North Country Health Services

BeFriender Ministry At North Country Health Services
2010-02-01

BEFRIENDER MINISTRY AT NORTH COUNTRY HEALTH SERVICES

           BeFriender Ministry is a new opportunity for select volunteers to help expand spiritual care services at North Country Health Services. BeFrienders are people who are themselves on a journey of growing in faith. They are trained non-clerical volunteers who provide spiritual care for people in all kinds of difficult or transitional situations. BeFriender Ministry is not a ministry of “doing,” but of “being,”—being present and listening quietly. A BeFriender is someone who:
*Listens with compassion
*Accepts people as they are
*Respects another’s spiritual journey
*Embodies the caring presence of God
            BeFrienders provide care through a listening presence to anyone experiencing grief, loss, transition, or other concerns due to hospitalization, illness, or moving into a new residence such as Neilson Place or Trillium.
            Volunteers for this listening ministry will: 1) be approved by their current faith community 2) be able to commit 20-25 hours of training on the core concerns of providing spiritual care and 3) plan to engage in this ministry (5-6 hours per month) for a one to two year period, with ongoing support and education.
            If you are interested in learning more about this or participating in this kind of listening ministry, please contact: Chaplain Mark Papke-Larson at 333-5652 or mpapkelarson@nchs.com; Chaplain Linnea Papke-Larson at 333-6285 or lpapkelarson@nchs.com; or WoodsEdge Recreational Director, Sandy Hennum at 333-6290 or shennum@nchs.com.

North Country Health Services BeFriender Ministers
WoodsEdge BeFrienders:
Almina Beyer of Calvary Lutheran Church
Lee Skunes of Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Lo Sorensen of United Methodist Church
Elaine Hazard of United Methodist Church
June Bender of First Lutheran Church
Barb Benson of First Lutheran Church
Allen Benson of Evangelical Free Church
Myrtle Smetak of New Salem Lutheran Church
Rita Stewart of First Baptist Church

North Country Regional Hospital BeFrienders:
Tony Nicholson of United Methodist Church
Joe Beaudreau of Evangelical Covenant Church
Terry Nord of Trinity Lutheran Church, Cass Lake
Valerie Saviano of First Assembly of God Church

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Photo cutline:
On Wednesday, January 27th a Commissioning Service was held in the WoodsEdge Chapel at Neilson Place, authorizing thirteen trained volunteers, called “BeFriender Minsters,” to engage in a ministry of listening and caring among the patients at North Country Regional Hospital and the residents of the WoodsEdge campus.