Congregational Care Ministries
Explore Living Word Church’s Congregational Care Ministries offering spiritual support, guidance, and compassionate care for all.
Stephen Ministry
A Stephen Minister is a safe, trustworthy, and comforting person. Stephen Ministers serving in Living Word are trained to emphasize grace, love, and focus on what we have in common as Christians. Do You Need a Stephen Minister? Life can bring
Funeral Planning Guide and Worksheet
In the first days following a loved one’s death, the family makes an average of 200 decisions. During such an emotional, stressful, and demanding time, plans that have been made earlier lighten the load after the death. If you’ve not
Being a part of the Living Word community means that we are there for each other. God wants us to lift up our cares and concerns to Him. Supporting each other in prayer is a beautiful act of love for one another.
Do you want us to pray for you or a loved one? You can submit a request during Sunday morning worship services using the Connect Card or by clicking on the link below. Your prayer request will be shared with the Prayer Team. If you would like the request to remain confidential, please let us know.
If you wish to remain on the prayer list, simply fill out the Prayer Request on the Connect Card or the form below or contact Amanda Braun, Administrative Assistant, at abraun@livingwordumc.org
Do you desire to be on the Prayer Team? Please email Beth Balzraine, Director of Communications, for more information at bbalzraine@livingwordumc.org.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, Group 791 KISS (Keep It Simple and Sober)
Monday Evenings at 6:30 pm
Doors open at 6:00pm for fellowship.
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international fellowship of men and women who have had a drinking problem. It is nonprofessional, self-supporting, multiracial, apolitical, and available almost everywhere. There are no age or education requirements. Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about his or her drinking problem.
This group is designated as an Open (Alchoholics and Non-Alchoholics welcome) Mixed (Men and Women) meeting. No registration is required.
If you have any questions or if you would like to attend the meeting online, please contact Damien Flaherty, 314-369-5755 or at drf5755@gmail.com. Click here for more information on Alcoholics Anonymous.
SEEING GOD IN YOUR CANCER JOURNEY
This study encourages anyone with a cancer diagnosis, their caregivers, and family members and gives them a chance to discover all that Christ hungers to share with them in the midst of their cancer struggle. Beyond their salvation, many seek peace and comfort from Christ during difficult times. But Jesus wants to give you guidance, strength, discernment, power, and courage now. “Seeing God in Your Cancer Journey” encourages cancer family members to pray big, love big, and live big because the Lord God Almighty is big enough for all that and more.
Each class consists of devotionals, videos, and discussions relating to the topics of faith, questions, healing, prayer, stress reduction, relationships, communication, and healthy living.
Contact one of the Cancer Companions Ministry Leaders, Eilene Koon (eilenekoon@yahoo.com) or Ron Poertner (poertner.ron@gmail.com) if you are interested in joining or would like more information.
An old-fashioned, handwritten card can lift the spirits of someone who has been hospitalized, celebrating the birth of a baby, experiencing the loss of a loved one, or needs to hear a word of encouragement.
Our Prayer Team can send your loved one a card letting them know that we are praying for them. Simply request to have us send a card by clicking below.
For a complete list of Care Resources at Living Word click HERE.
FUNERALS AND MEMORIAL SERVICES
The Congregational Care Team serves our faith community in a number of ways, not the least of which is care before, during, and after the loss of a loved one. We hope that the information contained here will provide you with a path to guide you during this significant time.
The inherent belief in the risen Christ is the cornerstone of a United Methodist service (either a funeral or memorial). Christ is our hope for eternal life and we offer this hope to the surviving family and friends that their beloved is now in God’s eternal charge.
Planning a service can be a blessing to those in grief. A time to laugh and to cry as the stories are shared and retold. It is our pleasure to help you and your family.
For questions regarding Funeral or Memorial planning please call Pastor David Israel, 636-821-2800 or email at disrael@livingwordumc.org
To volunteer for the Memorial Team that provides meals for funeral/memorial receptions, please call Amanda Braun, Administrative Assistant at 636-821-2800 or email at abraun@livingwordumc.org.
FUNERAL PLANNING GUIDE AND WORKSHEET
In the first days following a loved one’s death, the family makes an average of 200 decisions. During such an emotional, stressful, and demanding time, plans that have been made earlier lighten the load after the death. If you’ve not made advance plans, this guide will be helpful to you as you make arrangements for services and burial for you or your loved one.
Below are links to two documents available for download.
The first document is a guide with explanations to common questions that arise when planning a funeral service.
