Dear Friends of FPC and our Stephen Ministry,
Thank you for the honor, opportunity, and privilege to attend the Stephen Ministry Leadership Training Course this month.
Being one of 206 trainees, we were people from Connecticut to British Columbia, belonging to Evangelical, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, and “good” Presbyterian churches. Hearing people’s stories gave me so much more than I gave them. I am grateful for their warmth, genuineness, and hospitality. My hope is for each of you to be a Stephen Minister. To experience being both a giver and a receiver, to walk with a brother or sister in life’s shadows, with gratitude. In the words of Diana Butler Bass, “For to be grateful in all things, with all things, through all things is to find yourself part of a like-spirited community.” You and I are not alone. We are brothers and sisters in Christ.
I am truly grateful for this congregation, and I look forward to serving with you as the Stephen Ministry Referral Coordinator. Pray for me to serve you well as a good and faithful servant.
“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.
And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
-Maya Angelou
In His Peace,
Judi Arnold
