Commun ty Matters Lawrence Presbyterian Manor
December 2014
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus “Yes,Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its Rhonda Parks highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus!” – Editorial Page, NewYork Sun, 1897
Residents ready to share the spirit of Christmas with a local family
Whether it’s the spirit of the Christmas stories you love or the memories you treasure as you read the wonderful storylines year after year, the true meaning of what really matters is the heartfelt message of love, joy and peace. The greatest of all Christmas stories is told in the Gospel of Luke. The miracle of Jesus’ birth compels us to have the faith to believe in things we cannot see. Like Virginia, many of us struggle to understand life’s true meaning. As Francis P. Church explained in his editorial in The New York Sun, “The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.”
Lawrence Presbyterian Manor residents will continue a cherished Christmas tradition as they help provide a merry Christmas for a local family in need.
It would be magnificent if every day of the year we could capture just a small dose of the wonder, charity and childlike faith Christmas
Chaplain Dottie says the ability to Adopt a Family as a community expresses the true spirit of Christmas.
SANTA, continued on page 4
For more than a decade, the Spiritual Life Committee has collected donations to Adopt a Family for the holidays via the Salvation Army. Committee chair Earl Huyser says the amount collected grows every year, and about $1,500 was raised in 2013. “I’m always impressed at how generous the people are here,” Huyser said. The process begins with Chaplain Dottie Scholtz, who applies to the Salvation Army for a family to sponsor. Within a few weeks, she receives a confirmation and details about the family, such as the number and ages of children and items on their wish list (but the family remains anonymous). Then, the committee shares the family’s profile with Manor residents, so they can learn about whom they are helping and donate as they wish. Then it’s time to shop. “There’s a very small window from time we get the family to the time we go shopping,” Huyser said. “It’s a very busy time for a little while.”
“I believe that Christmas is about giving, and to know that we can bring joy to a family in our community is a tremendous blessing to the residents here at Lawrence Presbyterian Manor and myself as chaplain,” she said.
‘Believe’
By Bruce Shogren, Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America president and CEO
As I look forward to the holiday season, one word is key to this season: “believe.”
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Community Matters
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. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org. Rhonda Parks, executive director Angela Fonseca, marketing and administrative services director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact afonseca@ pmma.org. Telephone: 785-841-4262 Fax: 785-841-0923 Address: 1429 Kasold Dr., Lawrence, KS 66049-3425 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. LawrencePresbyterianManor.org
I truly believe in three key people: Jesus Bruce Shogren Christ, Santa Claus and the employees of the Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America system. What could be more important than Christmas Day, the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ? I grew up in a church in which every Sunday we would state our belief by reciting the Apostles’ Creed. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of theVirgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living
and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen. This belief statement says it all for me and has been the guiding statement throughout my life. It has given me the ability to believe in the power of prayer, which has really been needed daily as my wife was healing in the hospital and at home. This Christmas season, I pray you reflect on that night long ago when Jesus was born and you continue to realize the impact his birth has had on all our lives. My second key belief is in the spirit of Santa Claus. Santa has always been a big part of my family’s Christmas celebrations, dating back to when I was a little one. Santa has always come out of the fireplace in the house I grew up in in Lindsborg, Kansas. It is quite the spectacle to see the Jolly Old Elf come out of PaPa Har’s (my dad’s) fireplace to deliver gifts to all the good girls and boys of the Shogren BELIEVE, continued on page 4
Holiday Celebrations Independent living: Dec. 9, noon to 1 p.m., Alvamar Country Club Join us for this special luncheon featuring holiday music by a live harpist. Residents may bring a guest to this celebration. Manor transportation is available for residents only. Sign up at the business office. Assisted living: Dec. 10, 10:30 a.m. Live holiday music begins at 10:30 a.m., followed by brunch at 11 a.m. for all residents and their family members. The Prairie House will have its celebration on the same day in the opposite order: brunch at 10:30 a.m., followed by live music at 11 a.m. Health care: Dec. 17, 10 a.m. The holiday hymn sing for residents, family and employees begins at 10 a.m., followed by brunch at 10:30 a.m.
