Community Matters Aberdeen Village
November 2017
Hospice month recognition November is National Hospice Month, and to recognize the importance of hospice services to quality end of life care, Presbyterian Manor’s Heart and Soul Hospice would like to share Clayton’s story.
Appreciation to our pastors
It was not long after Clayton was diagnosed with a life limiting illness that he was told that curative treatment was no longer an option. Clayton quickly made the decision to seek hospices services. At first, Clayton thought hospice was a way to avoid burdening his family with his illness.
Did you know that October was Pastor Appreciation Month? It joined the unofficial holiday list back in 1992 when layperson Jerry Frear Jr. was brainstorming with church colleagues about how they might be of help to their minister. He apparently glanced at a calendar and noticed that it was almost Groundhog Day. Frear said, “I thought, if they have a day for groundhogs, there ought to be a day for the 375,000 clergy people in America.” Hallmark Corporation agreed and starting selling cards for Pastor Appreciation in 2002. Today, many churches in America do
Clayton soon began to understand that by deciding to utilize hospice, he had put together a supportive team for himself and his entire family. Together, Clayton, his family, and the hospice team created a plan of care that included Clayton’s medical needs as well as emotional and spiritual needs for himself and his family.
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Clayton’s wishes are prioritized. Clayton is not a fan of baseball, but his family loves the game. Clayton’s wish was to have a baseball party for his entire family. The hospice team helped him make that happen. That day there was baseball, air hockey, and a room filled with family, laughter and smiles. Clayton beat most of us at the air hockey challenges! Clayton has been with hospice since June and is still facing terminal illness with no cure. But, with his hospice team’s focus on providing medical care and emotional support that enhances his quality of life, Clayton has had more good days to be able to make memories with his loved ones. For information about hospice services available at Aberdeen Village, contact social services.
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A proud member of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America
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Heart and Soul Hospice is based in Farmington, Mo., and Wichita, Kan., and is a proud member of the Presbyterian Manor of Mid America Family.
Learn more at: 316-652-6212 HeartAndSoulHospice.com wichitahospice@pmma.org
A love letter to my husband Independent living residents Hob and Carolyn Habighorst recently celebrated 65 years of marriage. Carolyn put her feelings on paper expressing what a “journey” it has been: “Sixty-five years of marriage, now that is a long time! Hob, you never asked me to marry you, you asked me to go on a journey with you, and what a
journey it has turned out to be. “A journey of friendship and love. A journey of family, two beautiful and healthy girls. A journey watching our girls mature. A journey through sickness, a major heart attack, a broken neck, chicken pox and measles. A journey through travel, 15 years full-timing LETTER, continued on page 3
Living with heART Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Aberdeen Village by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at: PresbyterianManors.org. Tim Allin, executive director Chrissie Ammann, director of sales and marketing To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Chrissie Ammann, director of sales and marketing, cammann@pmma.org. Telephone: 913-599-6100 Fax: 913-599-3810 Address: 17500 W. 119th St., Olathe, KS 66061-9524 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
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Community Matters November 2017
Join us for an Art is Ageless event Dec. 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. Guests will join our very own AIA winners for a painting party, and guest artist Christa Klotz of The Painted Clover will take our residents and guests through a fun painting session, and they will be able to take home their beautiful piece of art afterward. Residents will get to interact
with our AIA winners and other residents who are living with HeART. Following the painting party guests are invited to a reception honoring our AIA winners. Winners will be on hand to sign our newest edition of the AIA calendar which guests will be able to purchase for $10. We’ll also celebrate with hors d’oeuvres and champagne.
Tell about your hobbies We will feature hobbies in an upcoming issue of Community Matters. If you have a story about your favorite hobby, or if you just want to tell the world what you love about living in your senior living community, we want to share the story. Contact Chrissie Ammann, director of sales and marketing, and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters. Like us on Facebook
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something to mark the event. Of course, I don’t recommend that you thank your pastor only once a year, but I do think that expressing appreciation is a good thing. Even if you missed the opportunity in October, it’s always the right time! So, what can we do to say thank you? Here are three ideas. 1. Send a greeting card: Let them know that you’re on their side, that you’re supporting them with prayer on a regular basis, and that you love them. They need to hear it. 2. Spend time thinking about last Sunday’s sermon and when you see your pastor let him/her know some insight you gleaned from it. 3. Call your pastor and find out what prayer needs he or she has, and then actually spend time in prayer for your pastor. As a community, Aberdeen Village expressed their thanks by hosting a pastor appreciation breakfast on Oct. 18. Our residents had the opportunity to invite their own pastors, and many responded. We sent invitations to local Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Church of God and Covenant churches. We also sent invitations to seven area Presbyterian Churches as well as four
Methodist Churches. The breakfast was a beautiful representation of the truth that we are one body in Christ. The pastoral breakfast also gave us a chance to thank the more than 40 pastors who have served as guest preacher for our Vespers Service this year. These pastors leave their families on a Sunday evening to minister to us, and we are truly thankful. Many people who live at Aberdeen Village are no longer able to drive to their local churches, but they greatly appreciate the effort their pastors make to visit here. The following residents shared these thoughts of gratitude: Fran Adair: “My daughter and sonin-law pick me up for church every Sunday. To top it off, Vespers is a wonderful ending to a beautiful day.” Rose Klusman: “Catholic services here give me an opportunity to receive communion which is a vital part of my faith.” Mary Jo Evans: “We always attend the satellite service. The Village Presbyterian sermons are consistently good, and the organ music is wonderful.”
Service. The sense of community with our Aberdeen brothers and sisters is powerful, and the encouraging sermons from such a variety of pastors is inspirational.” Georgia Bundschuh: “When I go to Catholic services, I always leave feeling so much better than before I went. Eucharistic ministers Joe and Joanne are so faithful and know everyone by name.” Marge Kalousek: “I like all the different Vespers pastors. It is so interesting.” Bernice Watkins: “Every two weeks a volunteer named Gary Kelly from Methodist Church of the Resurrection comes for a visit, and I really look forward to it. On Sundays, my daughter and I attend the 3:00 service here at Aberdeen Village. It’s just wonderful to be able to still attend church as a family.” To all the area pastors who in one way or another minister to us, we echo the blessing that Boaz spoke in the book of Ruth. “May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.” (Ruth 2:12, NLT)
John Evans: “We also attend the Vespers
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it in a fifth wheel while we volunteered in national parks. A journey to many parts of the world. “My life has been so enriched by this journey I have taken with you Hob. Here we are now, 65 years later, and still on a journey together. A journey that changes day by day, week Like us on Facebook
by week, but it is our journey as we walk it together!” On the right: Hob and Carolyn Habighorst celebrate their anniversary by eating cake.
Aberdeen Village
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EVERYONE HAS THE CAPACITY TO GIVE.
Aberdeen Village’s Post-Acute To Home (PATH®) program isn’t just about getting you home— it’s about getting you back to your life.
Join us on November 28 to celebrate #GivingTuesday. You can give your time, skills, voice, dollars, and goods to charity or #payitforward to help others. ®
Call 913-599-6100 today to schedule your personal appointment and tour. AberdeenVillage.com
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Community Matters November 2017
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