'Dear Friends' June 2010
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Week of June 7,
2010
Prayer Requests
Tips
for the Caregiver and the Care-receiver
Dear Friends:
"Tips
for the Caregiver" has been a
Topic for quite a while. Now we've added
"Tips for the
Care-receiver." And we've included both
 for the June
Catholic Caregivers flier.
Here are a few points for caregivers:
●
Be aware
of the presence of God and nourish your spiritual life.
●
Plan ahead. Don’t
wait for a crisis.
● Don’t panic.
● Be creative. If your
first solution doesn’t work, find a new one and try
again.
●
Get reliable information
about your loved one’s illness and be aware of any emotional issues.
And a few for care-receivers:
●
Don’t waste your time or energy on things that don’t matter.
●
Forgive others . . . and yourself.
●
Take advantage of the sacraments of Reconciliation, Anointing of
the Sick and the Eucharist.
●
Continue to make happy memories with your loved ones.
●
Accept the fact that life isn’t fair.
- - -
Free holy
cards for caregivers and care-receivers! Just
let us know how many you would like.
- - -
Again this week we invite our to become a member of the Friends of St. John the Caregiver. FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com. You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers).
You can:
sign up on-line here
or call us toll-free at
1-800-392-JOHN (5646)
or
print and mail an application form.
God
bless you!
Monica and Bill
To
contact us
To join
FSJC
To make a
donation
To view or make
prayer
requests
Materials
order form
Past
"Dear Friends" notes
"Among Friends" quarterly newsletter
|
|
Week of June 14,
2010
Prayer Requests
'Ordinary' Time for Caregivers and Care-receivers
Dear Friends:
This
is the week for attending daily Mass if you like green.
Here in the United States, during the Eleventh Week in
Ordinary Time,
 there
are no particular feast days on the liturgical calendar
and so the celebrant wears a green chasuble and stole at
all the Masses.
In "Church language," the term "ordinary"
means "ordered" or "numbered." In everyday language, it
means uneventful. In caregiving language, it means
"whatever was new and frightening and unimaginable a
year ago, or a six months ago, or last week, has become
. . . almost . . . normal."
Caregivers and care-receivers are nothing
if not adaptable. The walker, the medicines, the doctor
visits, the insurance forms . . . ordinary. The fears
(ranging from concern to panic), the fatigue, the
frustrations . . . ordinary. The realization that, to a
very large degree, much of life is outside one's
control . . . ordinary.
Then, too, there are some positive
"ordinaries."
The ever-deepening appreciation of being
loved . . . ordinary. The turning to prayer in moments
of joy and moments of despair . . . ordinary. The
receiving of Christ in the Eucharist, the Son of God,
the Savior of the World . . . ordinary.
That's not to say the positives are taken
for granted. Far from it. It becomes "ordinary" to thank
God for blessings and graces that, so often in the past,
were easily overlooked.
One final -- liturgical -- point: Green
symbolizes hope and the vitality of the life of faith.
- - -
This week we're so pleased to welcome two new members to
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver. "Hello" to Laura F. in
North Carolina and Josephine L-C. in California. Please keep them and
their intentions in your prayers. They have promised to
pray for you and yours.
Also, we cordially invite you to join! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers).
You can:
sign up on-line here
or call us toll-free at
1-800-392-JOHN (5646)
or
print and mail an application form.
God
bless you!
Monica and Bill
To contact us
To join
FSJC
To make a
donation
To view or make prayer
requests
Materials order form
Past "Dear Friends" notes
"Among Friends" quarterly newsletter
|
|
Week of June 21,
2010
Prayer Requests
A New View of the World . . . and Others
Dear Friends:
Happy
first day of summer . . . or winter. It wasn't until we
began the Friends of St. John the Caregiver that we
really began to
 appreciate
the fact that summer here (in the Seattle area) is
winter there (in the Southern Hemisphere).
When we started FSJC in 2005 we assumed it would
be a national organization. Much to our surprise --
amazement and delight -- the first person to join lived
in Australia! Now, as you may know, there are members in
Europe, Africa, North America, Australia and Asia. Now,
understandably, we're more likely to remember and
appreciate the fact that summer in some parts of the
world is winter in other parts. And vice versa.
In a similar way, becoming a caregiver or a
care-receiver can change one's perspective, too. It
gives a person "new eyes" to better see how many of each
category there are. (They're everywhere!) And it can
give a person a new heart --a greater compassion and
empathy -- for caregivers and care-receivers.
Time and again, people have told us: "I had
no idea what it was really like until I . . . " .
. . Became a caregiver. . . . Began to need to accept
care from others.
The challenges are a part of each role . .
. winter, spring, summer or fall. That's why, every day
throughout the year, caregivers and care-receivers
appreciate prayers being offered for them by FSJC
members.
If you're a caregiver or care-receiver, be
assured those prayers are going to continue throughout
this summer . . . or this winter.
- - -
This week we're so pleased to welcome two new members to
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver. "Hello" to Krystyna O'G. in
Illinois and Linda C. in Michigan. Please keep them and
their intentions in your prayers. They've promised to
pray for you and yours.
Also, we cordially invite you to join! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers).
You can:
sign up on-line here
or call us toll-free at
1-800-392-JOHN (5646)
or
print and mail an application form.
God
bless you!
Monica and Bill
To contact us
To join
FSJC
To make a
donation
To view or make prayer
requests
Materials order form
Past "Dear Friends" notes
"Among Friends" quarterly newsletter
|
|
|
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