Love one another
as I have loved you.

–John 13:34

What is Befriending?

Friends are those who are with us through good times and difficult times; they listen, support, encourage and accept us. We all need supportive friends, especially when going through major changes that often occur during our life journey.

Prince of Peace is a caring congregation.

The Befriender Ministry at Prince of Peace supports lay Christians in the service of caring for others. This ministry extends the pastoral care of our faith community. Trained Befrienders complete thirty hours of training and meet regularly. A Befriender can be a confidential listening friend at a time when extra support from the church community is needed.

Some examples of Befriending:

• visiting someone grieving the death of a loved one,
• supporting a person with a chronic illness,
• helping a new mother adjust to caring for a baby,
• showing hospitality to a person new to the community,
• visiting a shut-in who is lonely,
• supporting someone experiencing stress in a marriage or loss of a job

As Christians, we share responsibility for the well-being of our community. We share in that responsibility by reaching out to each other, by lending an ear, by being there in a time of crisis, by helping each other to feel welcome and by being compassionate. Befrienders are available to listen, to care, to encourage, and to share.

Befriender Ministry Training is available this coming winter. If you are interested, contact Anne Haugan at 484-3856.

Projects of our Befriender Ministry Group:

• Coordination and linking Befrienders to Befriendees.
• Hosting monthly meetings to enhance caring skills and to inform our congregation members about community-help resources.
• Baptismal Medallions given out on John the Baptist Sunday in January to those baptized during the previous year.
• Growing Through Loss seminars in participation with other North Suburban churches.
• Sponsor Eleven Who Care to recognize persons in our congregation doing outstanding volunteer work.
• Aging Ministry: working with our new Senior Task Force.
• Ministering to families with babies.
• Prayer Shawl Ministry
• Tape Ministry for shut-ins and hospitalized.
• Greeting Card Ministry: Birthday, Christmas, Valentine, and Easter cards sent to our shut-ins.
• Care packages sent to our congregation members in the military.
• Directory of hospitals, health care centers, and rehab sites.

The trained Befrienders who serve as lay volunteers in the care ministry at Prince of Peace meet the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7pm. They often host programs that may be of interest to any congregation member. These programs are publicized in the VINE and the church bulletin.