Spirit
August 12, 2006
Dear Bethlehem Friends,
There are many programs active at Bethlehem, and some are almost a secret. I fortunately found out about one recently while assisting a church member with her personal problems which are common to others her age. The difference is that she has no family to assist and care for her, and for that reason I stepped in to fill that gap.
After a time, there have been more needs that are beyond my experience to handle. It doesn't seem appropriate or necessary to mention them, as the purpose of this letter is to give thanks for the help furnished my friend and me. Jean McNeil told me of the help available from the Health Cabinet in Diane Daehlin, a cabinet member with expertise needed for our situation.
We have been working together the last two weeks with the process of transferring my friend from an unsatisfactory assisted-living facility into one that will better suit her needs financially, physically and psychologically. Diane knows the process and has been a blessing. She has been patient, but aggressive in getting the change accomplished.
Thanks to Bethlehem Church and the Health Cabinet for making this possible. It is important for you to know how much a person such as Diane Daehlin, with a gift of caring and the expertise, is needed in helping others at Bethlehem with the same needed assistance in their older years. The work of the Health Cabinet is of great values in other areas of the congregation. I, personally, have appreciated the Healing Services offered once a month. Thanks to all of you for your contribution.
A Bethlehem Member
BeFrienders
Who are the people in your faith community who need a BeFriender? Maybe it is a single parent struggling with raising children or a person living with a chronic illness. Perhaps it is an unemployed head of household weary from job hunting or a new mom adjusting to caring for a baby. BeFrienders provide pastoral care for people in all kinds of difficult or transitional situations. They are trained lay volunteers who extend the care of a faith community.
A BeFriender is someone who:
- Listens with compassion.
- Accepts people as they are.
- Respects another's spiritual journey.
- Embodies the caring presence of God.
www.befrienderministry.org
Caring Bridge
Several members and friends in the Bethlehem community have Caring Bridge websites. If you have a Caring Bridge website you'd like published, contact Lynnea 612.312.3413 or lforness@bethlehem-church.org
Please keep these members of our community in your prayers.
Bethlehem member Zach Schlosser is in the hospital. For updates, visit his caring bridge website. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/zacharyschlosser
Bethlehem member Erin Weness is recovering from heart surgery. To follow her story visit her site at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/babyweness.
Prayer & Healing
Prayer dates back to the beginning of human history: the use of prayer for physical healing appears in the Ebers' Papyrus Scrolls (circa 1500 B.C.E.). Most of the world's religions use some form of prayer, including the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, Hinduism, and some Buddhist traditions.
Today, as in the past, prayer is widely practiced all over the world. While prayer is often considered the cornerstone of religion, it may go beyond specific religions and be an expression of personal spirituality.
Several research studies correlate prayer with improved health and well being. "Patient spirituality and religiosity have been shown to be correlated with reduced morbidity and mortality, better physical and mental health, healthier lifestyles, fewer required health services, improved coping skills, enhanced well-being, reduced stress and illness prevention" (McCord, G. 2004).
It is well documented that hope, belief, and faith positively influence health outcomes (Palmer, R. 2004).
Prayer is rooted in the belief that there is a power greater and larger than oneself that can influence one's life. It is an opening to the sacred, an "urge toward wholeness"(Dossey, L. MD, 1993).
Prayer, according to Martin Luther, in his Morning and evening Devotions, includes blessing oneself with the sign of the Holy Cross and saying: May the will of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be done! Amen.
Several studies correlate prayer with improved health and well being. In fact, individuals who regularly attend religious services live longer, healthier lives than those who do not.
Healing comes in many forms: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Prayer can provide great comfort, strength, and peace amid upheaval, and illness.
The Prayer and Healing services every month at Bethlehem invite one to experience different ways to pray, meditate, enjoy a wide variety of music, healing sermons and hands on healing. Hands on healing has been practiced since the beginning of recorded history. Bethlehem also provides prayer teams, spiritual direction. Prayer and opening to God and inviting Jesus into our lives is the cornerstone of our healing.
Catherine Duncan
(Catherine Duncan is a certified spiritual director, on staff at Bethlehem Lutheran Church).
