For 19 years, Linda Stoecklin R.N. has served through Deaconess Nurse Ministry as a Parish Nurse at Immanuel United Church of Christ in Ferguson. Last month she retired from her post, and although she will be missed dearly, we’re incredibly proud of the compassionate care she’s provided so faithfully to hundreds of people in her tenure.
As Parish Nurse, Linda had many responsibilities including helping with annual flu shots, conducting home and hospital visits, leading an arthritis exercise class called PACE (People with Arthritis Can Exercise) and overseeing Immanuel’s prayer shawl ministry. For the Prayer Shawl ministry, Linda was able to use her position as a licensed pastor to not only help the ladies of the church make the prayer shawls but also pray over and bless the shawls alongside their lead pastor.
Linda was especially involved in home and hospital visits, which she says was part of her job she got most excited about. She began diving into this responsibility after Immanuel’s visitation pastor retired; this is a big reason why she became a licensed pastor. Linda loved getting to visit people, bringing prayer to them, taking communion with them and helping with any medical problems they may be having. Most people she visited hoped to be involved with the physical church but were unable to go because of disabilities or distance; Linda was happy to bring the church to them.
In retirement, Linda looks forward to spending more time with her grandchildren. She hopes that Immanuel will find a new Parish Nurse because she believes having a resource that people know they can call, that can visit them, and that wants to take care of their needs in any way possible can bring stability to the church.
She is grateful for the opportunity to have served so many people and cannot begin to express how much Immanuel and Deaconess have meant to her for the last 19 years.