The second document is a fillable worksheet to add specifics regarding your own funeral or that of a loved one.
Once you download this document and complete it, it is highly recommended to share this with a family member or friend and with Living Word Church so that it can be held in safekeeping for the future. Simply email your completed worksheet to Amanda Braun at abraun@livingwordumc.org.
If you have any questions, the pastors and staff are here to help you.
GriefShare is available now on Thursdays
March 5 – May 28, 2026
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
A support group to help you move through the grief process
If you’re struggling to find hope for the future after losing a spouse, child, family member, or friend, you’re not alone. Grief can feel overwhelming, and it may seem like few people truly understand the depth of your pain.
That’s why GriefShare exists—a supportive group designed to help you navigate the journey of loss. Led by people who have experienced grief themselves, this group offers a safe space for comfort, encouragement, and healing.
Each session includes a video seminar featuring top grief and recovery experts, along with real-life stories from others who have faced similar losses. Whether your loss is recent or happened years ago, you are welcome to join us and find support in a caring community.
If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out—we’re here for you.
Contact Dana Brodeur at brodeurdana@gmail.com or 314-603-8128.
If you have ever been a recipient of a meal provided to you during a stressful time, you know first-hand that this act of kindness extends far beyond the meal itself.
Our Meal Ministry is comprised of a team of volunteers that are happy to prepare or purchase meals for those who may be welcoming a new baby, recovering from an illness, hospitalization, homebound, or managing a crisis.
When Congregational Care receives a request for meals, the information is conveyed to the team and typically meals are being delivered as soon as the next day.
Should you know of someone in need of meals brought to them, or if you would like to know more about being a part of this team, please contact Amanda Braun, Administrative Assistant, at abraun@livingwordumc.org.
Explore knitting and crocheting as a prayer experience! The completed prayer shawls are used by Congregational Care Ministries to bless those who are hospitalized or experiencing a crisis.
The goals of contemplative knitting/crocheting
· To learn to be quiet, and to enjoy the experience
· To use the physical act of knitting/crocheting as a tool to prepare us to hear God’s voice in the silence
· To prayerfully create something beautiful to comfort and encourage others
· To enjoy the fellowship of others who are on the same journey of exploration
Please contact Amanda Braun, Administrative Assistant, at abraun@livingwordumc.org if you would like more information about this ministry.
A Stephen Minister is a safe, trustworthy, and comforting person. Stephen Ministers serving in Living Word are trained to emphasize grace, love, and focus on what we have in common as Christians.
Do You Need a Stephen Minister?
Life can bring challenges that may leave you feeling overwhelmed, isolated, or stressed. Whether you have experienced a crisis, are feeling lonely, or need a listening ear, our dedicated Stephen Ministers are there to offer you the support you deserve. Don’t go through this alone – reach out to us and let us connect you with a Stephen Minister today. Contact Carol Baum, Living Word Stephen Ministry Leader, for more information at 314-330-0017 or baumr17@gmail.com. In addition, a Stephen Minister is available between worship services on Sundays in the lobby.
Visit the following links to understand how a Stephen Minister can help you or a loved one.
Video 1 – “My Stephen Minister is Truly a Gift”
Video 2 – “I Can Tell Him Anything:
Video 3 – “Refusing to Give Up on Me”
Video 4 – “Getting Me Plugged Into My Church”
To request a Stephen Minister – click on the link – REQUEST A STEPHEN MINISTER
For information on Caring Ministries at Living Word click on the link – CARING MINISTRIES AT LIVING WORD
Would you like to know more about being a trained Stephen Minister? Please contact Carol Baum at baumr17@gmail.com.
Purpose: To share the love of Jesus Christ by reaching out to the members of Living Word, and their families that need spiritual support and encouragement while they are unable to attend church events. And, to encourage and empower lay members of our church to use their spiritual gifts to extend care to those in our congregation, with the assistance of pastors and the director of congregational care.
From time to time, we all need a little extra support. The Visitation Ministry is a team blessed with the gifts of compassion, friendship, and care and who is ready to visit with those who are homebound, ill, or hospitalized.
“You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” – 2 Corinthians 3:3
Friends have been visiting each other from the earliest of days. We send and receive visitors with the same joy and thankfulness that accompanies receiving a letter in the mail. We visit with each other in times of need and in times of joy. Often, our encounter with Christ through these visits affects both the hosts and visitors.
If you, or someone you know, would benefit from visits from our team, please contact Beth Balzraine, Director of Communications at bbalzraine@livingwordumc.org for more information.