* For further information on Prayer and Healing, see U of M website, http://www.csh.umn.edu/, Free on line learning, module --Prayer.
Prayer Suggestions
Morning Prayer
Most loving God, I thank you for the gift of this new day. Please help me to use it in service of you by caring for myself and others. You have been my Guide since I was first born, through my childhood, and now into my adult years. Help me always to choose the path of my best learning, health and wholeness. Angels and saints, keep me under your special protection. Strengthen me to live in justice and peace, attentive to the needs of all. Be with me, gracious God, as I go about living this day.
Amen
God is Always With Me
God to enfold me, God to surround me,
God in my speaking, God in my thinking,
God in my sleeping, God in my waking,
God in my watching, God in my hoping.
God in my life, God in my lips,
God in my soul, God in my heart.
God in my sufficing, God in my slumber,
God in my everliving soul, God in my serenity.
Amen, amen.
(A Gaelic grace used in Avery Brooke's Celtic Prayers)
Spiritual Direction
One of the classical disciplines of the Christian faith journey is spiritual direction. Along with prayer, worship, solitude and study, spiritual direction has been used by people of faith as a way of developing a more intimate relationship with God.
What is Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual direction or guidance is an ongoing, one-on-one relationship for the purpose of becoming more attuned to God’s presence and responding to that presence in all of life. If we believe that God is actively involved in our lives, spiritual direction can help us discern that activity and respond to it.
- Is God inviting, challenging, forgiving, healing me? Is God calling me to do something different with my life? Is that really God speaking to me through a dream, a passage of Scripture, a surprising occasion or another’s comments? How can I deepen my prayer life?
The questions you bring to a spiritual director may be limitless, but there is always a central question, How is God present and what is God saying to me? Spiritual direction is not direction in the sense of one person telling another what to do or how to live, nor is it therapy where one seeks a cure for psychic ills. Spiritual direction is more of a companioning where one person walks with another, listens to the ordinary and exceptional events of your life and assists in discovering insights that will deepen your relationship with God.
Who Seeks Spiritual Direction?
Those who seek spiritual direction will have the desire within them to grow spiritually and will want to spend time with God in silence, prayer, worship, study and service. When you start noticing new insights, raising new questions and wondering new thoughts, you may benefit from talking with a spiritual director. Spiritual direction is not for everybody. If you feel a tug in your soul to become more deeply connected with God and sense that God is inviting you to a new level of spiritual growth, a spiritual direction relationship can be very helpful.
How Does Spiritual Direction Work?
In a typical spiritual direction relationship, you would meet for about an hour once a month. Those seeking direction will not come to solve their problems and then leave. Rather, insights, questions and issues will be shared for prayer and conversation. It is important to remember that the Holy Spirit is the true director for all of us. The human director is there to listen, question and guide. Periodic evaluations will be done to look honestly at how things are going and to decide whether to continue. Bethlehem Health Ministries is pleased to introduce Catherine Duncan, a certified spiritual director. Catherine received her Masters of Arts in Theology and spiritual direction certification at The College of St. Catherine’s.
For more information or an appointment, call Catherine at 612.925.1027.
Care Team Ministry
Care Team Ministry
responds to the non-medical “quality of life” needs of individuals not routinely provided by existing social service programs.
Care teams, staffed by volunteers from Bethlehem, provide respite care for overburdened family members and caregivers, and individualized support and socialization for our elderly.
The program has a very simple structure. It is led by a Bethlehem lay team leader. The leader forms congregational mini-teams, made up of 4-5 people. The mini-teams are commissioned to care for one family or person in need.
Care Teams Provide
- Friendship
- Shopping and Errand Help
- Transportation
- Respite Relief to Caregivers
- Family and Holiday Activities
Anyone Can Do It
The simple structure makes it easy to get involved and easy to stay involved. Because the ministry responds to individuals through a team effort, there is less burden to the individual caregiver and greater security to those being served.
Who Receives Services?
Most care receivers have:
- A loss of hearing, vision or mobility
- A loss of clear thinking or memory
- A loss of relationships and community
- A loss of independence - including the ability to drive
- A loss of purpose
- A loss of control
For more information call:
Delores Randby - 952-945-0717 or Cheryl Holmes - 612-822-5135