Live Update to Residents-September 29, 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; and Lynn McClintock, Director Pastoral Care.
The following updates were shared during the briefing.
John Burns
COVID-19 Updates
We have good news to share from The Gables and Monticello. Two residents who had tested positive were being cared for in our COVID-19 positive unit. Over the weekend, both received their second negative test result and were able to return to their home in The Gables. We have closed the COVID-19 positive unit. It will be available if we need it in the future.
Three employees continue to recover at home.
Visitation
Yesterday, family visitation resumed in all areas of the community. 129 visitors came to Assisted Living and Parsons Health Center yesterday. Thank you for following the new guidelines and processes.
• Visitation is from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.
• Everyone is screened at the Avalon Entrance before parking near the area of their visit.
• Visitation is only permitted in resident apartments and outside.
• If you have specific questions about visitation, please reach out to the social worker in your area of living.
• Read the full Visitation Guidelines here.
Core Principles of COVID-19 Infection Prevention
Wear a mask. Wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer. Always maintain social distancing of at least six feet. Anyone entering our community must be screened, and you will not be able to visit if you have signs or symptoms of COVID-19. Stay home if you don’t feel well. For residents, if you have visitors in your home, make sure you follow enhanced safety and disinfection protocols.
Parsons Health Center Testing
Testing positivity rates from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) determine how often we must test our staff in Parsons Health Center. We have been testing weekly for months. The positivity rates for our region are low enough that we will move to testing staff in Parsons Health Center monthly. We will continue to monitor these rates and adjust as needed.
November Election
Resident Services is receiving many questions about the November Election. They are getting clarification from the registrar and will share answers on Thursday.
Lynn McClintock
October Daily Prayers and Worship Bulletin Booklet
The October Daily Prayers and Worship Bulletin booklet is at the press! If you have received one in the past, there is no need to request another. It will be sent to you. If you have not received one and would like to, please call Vanessa Perry at ext. 1502 or David Curtis at ext. 5179. We will have them in the next couple of days.
Thursday Worship
Join us for worship Thursday, October 1, at 10:30 a.m. on TV970. Rev. Ben Sparks will preach. Rev. Deacon Logan Augustine will assist. The pianist will be Nancy Bain.
Spiritual Center
The Spiritual Center is now open to all residents and staff. Yesterday was our last noonday prayer gathering. The Rev. Canon Bob Hetherington was the winner of the “Prayer Warrior” award because he did not miss a single noonday prayer gathering! We are grateful for everyone’s prayer and financial support. You may still make a gift to Westminster Canterbury Foundation to help support the construction of the Spiritual Center.
You are welcome to come visit the Spiritual Center. Pastoral Care staff will be available during the day to answer questions. We are waiting on final adjustments, the sanctuary and chapel chairs and other furniture. We will be adding artwork and other final touches. The Spiritual Center will be closed next Thursday, October 8.
The doors that lead into the new Memorial Garden are exit-only doors. To respect the privacy of those in the Jaqueline Room or Montague Chapel, we ask that you enter the Spiritual Center either through the interior entrance near Foundation Hall or through the main exterior doors that face Westbrook Avenue. Resident badges will work on the main exterior door.
We will continue to broadcast our Thursday worship services on TV 970 from the chapel in the Tower for now. Soon we will begin broadcasting from the new Sanctuary. A Service of Dedication is prerecorded and will be shown mid-October.
“I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust.” Mother Teresa
Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Prayer
Gracious and Loving God;
Sometimes we feel as though we are in a perfect storm. We have a pandemic, climate disruption, social unrest, schooling our young people in totally new ways, uncertainty about jobs…and now we add in an extremely divided populace stressed with election season. It feels as though we are constantly bombarded with something else to adapt to, something else to assimilate, something else to worry over.
The path ahead seems so unknown and we don’t like that. We fully admit that we would rather have assurance and answers over uncertainty and ambiguity. There are days where we feel like bucking up and being strong and days where we don’t. Sometimes we are feeling positive about the development of a vaccine, and sometimes we worry that it will take too long…we wonder about its effectiveness, who will get it first, will it be safe…so much on our minds and hearts right now.
Yet, even in this time of turmoil, you promise that we can come to you in prayer—that we can express our fears, frustrations, anger and worries to you. Help us to know that even when we feel like we are walking in a thick fog, you are always here—even when we can’t see you. You speak words of comfort to us, even when we don’t hear them. You provide hope, even when it’s hard for us to get past all the worries. “We truly now see through a mirror dimly.” And while we try and find you for comfort, we know that you always have us in your sights. That you love us and will get us through this challenging time.
So even when we don’t have clarity, Lord, we ask that you develop within us a deep trust in you and in this world you have created. Help us to believe with our hearts even when what we see with our eyes is frightening. Remind us, always, that there is nothing that can separate us from your love. Reach out your hand to us, merciful God, and hold us tight. Amen.