What I’d Like to Tell The Pastor About Living with Illness

tell-pastor-about-illness

If you had the opportunity to sit down and really share about your pain, what would you tell the pastor of your church about your chronic illness and daily pain? Lisa Copen Living with chronic illness is lonely. Everyone around us seems to be enjoying health, happiness, and the ability to at least pursue their dreams. But many of us feel lonely, scared, and disappointed. We are faced with so many insecurities and we are living with an illness that we have not been able to pray away, cry away, or confess away. So we turn to our church for guidance, for acceptance, for unconditional support during the most difficult time in our life. But churches are made up of people—all of us imperfect. And our church does not always give us … [Read more...]

When You Need Help at Home Resources

Here is a listing of some of the at-home-care resources we have found to be helpful & professional. If you have other suggestions to add to this list, please add them to the comments section below. Visiting Nurse Associations of America The Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) was established in 1983 as the official, national association of freest&ing, not-for-profit, community based visiting nurse agencies (VNAs). VNAA leads a profession that is more than a century old - a profession that VNAs actually helped create. Today, by linking leading not-for-profit home health care agencies from coast to coast & creating a comprehensive br& identity program, VNAA has created a powerful network for growth & development. One that … [Read more...]

Tools for Caregivers or Families to Share the Caregiving

Asking for help is so hard! But if you live with a chronic illness there will come a time when you or you & your family needs to ask for help from others. When you or a loved one becomes ill, it impacts the entire family... but it can also feel like it "takes a village." These are some of the resources we have found. Some are to help caregivers organize care for an ill person (such as getting the neighborhood together on who is bringing meals what day). Others are to help a person who is ill communicate with others, such as posting your hospital visiting hours, updates on your condition, or simply sharing. Here are some suggestions on ways to organize the help. Assist Guide Information Services Care Groups Organize help to provide … [Read more...]

Christian & Interfaith Caregiver Resources

Stephen Ministries They offer courses & ministry systems to fit the needs of every congregation & adult education ministry. Lay caregivers (called Stephen Ministers) provide one-to-one Christian care to the bereaved, hospitalized, terminally ill, separated, divorced, unemployed, relocated, & others facing a crisis or life challenge. Stephen Ministry helps pastors enhance caring ministry by ensuring that quality follow-up care is available for as long as it is needed. Illness-Disability-Healthcare-Caregiver Ministry Network Join this social networking group developed by Rest Ministries to get to know others who have the same passions for caregiver ministry. Equipping to Encourage Dedicated to helping people provide … [Read more...]

Small Group Ministry Resources at Amazon

There are some great ministry resources & books over at Amazon. Here is a sampling of some of our favorites. And don't forget... if you click through with this link to make a purchase Rest Ministries earns a small percentage to for sending you there. … [Read more...]

A 2nd Vision Statement Example to My Church for HopeKeepers

hopekeepers-proposal

Presenting to the Church of _____ committee concerning: Rest Ministries and HopeKeepers Chronic Illness/Pain Support Group Background of Rest Ministries Rest Ministries, Inc. is a non-profit Christian organization that serves people who live with chronic illness or pain by providing spiritual, emotional and practical support. They are based in San Diego, CA, founded in 1997, by Lisa Copen, who lives with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Lisa has been active in illness outreach since she began this ministry at the age of 27 in a variety of ways including serving on the Board of Directors of the Christian Council on Persons with Disabilities. Rest Ministries is an affiliate of Joni and Friends, the international disability outreach … [Read more...]

Podcast: Starting a HopeKeepers Group

Have you ever been to a support group? If you have, you likely found some parts of it helpful and encouraging. But perhaps you also found some of it depressing, of little benefit, even too much to hear. Although they may be helpful at first, they can have the tendency to become a place where people get together and vent their frustrations and then everyone goes home. One woman says, "I began to feel like I should have just stayed home and taken a nap!" Although secular support groups have benefits, they are rarely a place where you can talk freely about your faith and your spiritual walk. For the Christian, support groups can be frustrating because they rarely encourage a person to share their spiritual struggles, growth or … [Read more...]

My church forgot about me for months!

I have many concerns about returning to the church that has not bothered to miss me, call me, or visit me for the long 8 months I haven't been able to attend due to multiple surgeries & increased chronic pain. I want to go to fellowship with the body of church, but why did none of them care to find out what was going on with me? I was fully active in ministries for 8 years before I was unable to continue serving due to poor health. Your frustration & disappointment is justified, but I can say with confidence that you likely just fell through the cracks & there was nothing personal about it. My church has done the same. There are some churches that are excellent at outreaching to those with chronic illness or pain, but the majority still … [Read more...]