New! Stephen Ministry
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 A team of deacons at Grantham Church have oversight of the care giving ministry. Everyone who is a regular attender or considers Grantham their church home is assigned a deacon. These deacons are the primary caregivers of the Grantham church family. Deacons and pastors can be most helpful when they know about situations needing care.
Call the church office and leave a message for the Associate Pastor or call the deacon assigned when there is a situation needing care.
Pastoral and deacon care includes hospital and home visits, spiritual, emotional, and physical support including meals, transportation, and child care. Where applicable, small groups and Sunday School classes will be contacted by the deacon to also assist.
Neither deacons nor pastors are able to meet needs if they do not receive information. Please notify your deacon or the Associate Pastor if you are going to the hospital, if an emergency arises, or if you desire to talk to someone about a physical, emotional, or spiritual need.
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All the pastoral staff and the deacons are available for spiritual care giving. They are very careful to keep personal issues confidential and are available to talk with you and to pray with you and for you.
Deacon fellowship groups
The deacons here at the Grantham Church have been continuing to think about how to help all of us connect more meaningfully within our church family. In continuation of last years’ Deacon Fellowship Groups, they have chosen to make this possible again by inviting everyone on their particular list to the church for a lunch and fellowship time over the next six months. On any one evening, beginning this fall and continuing into the early part of 2008, there will be four deacon-group meetings somewhere in the building from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. for the specific purpose of fellowship, friendship, and connection. This informal fellowship dinner is planned with your family in mind from the youngest to the oldest. We believe this will be a great opportunity for all of us to learn to know others in our church family at a deeper level. So that you can keep that night free for your Deacon Fellowship Group, your deacon will soon be letting you know what the date is for your group meeting. Be sure to put it on your calendar! See you then!
your deacons
Duane & Joan Asper
Lee & Mary Bixler
Don & Theresa Blackburn
David & Lynn Brown
Clarence & Mary Ann Brubaker
JoAnne Brubaker
Merle & Ila Brubaker
Wayne & Ruth Cassel
Barry & Lois DeRoos
Esther Hennigh
Jerry & Jan Hess
Geoff & Dawn Isley
Dave & Jan Lawton
Martie Long
Jim & Jodie Smiley
Dwayne & Normalou Stutzman
Marion & Ellie Yoder
Marvin & Kathy Zercher
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The CareLine is an extension that can be reached by dialing 796-1800 and then extension 1-3952. Prayer requests and updates on crisis situations will be posted on the CareLine as they are received. Emergency situations and church closings due to bad weather will also be posted on the CareLine. |
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Under the leadership of deacon Duane Asper, we seek to coordinate people resources from the congregation who will be available to offer assistance to individuals at the time of a move, when doing a major project such as roof replacement, emergency clean up situations, lawn care when needed, and transportation in emergencies. |
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Mennonite Mutual Aid (MMA), a “helping” ministry, was founded in 1952. At that time Mennonite church leaders were trying to discover contemporary ways of applying biblical principles to everyday living, especially ways to help others in furthering the work of the church. Today MMA serves through stewardship educational materials, and a variety of financial services. The goal is to put into practice biblical ways of living, relating to each other, and to influencing our world.
Here at Grantham we have, and continue to use, curriculum related to family finances, healthy living, and the use of talents and spiritual gifts. Stewardship University is one event sponsored by MMA. Numerous financial services are also available. There are options for church-related families which include life, health, long-term care insurances, Medicare supplement, and prescription programs. Ethical investing for IRA and other savings plans are available as well.
For Mennonites, the Mennonite Foundation helps to facilitate charitable giving. For Brethren in Christ, our own BIC Foundation can do the same. Jim Smiley, of our congregation, is the one to talk with regarding these matters. Also, our treasurer, Elvin Peifer, is the CEO of the BIC Foundation.
Since many of us here at Grantham participate in MMA programs, our congregation can access up to $10,000 this calendar year for our church ministries.
In the past the Deacon Fund has benefited significantly with matching grants. Certain pastor-in-service expenses can be covered. Our youth and New Hope Ministries have also been helped. College scholarships can be granted along with other services to help us practice good stewardship.
