Live Update to Residents-October 1, 2020
Live updates to residents on our in-house TV970 keep us informed and connected on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3 p.m. Today’s update featured John Burns, President and CEO; Jeanette Ucci, Annual Fellowship Fund Specialist; Debra Jacobsen, Administrator Resident Services; and David Curtis, Chaplain.
The following updates were shared during the briefing.
John Burns
COVID-19 Updates
Today Westminster Canterbury Richmond learned that a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) on Mary Morton Parsons Health Center First Floor tested positive for COVID-19. Due to this exposure, residents of Parsons Health Center First Floor will be tested for COVID-19 and are under quarantine until Friday, October 16. If we receive additional positive results, this date may change. Unfortunately, this means that visitation is closed on Parsons Health Center First Floor during the quarantine. Please read the details here.
Visitation Reminders
Family visitation began on Monday and has been going well this week. Please read the visitation details here. We have a few reminders and clarifications:
• As circumstances change or positive cases of COVID-19 are confirmed, visitation guidelines in specific areas may change quickly. Please check www.WCRICHMOND.org for the latest when planning your visit.
• Guests are not allowed in any Dining areas, including the Promenade carryout. If a resident does not feel well and needs assistance with meals, please contact the Clinic to order a sick tray for delivery.
• If visitors take residents off campus, or if visitors leave campus and return, they must go through the screening process again. This applies to everyone who leaves and returns to campus.
• Residents visiting each other in different areas of living is not encouraged.
• Assuming family visitation continues to go well, we hope to move to more general visitation in the coming weeks. We will share more details soon.
Dining
Please remember to stay diligent in following guidelines for safe dining. We have not changed our practices. You must wear a mask at all times in the dining room except when seated at your table. You may not move from table to table. You also may not move tables in the Promenade. The room is set up to follow social distancing guidelines. There is a limited number of tables for parties of four, and we cannot move more tables together. Thank you for your understanding.
Jeanette Ucci
Westminster Canterbury Foundation – Fellowship Impact
There are many areas that donors support through Westminster Canterbury Foundation. The Fellowship Program is the top priority. Donors may also give to the W·E·A·V·E (Workforce-Education-Assistance-Volunteerism-Engagement) Program, the new Spiritual Center, Healthcare Excellence, Performing Arts, the Area of Greatest Need and more.
The Foundation’s Fellowship Program helps provide housing, meals and medical care to approximately 100 residents living right here at Westminster Canterbury. The identity of our residents receiving Fellowship assistance is kept strictly confidential. Although we do not know who these residents are, we do know that they have served our community prior to moving in, giving to others and making the world a better place. We know that their financial need is through no fault of their own. We know that having them here adds to the spirit and character of our community, just as every resident does.
Fellowship assistance is made possible entirely through charitable gifts from generous individuals, foundations and organizations and through dedicated endowments, not through resident fees.
We recently asked our residents, their families and others to tell us what the Fellowship Program means to them via an anonymous survey. We were honored and humbled by the results. So many of the respondents mentioned the theme of assurance. Fellowship not only supports residents coming into Westminster Canterbury who otherwise could not afford to live here. It also offers all residents the security of knowing that they will never be asked to leave due to financial need that is through no fault of their own. Many of our survey respondents chose to identify themselves as residents, donors, family members and/or recipients of Fellowship assistance. They spoke of having peace of mind about their futures. As you can imagine, this means so much now, more than ever, as we face this pandemic.
The income from our Shops on Main goes to the Annual Fellowship Fund. Many of you are faithful Shops volunteers during “normal” times, and still more of you are faithful Shops on Main customers! Unfortunately, the Shops have had to close during the pandemic in order to ensure everyone’s safety. Nonetheless, we want to thank everyone who volunteers and shops during “normal” times for all of your support! In 2019, the Shops collectively donated nearly $170,000 to the Annual Fellowship Fund! We are so thankful for this.
Fellowship is made possible through very generous donor support. A lot of that support is from residents; some is from staff, our residents’ families and other friends of Westminster Canterbury. Many of you watching are donors. We are so thankful for your inspiring generosity! Our donors are very faithful and have really stepped up during these challenging times. Thanks to you, our Annual Fellowship Fund is keeping pace with last year, but we still have a way to go. This year, we must raise $1,650,000. Thanks to your generosity, we have raised $1,210,545, with $439,455 left to raise before December 31, 2020.
Your giving literally saves lives. Fellowship is truly neighbors helping neighbors. Thank you for all you do for your neighbors and to make Westminster Canterbury a better place to live and work. If you have any questions or would like to make a gift, please contact the Foundation office at ext. 6066.
Debra Jacobsen
Election Updates
Absentee ballots can be returned via mail or in person at the Election Office. You may also utilize the absentee ballot drop box that will be in the Cochrane Commons on the day of the election, on Tuesday, November 3.
If you requested an absentee ballot but wish to vote in person, you can bring your absentee ballot to the Cochrane Commons on Election Day. The polling officials will have to call the Registrar’s Office before you may vote as they will need to void your absentee ballot. Please remember that this will make your time at the polls longer.
If you misplaced your requested ballot, you may vote in person via a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots will be counted the next day once the Election Office can confirm you did not submit your requested absentee ballot. Please note that a witness is not needed to fill out your absentee ballot for this election.
If your preference is to vote in person, you may show up on Election Day. We are working on a schedule for each area of campus to vote and will share more information closer to Election Day.
If we have an outbreak on campus during Election Day, it will be handled within the area. We do not anticipate having to close our polling place.
If you have questions or are looking for additional outside options for voting, please call the Registrar’s Office.
David Curtis
A Sermon for Every Sunday will air on Sunday, October 4, at 4 p.m. on TV970. The program will feature Father Michael Renninger from St. Mary Catholic Church. His text will be Matthew 21:3-46. Fr. Michael will invite us to consider how Jesus asks his followers how they should respond to violence.
Printing of the October Daily Prayers and Worship Bulletin Booklet has been delayed. They will be delivered as soon as they are available. You can find a digital version here.
Matthew 11:2-6
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
This is the scripture appointed for St. Francis’s Day, October 4. St. Francis is known for many things. He founded the Franciscan order. He had visions of Christ. He received stigmata, or the wounds of Christ, on his hands and feet. He lived a life of poverty and cared for the poor and marginalized. He is probably best known for two other things:
1) His love of nature and a tendency to preach to God’s created animals of the fields and of the air. This coming weekend, many churches will offer a Blessing of the Animals. For those of you with companion animals, may your friends be blessed with long life, with a shiny coat, and with love in their heart for you and for all they meet.
2) The Prayer of St. Francis, which begins with “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”
Hear this prayer, inspired by St. Francis’s prayer from centuries ago:
Loving God, Spirit of Joy, Weaver of the Cosmos,
Where there is darkness, let us be light.
Where there is hate, let us be love.
Where there is injustice, let us be repairers of the breach.
Where there are lies, let us be truth.
Where there is despair, let us be hope.
Where there is yelling, let us be silence.
Where there is silence, let us be song.
Where there is God, let us be there.
Amen.