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Golden Falcons: Ministry Provides Essential Fellowship and Friendship to Our Senior Parishioners
For our many older parishioners who are widows or widowers, life can be lonely. Over 15 years ago, Faith Burke was delivering the Eucharist to a woman in her 90s who seemed very lonely. Faith realized that older adults at Immaculate Conception didn’t have a place to connect. So to meet this essential need, Faith worked with Carolyn Chalmers and Tom Daughenbaugh to form the Golden Falcons group.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has put a temporary halt on gathering, the Golden Falcons group is still going strong all these years later. This group of retirees and senior citizens meets one Tuesday a month after the 9 a.m. Mass in the Immaculata Hall for a delicious breakfast and fellowship.
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Faith greatly appreciates the opportunity for friendship that this ministry provides. She says that most times, we only see people at Mass and often don’t take the time to truly get to know one another.
“When people walk through the door to come together at Golden Falcons, it’s just so beautiful,” she says. “We don’t know what they have been through since we’ve seen them last. This is a way to just be together and connect.”
Carolyn has also found this ministry to be a great way to get to know those she sees at weekly Mass.
“I enjoy the camaraderie,” Carolyn says. “If you don’t have young kids in school, you don’t have a way to get to know people. You go to Mass on Sunday and go home. With Golden Falcons, it’s a chance for socialization.”
Not only does Golden Falcons allow for fellowship, but some speakers regularly stop by to share pertinent information. For instance, members of the local fire department have come in to talk about fire safety, funeral home staff have discussed pre-planning funeral arrangements, and a lawyer stopped in to discuss living wills. For Christmas, group members play games and sing Christmas carols. Several members also voluntarily serve meals at St. Luke’s Methodist Church Shepherd Center. Also, Golden Falcons members have gone on field trips to Arkansas Travelers baseball games.
The group members have a mutual understanding that they are there for each other in times of need. This could mean helping with a grocery store run, providing a ride to church, or assisting with general home tasks.
Faith says she is a “social butterfly,” so this ministry is so important to her. She can’t wait for the day when COVID-19 precautions are lifted and this group can gather again.
“Because a lot of seniors live alone, they are lonely,” she says. “It’s just important to know our church family members, and to be there to assist in any way we can.”