-- Dave McBeth, MMA Advocate
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MMA -- a Provider for Medicare Part D
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Because of our church's relationship with Mennonite Mutual Aid (MMA), we have access to many resources to help us be more faithful in our Christian walk. As a nonprofit organization MMA is able to offer certain services to member churches that are reasonably priced. Additionally, through their Sharing Fund, MMA provides matching grants which help our Deacons Fund, provides money for pastoral in-service opportunities, and several other projects from which we have benefited.
Since a number of our people have Medicare supplement with MMA, there is now a lot of interest in the new Part D for prescription coverage. While there has been confusion initially of this government-designed program, certain steps are now quite clear. Senior adults and their power of attorneys (POA) need to understand these issues.
Most senior adults currently on Medicare should sign up for Part D. Exceptions might be if your former employer has promised lifetime coverage for prescriptions. While a person may not need coverage now, aging can rapidly increase the need for it.
Signing up began on November 15 and continues until May 15, 2006. However, since the prescription discount program of 2005 discontinues December 31, 2005, you should sign up as early as possible in December if you want coverage on January 1, 2006. There are penalties if you wait to sign up after May 15.
MMA has offered to help you decide which program is best for your situation. Here are the steps to follow if you want them to help you:
1. Pick up an application at the main welcome center at church, unless you have received one in the mail.
2. Call Cheryl Guinther at Keystone Financial at 796-1700, located on Cumberland Parkway, near the area Giant store.
3. Make a list, or get it from your pharmacy, of all the prescriptions you are taking in 2005, including the retail price. (Don't list only the co-pay!)
4. See that Cheryl gets the list prior to your appointment so a computer can analyze your situation and come up with several recommendations.
5. At the visit an MMA person will explain your options and you can decide what you want to do.
Again, this service of helping you is at no cost and you will not be pressured to decide if you or your POA does not understand. If I can be of further help to you please contact me.
-- Dave McBeth, Grantham MMA Advocate
Phone: 766-0598
E-mail: dpmmv@juno.com
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Introducing the Stephen Ministry
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Caring for the congregation
This article appeared in the BodyBuilder newsletter September 2007.
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Recently, three of us (Pauline Allison Peifer, Ken France, and Jen Whitcomb) were among 483 pastors and congregation leaders at a Stephen Ministry Leaders’ Training Course (LTC) held from July 29 to August 4 in Pittsburgh. We attended a one-week training event hosted by the St. Louis-based Stephen Ministries Organization. Participants came from across the U.S. and Canada to learn how to implement and direct Stephen Ministry, a system of Christian Caregiving, in their congregations. There were a total of 315 congregations from 42 denominations, including 77 congregations starting this ministry like we are at Grantham and including our sister church, The Meeting House, from Toronto, Canada. [more]
We were trained as Stephen Leaders at the event. One of our next steps will be to recruit, select, and train those from The Grantham Church to be Stephen Ministers, the ones who will provide one-to-one care. Then each Stephen Minister will be matched with an individual in need of care. Part of the Stephen Ministry strategy is to provide ongoing supervision and continuing education for Stephen Ministers.
Stephen Ministry began in 1975 when Dr. Kenneth C. Hougk, a pastor and clinical psychologist in St. Louis, Missouri, trained parishioners to help meet the needs for care in his congregation. The ministry was so successful that other congregations became interested, and Haugk founded the Stephen Ministries organization.
Since then, more than 9,000 congregations have become involved in Stephen Ministry. They represent over 100 Christian denominations and come from all 50 states, nine Canadian provinces, and 21 other countries.
The Stephen Ministries organization annually hosts six Leaders’ Training Courses across the U.S. At these courses, more than 50,000 pastors and church leaders have been trained as Stephen Leaders. They in turn have trained more than 450,000 church members as Stephen Ministers. It is estimated that more than one million people have received the formal care of a Stephen Minister, and millions more have been touched in an informal way.
For more information about Stephen Ministry here at Grantham, contact Associate Pastor, Pauline Allison Peifer at 766-0531. We look forward to serving those in need with you.
-- by Pauline Allison Peifer
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