Lawrence Presbyterian Manor
OCTOBER 2021
Editor’s note: This month’s guest chaplain is Greg Schmidt, chaplain for Heart & Soul Hospice of Wichita and Newton Presbyterian Manor. In a nod to our Presbyterian heritage, we will be periodically sharing columns from our community chaplains in your Community Matters newsletter.
Chaplain’s Corner Congratulations to Alexxus for earning the employee scholarship award Alexxus Bowman recently received an employee assistance award from Lawrence Presbyterian Manor for the 2021-22 school year. The award total is $1,598. “It will cover the remaining balance, so I won’t have to worry about pulling loans,” Alexxus said. “That’s going to help a lot because that was really stressful.” Alexxus currently works as a certified nursing assistant in the health care neighborhood. She’s been with Lawrence Presbyterian Manor for nearly two years. In that role, she spends each day taking care of residents’ needs, “helping them with anything they need.”
What birds can teach us about faith By Greg Schmidt, Chaplain I can hear a few birds talking to one another outside my office window. Grackles squawk and beg for peanutflavored suet. Sparrows chirp about how greedy the grackles are any time any food is available. And the Baltimore Orioles are sharing that they discovered a well of Welch’s® grape jelly! How do I know what they’re saying? Because I sit for hours on my deck … and listen! (I’m secretly hoping the birds will come and sit on my shoulder or perch on my hand!) Trust me, birds live in a never-ending search for food!
Alexxus Bowman
The employee assistance award will help Alexxus reach her goal of becoming a registered nurse. She currently attends the two-year nursing program at Neosho County Community College’s Ottawa campus. “I like trying to understand how certain diseases affect people and how you can work around that to help them improve,” Alexxus said. “We want to thank you for your service to PMMA® and the residents we serve,” the education assistance committee team wrote in the award letter to Alexxus. “Please accept our sincere congratulations and best wishes as you pursue your educational goals.” Let’s all take a moment to offer our congratulations and support as Alexxus enters her second year of education this fall — well on her way to reaching her life goals. u
Interestingly, the Bible says God provides for the needs of the sparrow. But that doesn’t mean those little chirpers can just sit back and have it delivered! Sure, the food is there. Available. But they have to go in search of it! By the way, it’s the same for you and I. Only our never-ending search is for love! It’s there. Available. Jesus said, “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:8). In this case, love is there … but action is necessary. We have to search for it!
Chaplain – continued on page 4
Get the latest on visitation and COVID-19 at our campus at LawrencePresbyterianManor.org/covid-19.
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Addressing my life Rewriting an old address book reveals how connections and relationships have changed By Marcia Byalick I spent a bittersweet and humbling afternoon doing a job most people born after 1970 have never done. It was a task familiar to people who buy stamps and send anniversary cards. The kind of person who still writes checks and leaves voice messages. It was a quiet, tech-free activity where I communed with some of the characters who’ve drifted in and out of my life. Like weeding the garden or cleaning out the junk drawer, the task wound up more daunting than I anticipated. For three hours last Thursday, I rewrote my address book. For those who grew up with all their contact information stored on their phone, an address book (which for my first 40 years I called a phone book), is a handwritten paper directory with A-Z tabs along the edge. It caught me off guard, those hours spent retracing my past. Who do I choose to not transcribe again? Mine was decades-old, a bulging mess of business cards and outdated details held together with a rubber band. It was a practical document full of how to get in touch with
plumbers and doctors and neighbors and hairdressers. And cousins and lawyers and colleagues and friends. And a repository of lives lived and lost. Restaurants, and people “out of business.”A chapter in the book about me. It caught me off guard, those hours spent retracing my past. Who do I choose to not transcribe again? Some decisions are more clear cut than others. The vet for my cat who died 10 years ago? Out. My first cousin who I lost touch with around the same time? Hmmm, he stays in. That old college friend; do I have any intention of staying in touch? Probably not. So do I “lose” her – delete her – forever? That's a hard one. Occupations and Addresses From the Past I rolled my eyes at the convoluted way I double-entered certain people for quicker retrieval under their name: Frank, James and their occupation — Accountant, Gardener. It surprised me how seemingly irrelevant last names were of those my car and nails and home depend on. I also added some new names. This
Marcia Byalick's address book Credit: Marcia Byalick
year was a chips-are-down time for me, and the number of random people and distant friends who stepped up deserve to be included. After a challenging year, the love, caring and laughs provided by friends mean more than ever. The number of Florida addresses highlighted the passage of time. Some of my friends have been at an address as familiar to me as my own; some moved four times. I felt bereft rewriting addresses with half a couple. So many stories. “Why didn't you just update your contacts?” asks my daughter. For so many reasons she'd find unreasonable. In no special order, there's the near and dear issue of WHAT IF. My generation likes a
