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A UMNS Report
By Erin Edgemon*
3:00 P.M. ET, Sept. 5, 2012
The Rev. Nancy Jo Johnson (right) and other members of the Care Team
Ministry at St. John’s United Methodist Church help Marion Williams get
back and forth to worship services. A web-only photo by Richard R.
Johnson.
Harriett Marshall’s husband, Bob, required 24-hour care the last five years of his life.
And, no matter how much you love someone, providing continual care takes a toll on the caregiver.
Marshall said she is thankful she had the assistance of volunteers with the Care Team Ministry at her church, St. John’s United Methodist in Dover, N.H., to do some of her chores and give her a respite now and then.
“It gave me a sense that the Lord was really taking care of me,” she
said. “It gave me some physical relief, as well as mental and
emotional.”
Marshall said that since she doesn’t have family near, it is good to know that her church family is there to support her.
The Care Team Ministry is the way the Rev. Nancy Jo Johnson shares her faith.
Volunteers involved in the ministry she formed provide the type of
assistance they would offer a neighbor or family member, such as help
with chores and lawn work. They provide companionship by visiting
people in their homes or in nursing homes. They take food to the sick
and provide transportation to the elderly and a respite for caregivers.
While making their visits, volunteers who have been trained by
Johnson will pray and share Scripture with those who can’t make it to
church.
Over a period of five years, Marshall said Care Team members
selflessly cleaned out her garage and did the fall cleaning of her
yard. They made sure her husband got to his doctor’s appointments, to
get his hair cut and to and from adult day care.
A couple even took Bob Marshall, who had Alzheimer’s disease, for the weekend.
“That was probably above and beyond the call of duty,” Marshall said.
But, they became her support system.
Combining healing and salvation
Marshall said she doesn’t know how she would have made it through
those five years without the Care Team. Even though Bob has been gone
for three years now, Marshall, 80, said she still gets a hug and a
prayer from Care Team members.
And, even now, she can call them at a moment’s notice if she needs a ride to the doctor.
Johnson said the team is following one of the main missions of the church by combining healing and salvation.
“It is just a rewarding feeling to think you are helping someone who is cooped up inside all of the time and can’t get out.”—Claramae Hebert, volunteer
Johnson, a parish nurse, formed the group at St. John’s after she
and her husband, Richard, moved to New Hampshire from Minnesota about
10 years ago. She led similar teams at other churches.
Her husband planned to retire, but Johnson had no plans to settle down.
She works part time providing health-care information to
parishioners through blood-pressure clinics and providing informational
brochures and sessions. She also provides referrals to those suffering
from Alzheimer’s disease or needing help navigating through the maze
of the changing health-care system.
Johnson said organizing a care team is just an offshoot of her
duties, and it fills a great need in the community, adding that she
considers it her ministry and her call.
There are 14 members of the Care Team Ministry at St. John’s. During
an orientation session, Johnson trains volunteers about
confidentiality, setting boundaries, being a good listener, assessing
the needs of the one being served and being observant to any physical
or mental changes that occur over time with the person they are
serving.
Johnson said functioning as a team ministry provides “strength and
energy.” And, volunteers provide services as individuals or as pairs.
A rewarding feeling
While she doesn’t think there are many ministries like this in
existence throughout The United Methodist Church, Johnson said there is
a great need — especially with the aging baby boomer population.
And, there may be an unheard need in the church.
Volunteer Claramae Hebert got involved in the Care Team because she
knows what it is like to be a caregiver of loved ones, and she knows
the toll it takes on the caregiver.
She didn’t have any help when she was taking care of her ailing
mother and husband; her church didn’t have a Care Team then. Hebert had
to hire a nurse when she needed a break.
“When I got back on my feet again I thought, ‘You know what? It is time to see if others need help,’” she said.
Hebert said many people in the same situation often won’t ask for help.
But, since she has been a caregiver, she said she can go to
parishioners and let them know they don’t have to do it all alone. She
tells them they need to take a break every now and then for themselves.
Hebert said volunteers have made a difference in people wanting to
continue living. They can look forward to having visitors and being
able to get out of the home regularly, thanks to church volunteers.
“It is just a rewarding feeling to think you are helping someone who
is cooped up inside all of the time and can’t get out,” she said.
Marshall said volunteers make a lasting impact on the lives of those they help.
They will get their rewards in heaven, she said.
*Edgemon is a freelance writer in Bell Buckle, Tenn.
News media contact: Joey Butler, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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