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Independent living drives expansion plans This month, we continue to look back at our history as Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America celebrates 65 years of the art of life. The desire for more independent living drove expansion for Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America in the late 1980s. Duplex or apartment projects were approved for the campuses in Sterling, Wichita, Topeka, Parsons, Arkansas City and Lawrence. Existing spaces were renovated in Sterling, Arkansas City, Kansas City and Newton, and a new health care center was constructed in Newton. Wichita received funds for and constructed a chapel. Community interest and persistence led to the development of a campus in Emporia. Ground was broken on May 22, 1984, and Emporia Presbyterian Manor campus opened in 1986. Construction started on a new campus in Dodge City in a joint venture with the CSJ Health System of Wichita, Kan. The new campus, adjacent to St. Mary of the Plains College, was named Manor of the Plains. In conjunction with the closing of St. Mary of the Plains campus in 1992, Presbyterian Manors Inc. acquired CSJ Health System’s joint venture interest in Manor of the Plains and became the sole owner. PMMA’s dream of providing services for severely physically handicapped adults became a reality when Hutchinson Heights opened in 1986. The 1980s also brought serious conversations about the relationship between Presbyterian Manors of Mid-
America and the synods of the Presbyterian Church as well as increased competition in the senior care market. Board minutes from 1986 demonstrate PMMA’s desire to keep the ties with the Synod of Mid-America and individual Presbyterian churches strong. In 1989, the original United Presbyterian Foundation of Kansas Inc. (Newton), and the other separate Kansas Manor corporations, (Arkansas City, Clay Center, Emporia, Kansas City, Lawrence, Manor of the Plains, Parsons, Salina, Sterling, Topeka and Wichita) and Presbyterian Manors of Missouri Inc. (Farmington, Fulton and Rolla) were merged to form Presbyterian Manors Inc. In 1990, an office building was constructed in northeast Wichita and the headquarters of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc. moved from Newton to Wichita.
Seeking ‘angels’ for Good Samaritan Program
Christmas angel ornaments – each representing a gift to the Good Samaritan Program for Benevolent Care – are adding to the holiday decorations at Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America’s senior living communities.
Donors responding to the annual Christmas Angel Appeal letter mailed in November include paper angel ornaments with their gifts. Each ornament will then be displayed at the PMMA community designated by the donor. During the past two years, angel donors have given more than $94,000 to the Good Samaritan Program, which assists PMMA residents who have run out of funds through no fault of their own. 3
Lawrence Presbyterian Manor 1429 Kasold Dr. Lawrence, KS 66049-3425 Return Service Requested
BELIEVE, continued from page 2 SANTA, continued from page 1
offers to all who believe. The Christmas spirit makes everything more joyful and beautiful. If we open our hearts and minds to the happiness found in being loving, generous and charitable, surely we will find what Church explained to Virginia and all of the Sun’s readers back in 1897: “Only faith, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.” Wishing the Lawrence Presbyterian Manor family a very joyous Christmas. It is a blessing to serve as your executive director.
family after losing his pants once again. “Har, when are you going to fix your chimney,” Santa states every year to the delight of all in the room.You have to be there to really experience it and believe it. But the actual thrill in believing in the spirit of Santa Claus is to be a “Santa Helper.” To see the joy in the eyes of a child when he or she sits on Santa’s lap, to experience a surprise appearance by Santa is unforgettable whether it is to children or adults, to give an unexpected and thoughtful gift which says “I know you” is pure happiness for the giver, the receiver and those watching, and the best is when someone will ask with a wink and whisper in Santa’s ear, “Who are you, really?” and Santa gets to tell them the truth:You are really Santa Claus. Priceless! Finally, my third and final belief is in the employees of the PMMA system in providing the care and services to you. Being on the side of receiving care in the past year by a caring hospital nursing and health care staff, I appreciate even more the PMMA staff throughout our system that daily provide the health care, friendship, caring and a whole lot more to you, our residents. Please join me in thanking your community’s staff for their commitment to our mission, providing quality senior services guided by Christian values. As I close my letter, let me wish that you know the blessing of being a child of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, the joy of caring for others, and that you still hear the bell ring and truly believe. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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