen Minister
We all experience challenges in life – times when we could benefit from the support of a caring Christian friend. Stephen minsters are ready to provide the emotional and spiritual care we need when faced with a crisis or difficulty such as:
- Loss of a loved one
- Hospitalization
- Divorce or separation
- Loneliness or discouragement
- Spiritual crisis
- Unemployment or a job crisis
- A terminal illness
- Incarceration
- Birth, adoption, miscarriage, or infertility
- A chronic illness
- relocation
- recovery after an accident or disaster
- And many more
Stephen Ministers at St. Ignatius
A Stephen Minister is a member of St. Ignatius with gifts of caregiving who was carefully selected to serve in this role. They are trained to listen, care, pray, support, and encourage the special person who will be under their care. Our current Stephen Ministers are: Deacon Mike Erb, Molly Johantgen, Marianne Krismer, Dennis Wiwi, Vicki Freeman and Beth Timperman. Learn more about them.
Molly Johantgen
I am a retired Registered Nurse who worked in the intensive care units and taught new nurses
and physicians how to be good healthcare professionals. Currently at St. Ignatius, I am a
Stephen Minister, eucharistic minister, eucharistic minister for the homebound, lector,
sacristan for weekday 9:15 a.m. Masses and teach CPR to coaches and employees.
Marianne Krismer
Marianne is a longterm member of St. Ignatius Parish and is the mother of three grown children and wife of the late Jerry Krismer. In addition to serving as a Stephen Minister she has chaired the Worship Commission and is a client advocate for the Pregnancy Center West.. Marianne has a doctorate in Education and is retired from Cincinnati State College where she served as Dean of Health and Public Safety and continues to be active as a Health Care Education Consultant for the State of Ohio. She is honored to serve those in our parish community who are dealing with any situation in which they need support.
Dr. Dennis Wiwi
Retired Ob/Gyn and Stephen Minister at St. Ignatius for 8 years.
The Stephen Ministry Confidential Hotline is 513.389.3247 or you can email us at stephenministry@sainti.org.