Our 25th Anniversary Year!

This year, 2012, Westminster Counseling Center celebrates twenty-five years of ministry to the mental and spiritual health of the women, men, children, families, churches and groups who have come to us for pastoral counseling. 

The years of our beginning were in the early 70’s as a “congregational committee”. We opened our doors in 1987 as Westminster Counseling Center. In 1992 we became a separate organization with our own Board, our own finances, and a designation as an official Minnesota non-profit organization.  We could not have been successful in our efforts over the years without the generosity of Westminster Church for its life-giving support of our transition to a non-profit, plus its continuing gifts of comfortable and accessible space, our phone, computer and accounting services, and most importantly, the steady acknowledgement of the value of our ministry.   

We could not be who we are without the clients who grant us the privilege of sharing in their intimate stories and valiant efforts towards greater health.  We are proud to say that our clients are our largest source of new referrals as they tell others of the quality of care they have received.  

We could not be who we are without Westminster Presbyterian Church. They have come to us in trust with their lives, their faith and their families; they give generously to our financial stability; they refer others to our care; they serve on our Board of Directors; they appreciate us and give us the gift of telling us so.

We are grateful!

Since its beginnings as a volunteer ministry, the center has maintained its identity as a service that does not discriminate based on its clients’ financial capabilities.  Use of our sliding fee scale is open to all of our clients. We have always been a healthy organization, but over the years, the use of our sliding scale has increased.  A few years ago when grants and client fees were not sufficient, we began a fundraising campaign to church members during the season of Lent.  These gifts are an important source of our current health and vitality. We are grateful!

During our anniversary year, we are planning a series of articles on this website and in the Westminster Church newsletter from some of the “pioneers” and “angels” who have been integral to our history.  Look for the story of who we are and how we got here.   

Like so many of the ministries of this great church, Westminster Counseling Center began in-house in a small way, and found its way, like the Gospel, spreading ever wider to more and more people and places, transforming mind and spirit in the name of the God who gives us life, the Christ who heals our wounds, and the Spirit who surrounds us with hope.

Thanks be to God!