Commun ty Matters Parsons Presbyterian Manor
“Believe”
By President and CEO Bruce Shogren As I look forward to the holiday season, one word is key to this season: “believe.” I truly believe in three key people: Jesus 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. 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. 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 BELIEVE continued on page 2
Christmas cookie recipes bring back fond memories
December 2014
Natalie Lattimore shares some of her favorite Christmas cookie recipes for us to enjoy, along with the stories behind them. Most of us have fond memories of the foods we grew up eating, especially those we enjoy at the holidays. For Natalie, her mother’s peppernuts are one such treat that have her reminiscing. “We grew up near Elbing, Kan., and our neighbors were German Mennonites. My mother got her peppernut recipe from them,” Natalie said. “She’d make them one time a year, and our whole family would eat them. We’d make so many, we’d give them to people for Christmas. My brother is in his 90s, and he’s still making them. I’ve made them for the past 25 years, but won’t be able to this year. They make tiny little cookies, but they’re so tasty. They're crunchy and have so many flavors in them.” Natalie has another story about how she obtained her shortbread recipe. “My husband was Marine in WWII, stationed to train in New Zealand before the fighting began,” Natalie said. “His first Sunday there, he attended service at a Methodist Church, where he met a family with boys around his age. He almost became one of them, they spent so much time together. After he left, they kept COOKIES continued on page 4
Peppernuts These are great for long, cold winter evenings. This makes an enormous amount of peppernuts and they're good for Christmas gifts. 2 teaspoons nutmeg 4 cups sugar 20 cardamom seeds 4 cups sorghum 12 star anise seeds or 1 1⁄2 teaspoons extract 2 cups butter 4 teaspoons cinnamon 2 cups lard 4 teaspoons ground anise 1 cup milk
2 teaspoons ginger 1 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons cloves 3 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon allspice 1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in a little hot water 1 teaspoon orange peel 1 teaspoon lemon peel Approximately 7 pounds flour
Mix all the ingredients except flour. It helps to add the soda and hot water last. Add flour to make batter. Transfer a small amount at a time to a large mixing bowl and add flour to make a very stiff dough. All together you will use approximately 7 pounds of flour. Roll into long, thin rolls and freeze. Slice and bake them when ready. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.
Hang on to the hope of the season By Pastor Alex Knott
There can be so much joyful anticipation The Advent/Christmas during the month of December. I know this is not true for everyone, though. And season has always been one of my favorite times sometimes it isn’t true for me. While the Advent/ Christmas season can be a of the year. It is full of time of joyful anticipation, it can also be a familiar sights, sounds time of sadness. Holidays can remind us and smells. When our that things are not the way they used to church choir begins to practice songs for that particular season, be. Holidays can remind us that we are it makes me want to go home and put up separated from the ones we love. Memories can be good and they can bring some lights and a tree. us joy. Memories can also make us sad. We can remember a time gone by and wish for its return. Sometimes the holidays can be the loneliest time of the year. Sign up to get our It’s an important thing to remember as newsletter by email. we approach the holiday season. Visit It is important for us to be kind to one ParsonsPresbyterianManor.org
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BELIEVE continued from page 1
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Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Parsons Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of
501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org. Maegen Pegues, executive director Terry Lillie, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Terry at tlillie@pmma.org. Telephone: 620-421-1450 Fax: 620-421-1897 Address: 3501 Dirr Ave., Parsons, KS 67357-2220 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. ParsonsPresbyterianManor.org
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another. It is important for us to share our stories and feelings. It is important for us to recognize that holidays are not good for everyone. We often find that the holiday season is a time when people are kinder to one another, and that is a good thing. The holidays do tend to be a time of good cheer and goodwill. Most of all, we remember that the season is a season of hope. We are waiting in hope for God’s Light to break into a dark world. We are waiting in hope for God’s Light to break into our own darkness. And we are assured that the Light will come. May the great promise of the coming Light be your comfort and joy this holiday season!
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. 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 NewYear!
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.
Needs drive 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 MidAmerica 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.
Follow-up program planned for Life Planning 101 About 30 people braved a thunderstorm to attend our recent Life Planning 101 event. We were pleased to see a broad range of ages represented at this Just Ask event. Each of the speakers did a phenomenal job of presenting information on their respective topics. The crowd interaction was good, and participants asked excellent questions.
Attorney David Markham, left, and Justin Brown from Carson Wall Mortuary were two speakers at Life Planning 101.
Participants in the first program encouraged us to plan a similar event. There will be a follow-up program on Long-Term Care Insurance on Jan. 14 at 1:30 p.m.
Jill Thomas from Edward Jones Investments visits with resident John Troy.
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COOKIES continued from page 1
in touch, and finally in 2000, we went to visit them. We stayed seven weeks and took in all the sights. That’s where I had these shortbread cookies. They’d make them all the time and ate them every day!” Natalie knows her cookies: she taught home economics for 17 years. And while she can give you tips on perfecting your cookiemaking technique, she said she didn’t teach these recipes to her students. “Use your hands to mix the shortbread dough, that's the trick!” Natalie hopes you enjoy these cookies as much as she has over the years.
New Zealand Scotch Shortbread 8 ounces butter 3⁄4 cups sugar 2 cups flour plus more for preparation 1⁄2 cup corn flour (In New Zealand they use corn starch) 1⁄4 teaspoon salt Warm oven to 325 F. Flour a board for patting out the dough. Cream butter and sugar. Add other ingredients. Flatten dough out on a floured board. Pat the dough so it’s 1/3 to 1⁄2 inch thick, and cut into fingers. Prick with fork. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.
Natalie Lattimore's cookie recipes are sure to be a hit this holiday season.
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Parsons Presbyterian Manor celebrates 40 years
Guests viewed art displayed as part of the Art is Ageless exhibit during Parsons Presbyterian Manor’s 40th anniversary open house Nov. 14. 4 COMMUNITY MATTERS DECEMBER 2014
Bruce Shogren, PMMA CEO, addresses guests at Parsons Presbyterian Manor’s 40th anniversary open house Nov. 14.