Addresses – continued on page 3
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Community Matters 785-841-4262 ◆ Fax: 785-841-0923 1429 Kasold Dr. Lawrence, KS 66049-3425 LawrencePresbyterianManor.org
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | October 2021
is published monthly for residents and friends of Lawrence Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
To submit or suggest articles: cphelps@pmma.org. Christie Patrick, executive director Christopher Phelps, marketing director
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
Bailey Tyrell is our Administrative Assistant/Accounts Payable Clerk, but she is much, much more than that. Bailey is the face of Lawrence Presbyterian Manor. She’s the first person someone hears on the phone and the first person they see at the front door. She helps in every way she can and does it with a smile. Most importantly, the respect with which Bailey treats the residents is first-class. Who is Bailey when she is not serving people at Presbyterian Manor? She is an animal lover — she loves dogs and has several mixed in with her other pets at home. Bailey is also an arts and crafts enthusiast. And she is getting married this month! Feel free to stop by and tell her congratulations.u
Bailey Tyrell
Addresses
had to call all my credit card companies and banks, it was handy to have all the particulars in one place.
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back-up. A Valuable Hard Copy A “real” address book won’t crash or become corrupted or be rendered useless if there's a power failure or a natural disaster. It won’t be stolen, its hard drive won’t fail and its battery won't die. It'll never have to be revived in a bowl of rice if it’s accidentally dropped in the toilet. Of course, I recognize the worth of my cell phone’s memory for speed dialing. I still like myself a hard copy. The lo-fi list of the address book's whereabouts in my kitchen drawer is easy to reference for Christmas cards and party invites. When I recently
Lastly, in the icky getting-affairs-inorder category ICID (in case I die), a paper address book — a mash-up of the personal and the professional — is straightforward access to all you need to know. Anyone I’ve asked who still uses an address book admits it’s been in their lives for so long, it's “worn and tattered,” and “falling apart.” They share my belief that between its covers are not just organized facts; there’s an accounting of the center stage and bit players featured in our lifetime memories.
That’s why when I finished up at Z, I put the old, battered copy — the one with my father’s last phone number and the no-longer accurate addresses of places I laughed and learned and grieved — in a drawer in my bedroom. Next to the even older address book in my mother’s handwriting. There is comfort in the fact that my contacts are in the cloud, preserved in the digital world. Safe there along with the hundreds of photos on my phone. But the cloud will never elicit the kind of sighs or smiles as the shelf of a dozen photo albums in my den. Or a glance back through my obsolete, dilapidated address book. It’s good to have back up. u
Lawrence Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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1429 Kasold Dr. Lawrence, KS 66049-3425 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Chaplain – continued from page 1 So, I’m happy to report that the longer I spend time with my Presbyterian Manor and Heart & Soul Hospice workmates and families, the more I understand and appreciate how plentiful love is! It’s there for the searching!
My grandkids created a sign for me and my wife that says, “Next time you feel alone … don’t!” It’s their way of saying back to Gram and Pops what we always say to them; namely, “We’re here! We want to share life with you! We love you more than you will ever realize! Acts of Love. Compassion. The efforts to assist others in discovering Make the phone call! Write the text! Stop one or both of us and say, ‘I’m peace of mind and spirit – for the lonely or needy!’ Remember, we’re patient and the employees – the energy given to providing a helping not mind-readers, but we’ll respond faster and love you deeper than you hand, a forgiving and encouraging could ever imagine!’” It’s love given. spirit. Grace. Mercy. Patience for And love returned. No one has to residents/patients … and their families. Generosity. Pay it forward enter into a never-ending search. It’s here! attitudes and actions. A gentle touch. A shoulder to cry on. So, keep “chirping!” Let your needs Someone to laugh with. Being a be known! So many of our staff serve fellow burden-bearer and prayer a God that has a never-ending supply warrior! I see them all the time! of love. And lots of us are following They’re here! At Presbyterian Him as closely as we know how. Manor!
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | October 2021
P.S. If you don’t provide your Baltimore Orioles with “Welch’s grape jelly” … according to the husband of a past resident, they will come peck on your kitchen window and tell you, “Go back to Dillons® and get Welch’s, not Smucker’s®!” They’re grape jelly snobs. Just thought you should know! u