Live Update to Residents-March 4, 2021
Today’s Live Update on our in-house TV970 covered the latest news at Westminster Canterbury Richmond. It featured John Burns, President and CEO; Melissa Markey, Manager Wellness; Jessica Corbitt, Manager Cultural Arts; Sarah Abernathie, Visual Arts and Program Coordinator; and David Curtis, Chaplain. The next Live Update will be Tuesday, March 9.
The following updates were shared.
John Burns
COVID-19 Updates
We have no cases of COVID-19 in employees. Four Independent Living residents continue to recover after testing positive for COVID-19. Two are being cared for in the COVID-19 positive unit. Thankfully, one of the hospitalized residents returned home today. One resident continues to be cared for in the hospital. Please keep them in your prayers.
Next Steps
In the coming weeks, Westminster Canterbury will restart some programs and services and reengage with one another on campus. Tomorrow a written summary of the coming changes will be shared. Next week, Scott Jonté and others will share additional details at the Live Updates. Please continue to refer to TV970 and TV971, The Westminster Canterbury Tales and Touchtown Community Apps for the latest program offerings and changes.
Melissa Markey
Wellness
The Wellness team is excited to see some of you soon and restart some programs.
For the Fitness and Aquatic Centers, the appointment process will stay in place. Please call on Monday the week prior to schedule your time. For the Fitness Center, call ext. 6669. For the Aquatic Center, call ext. 6539. We will continue with weekly registration.
Small Group Exercise Classes will begin the week of March 15. Weekly registration is required. We will have limited space due to social distancing guidelines. The registration window opens at 8 a.m. on Monday the week prior to the class date. On Monday, March 8, you may begin registering for classes that will take place the week of March 15. If you have any questions about the classes, please reach out to a member of the Wellness Team by calling ext. 6669.
We will be offering classes on the following days.
• Pool Ai Chi – Mondays
• Pool Cardio – Wednesdays
• Balance Basics – Tuesdays and Thursdays
• Yoga and Meditation – Tuesdays and Thursdays
• Strength Training – Mondays and Wednesdays
• Zoom Exercise – Fridays
Detailed information about these classes and how to sign up can be found on TV971, the Touchtown Community apps, in The Tales and in tomorrow’s memo.
Assisted Living and Memory Support Small Group Exercise Classes will resume on Monday, March 15. Please see your monthly calendar for details.
Jessica Corbitt
Performing Arts
Hybrid programming will begin in the Sara Belle November Theater, meaning we will offer both in-person showings as well as keeping programming robust on TV970. Our programming will begin with weekly Cultural Films in the theater; a new series called Monday Matinees, in-person viewings of the Virtual Ballet and Symphony programs; as well as a few musicals, movies and smaller performances. We are easing into programming as we figure out how to keep one another safe.
We must maintain social distancing, so the capacity for the theater is 60 people. Programming will be repeated at times so that more residents can enjoy it in person. While most of our community is vaccinated, most performers have not had that chance yet. We will continue to keep groups small for the next few months.
Advertising for our next two months of programming will be shared very soon. We will continue to plan two months at a time.
Tickets will be required to attend theater events, but the process is different from the past. This is only a temporary process and may need to be adjusted as needed. On Fridays at 10 a.m., we will place a brochure holder at the Tower and Center Desks near the mailrooms. In the holder will be tickets for the next week’s events. Tickets will be evenly split between the two areas. We ask that residents take no more than two tickets per resident. These are not request forms. They are the actual ticket that you should bring with you to the event. There is a place on the ticket for you to write your name and apartment number. When you turn it in at the door, we will know who attended the event for tracking and exposure information. Because seating is limited, we ask that you please use your ticket if you pick one up. We will offer programming multiple times to accommodate more residents. For example, the same Cultural Film will show for two weeks, so if you are unable to get a ticket the first week, we will show it again the next week. It will also air on TV970 daily.
Sarah Abernathie
Studio Arts
Instructors are returning to the McGue-Millhiser Arts Studio and Gordon Woodworking Shop. We will begin with regular, weekly classes and add workshops in future weeks. The offerings starting March 15 include the following.
• Monday, Small Crafts from 1:30-3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Open Studio with Tommy from 10 a.m.-noon
• Wednesday, Drawing with Dale from 1-3 p.m. and pottery from 1-3 p.m.
• Thursday, Clint will be in the Woodworking Shop from 9-11 a.m. Weaving will be from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Pottery classes will be offered throughout the day.
The schedule will be listed on a large calendar outside the Arts Studio, on TV970 and TV971 and in The Tales. We will continue to social distance in all areas. The number of students allowed in each class will be determined by social distancing guidelines. Hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies are available for use before and after you create. To sign up for classes, please fill out an orange slip found at the Tower and Center Desks and outside of Sarah Abernathie’s office and return it to Sarah, or call ext. 6268.
David Curtis
Pastoral Care
A Sermon for Every Sunday is at 4 p.m. on TV970 every Sunday. This week, Rev. Phillip Martin from Epiphany Lutheran Church will reflect on Exodus 17:1-17. This passage of scripture is one of the sacred stories about the giving of the Ten Commandments.
Purple Prayer ribbons will be placed in the Center Business Area, the Tower Lobby and the Sanctuary. Residents are invited to take a ribbon or two and place them on their door, their walls or perhaps in their books. Ribbons may also be tied to the gates leading to the Emmaus Memorial Garden at the Spiritual Center. May these ribbons be a visible sign of our prayers, prayers that withstand the wind, rain, sun, snow, cold and heat.
Evening Prayer, held Monday through Friday at 4:45 p.m., will resume in person on Monday, March 15. In-person, Thursday worship at 10:30 a.m. will resume after Easter on Thursday, April 8. Both will continue to be broadcast on TV970. As we adjust to in-person worship in a new space, Evening Prayer and Thursday worship will be held in the Sanctuary. Small groups, such as the racial justice groups, will meet in person in the Jaqueline Room as scheduled.
Psalm 139:7-12
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
“How the Light Comes,” by Jan Richardson
I cannot tell you
how the light comes.
What I know
is that it is more ancient
than imagining.
That it travels
across an astounding expanse
to reach us.
That it loves
searching out
what is hidden
what is lost
what is forgotten
or in peril
or in pain.
That it has a fondness
for the body
for finding its way
toward flesh
for tracing the edges
of form
for shining forth
through the eye,
the hand,
the heart.
I cannot tell you
how the light comes,
but that it does.
That it will.
That it works its way
into the deepest dark
that enfolds you,
though it may seem
long ages in coming
or arrive in a shape
you did not foresee.
And so
may we this day
turn ourselves toward it.
May we lift our faces
to let it find us.
May we bend our bodies
to follow the arc it makes.
May we open
and open more
and open still
to the blessed light
that comes.