Peace and grace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.  Greetings from Josephine Caring Community’s Spiritual Care Department! 

First off, I would like to thank all of you who’ve supported us through prayer and gift giving throughout the weirdness and isolation of 2020, and thank you for your continued prayer and support as we approach the middle of 2021.  I’ve been privileged to journey with some great colleagues and amazing residents as we’ve walked sacred paths of life together.  I have been struck by just how many different and wonderful ways God loves us, while walking the halls of Josephine during the many different phases of lockdown, ministering to those who have walked so many different paths over their long lives.  It is hard to be restricted to your room, isolated because you may have been exposed to COVID.  It is hard to watch your friends and loved ones struggle to survive COVID.  Nevertheless, we are charged with not living in a spirit of fear but a spirit of love.  Stepping into residents’ rooms, praying for those who have contracted COVID and supporting those who are feeling isolated, has been an immense privilege.  We are all Christ’s ministers, and as such, we look for meaningful ways to bring others hope, a brief smile, a moment of levity, a listening ear, anything to breaking up the monotony of four walls.

Life at Josephine is changing.  2021 has brought new and interesting challenges, different from those we left behind in 2020.  As many of you know, the Director of Spiritual Care position (held by Rev. Helen McPeak) was eliminated in February 2021.  Helen is greatly missed.  It has been extremely challenging as Rev. Annette Andrews-Lux, Kat White (our beloved, essential office administrator) and I work to support the residents of Josephine without Helen’s presence.  

We are also challenged with a very limited number of hours available.  We have pulled together as a team, finding creative solutions to continue offering spiritual and emotional care to the residents and staff.  Unfortunately, the breadth and depth we were once able to offer all residents and staff, has taken a hit.  Further, Kat is leaving Josephine at the beginning of May, as she has been called to a different area of ministry.  I wish her and her family God’s blessings as they move forth into their new chapter.  She will be greatly missed as well.

We are very appreciative of Ernie Fosse, former president of the board at Josephine, who has stepped up to try and help cover the gap.  All that being said, we are struggling to provide even a fraction of the ministry support needed at Josephine. This makes me sad sometimes, but I believe that God is present and working.

I do not know what the future holds for the Spiritual Care Department at Josephine, but I remain hopeful.  I know that God loves all the people at Josephine, residents and staff alike, and that He  hears our cries of sadness, loneliness and joy.  I know that as beloved children of God, He knows our longing to be reunited with family both far and near; to feel a hug or see a smile from a friend; to have someone hear us and know us.  I know that through all the changes and challenges, God knows what the future holds; it is not my burden to bear.  I can only walk the path that God has given me to walk, with those companions He has partnered me with, with the grace and strength He provides, and with His love poured out by the Spirit.

Please continue holding Josephine, its residents and staff, the CEO, the board, and chaplains in your prayers.  May God bless you and keep you, may His light shine upon you and give you peace.

Chaplain Kristi Lambing