Commun ty Matters Rolla Presbyterian Manor
January 2018
How hobbies help By Allen Teal, chaplain Rolla Presbyterian Manor
What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matthew 16:26, NIV) We live in a remarkable age. Since the Industrial Revolution, everyone who is not a bonafide workaholic has some type of pastime reserved for their leisure time. Not all leisure activities are hobbies. Bingewatching Christmas movies is not a hobby. Spending time and money finding and collecting Christmas movies is a hobby. The Bible encourages people to stop and reflect on life and the world around them. This does not always have to be attached to a major spiritual undertaking. A good hobby can be a way to occupy the hands while liberating the mind. Engaging in a satisfying, productive leisure activity provides the time for thinking to move in deeper channels. During these times, thorny problems can be reasoned out and spiritual issues can be addressed. A hobby can help you sort out the important from the urgent. Things will always compete for our HOBBIES, continued on page 3
Ann Caudill, executive director of Rolla Presbyterian Manor, with Bruce Shogren, president and CEO of PMMA, left, and Bill Taylor, COO of PMMA, right.
Emerald Awards Program
Rolla Presbyterian Manor honored for achievements Rolla Presbyterian Manor received a certificate of recognition from Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America for reaching goals in fiscal year 2017, covering the months of July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017. The recognition came through PMMA’s new Emerald Awards Program, designed to encourage its 17 locations and two hospices to achieve high levels of resident and employee satisfaction, meet financial goals, build philanthropic support for the organization’s mission and meet marketing goals. There are 11 areas measured for the Emerald Awards. To receive an emerald, a community has to meet its goals in all 11 areas. Certificates of recognition were given out to communities that reached their goals in one or more category. Rolla was recognized for achieving a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and meeting financial performance goals. EMERALD, continued on page 2
EMERALD, continued from page 1
“This recognition is a visible sign of Rolla Presbyterian Manor’s commitment to the mission of PMMA of providing quality senior services guided by Christian values,” said Bruce Shogren, chief executive officer for PMMA. Presbyterian Manors of MidAmerica has been providing quality senior services guided by Christian values in Kansas and Missouri for more than 65 years. For more information about Rolla Presbyterian Manor, contact Marketing Director Joelle Freeland at 573-364-7336 or lfreeland@pmma.org.
Community Matters
is published monthly for residents and friends of Rolla Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org Ann Caudill, executive director Joelle Freeland, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Joelle Freeland at lfreeland@pmma.org. Telephone: 573-364-7336 Fax: 573-364-7336 Address: 1200 Homelife Plaza, Rolla, MO 65401-2595 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. RollaPresbyterianManor.org
Don’t be afraid of the flowers With five decades in the business of flowers, Mary Williams knows her way around decorating with blooms and greens. What’s surprising is how many people are intimidated by the idea of using fresh flowers in their décor. If you’re one of them, Mary has good news. “Just enjoy them. If you fix a vase of flowers, and your husband or your neighbor doesn’t like them, so what?” said Mary, who moved to Rolla Presbyterian Manor last year. “They can be such a delight. They brighten the room. They brighten your soul. I like to say that when God made the earth, he put flowers on it to make smiles.” Mary is the former owner of Sunny Wall Flowers and Gifts. She closed the business in 2009 after operating it for 51 years. It was a seven-daya-week business, which didn’t leave her much time to make a hobby out of gardening or decorating for herself. She spent many years teaching others how to incorporate fresh flowers into their environment.
Community Matters January 2018
successful businesswomen in the Rolla area. She and her husband started by taking over a local greenhouse. Later, they started a floral and gift shop, which eventually grew to three locations. Running the business left little down time, Mary said, because she made it work to support the family, including her two sons. It was hard work, but she had good, loyal customers. Over time, she often found herself doing multiple weddings for the same family.
“They wouldn’t come back to you if you weren’t doing a good job,” she said. The Order of the Golden Mary did many outreach programs Shillelagh, a fundraising organization for high school home economics at Missouri S&T, hired Mary to classes and other small groups to decorate their annual induction teach them the basics of creating ceremony for 25 years. She was even arrangements. One of her most popular lessons was showing people knighted by the group in recognition how to make three arrangements for of her contributions. different parts of their home from a Mary’s energy and perseverance dozen fresh cut flowers. seem boundless, so it may be Over the years, Mary was recognized as one of the most
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Mary Williams
surprising to learn that doctors
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HOBBIES, continued from page 1
time. “Now” is a catchword that is employed when delaying is not thought to be an option. Hobbies tend to put the urgent on hold in favor of our recent experiences. As concerns and tasks are viewed in a more relaxed setting, urgent items may begin to seem less important. These are things like buying an item before a sale ends, compared to reaching out to a hurting friend or family member. The first seems urgent. The second is important. Eternal things need time to be recognized. Providing income to care for
ourselves and our families is rarely an optional effort. However, if it pushes out our spiritual life, a re-evaluation of our life may be in order. For many, enjoying a hobby is a good way to set time aside for spiritual thought. Purists will say that one should exercise the discipline to pursue God independently of other activities. The truth is, others need a reason to stop their overbooked existence. A hobby puts the brakes on a money-driven life. This can be the opportunity to listen to the old adage, “Stop and smell the roses.” In this case, I would suggest, “Stop and listen for the presence of God in your life.”
MARY, continued from page 2
predicted she wouldn’t live past the age of 18. She had radiation treatments as a child for Hodgkin’s disease, which weakened her heart. Mary proved them wrong, and is nearing her 85th birthday. Mary said she chose to live at Presbyterian Manor when she needed extra assistance because her parents also were residents here. “I’ve been blessed to have good people with me and to have God with me,” she said. “This town has supported me in many ways. Now that I live here, I see so many people that I know!”
New Year’s resolutions for your mental health Resolve to focus on taking care Impulsively, I threw it out. Along with the clock, I discarded the of yourself, beginning now Eating less and exercising more are likely on many to-do lists for 2017. But in-between meals and after working out, we all can identify ways to improve our mental health as well. Below are five New Year’s resolutions. What are yours? 1. Embrace green therapy. Looking at nature — at the edge of the continent, in a state park or in your own backyard — beats looking out a window any day. Stand in the sun. Let the wind mess up your hair. Breathe deep. 2. Take a time out. When the battery in my bathroom clock died, I took a good look at the clock. It was decades old, and the white plastic frame had yellowed badly. Like us on Facebook
notion that every moment must be tracked, relieving the stress that builds when I think I don’t have time or won’t have time. 3. Downsize emotional reactions. Looking at the big picture is important — except when that’s too overwhelming. One day long ago, I cried in a therapist’s office, mourning the death of a friend and obsessing about a crisis at work. 4. Find more teachers. When people come along who know more than I do, especially about things I want to know, I do whatever it takes to learn what they have to teach. 5. Take the short view. Worrying about what may or may not come to pass may help me prepare for an
uncertain future, but it also propels me into a time beyond my control. Do I have clothes to wear? This month’s rent money? Food in the fridge? Family and friends to call on for help? If so, I am OK just now. If not, I can devise a strategy to improve the situation — and then I can head outdoors for some free green therapy. See resolution No. 1. Rolla Presbyterian Manor
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Rolla Presbyterian Manor 1200 Homelife Plaza Rolla, MO 65401-2595 Return Service Requested
Tell about your history We will feature women’s history in an upcoming issue of Community Matters. We want to know about the achievements of the women who live on our campuses. If you were among the first women in the workforce or elected office, or if you just want to tell the world what you love about your senior living community, we want to share the story. Contact Joelle Freeland, marketing director, and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.
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Community Matters January 2018
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