Veneta’s life changed by pastoral care visitor In This Issue Lesley’s inspiring story Bruce’s reflection on the value of being a VPCV 100 VPCV’s in NSW Partnership with ACC brings on-line course launching in 2017 God answers Eric Barbara’s story VPCV team list ’Veneta’ is a client I’ve seen a few times over the past four months. She spent most of her life in India. With a strong faith in God, for years she was the assistant to an itinerant Indian evangelist, who’d travel from village to village. Veneta would translate his talks and provide them to people in the villages. Veneta moved from that active and fulfilling life to Australia, and then contracted muscular dystrophy. She now lives in a flat, attached to oxygen, with a tube long enough to allow her to move anywhere she wishes to go. She is house bound and only leaves to go to hospital. news Due to her health, conversation is often impossible. Today was different. Before a visit, I pray for guidance and help. Veneta said, "Let’s read our bibles today". We shared Bible readings - she read them in her own bible and interpreted them for me. She was happy, smiling and bubbly. We had a good prayer time together with thanksgiving for God's word. Veneta’s joyfulness was so wonderful. ‘Jumping for joy'. is a good description. After the visit I was elated that it had gone so well. God Volunteer Pastoral Care Visitor team news used me to show real love for another person and to act when the Holy Spirit poked me. Lesley Muller, Narellan team October 2016
Transcript
Veneta’s life changed by pastoral care visitor
In This Issue
Lesley’s inspiring story
Bruce’s reflection on the
value of being a VPCV
100 VPCV’s in NSW
Partnership with ACC
brings on-line course
launching in 2017
God answers Eric
Barbara’s story
VPCV team list
’Veneta’ is a client I’ve seen a few times over the past four months. She spent most of her life in India. With a strong faith in God, for years she was the assistant to an itinerant Indian evangelist, who’d travel from village to village. Veneta would translate his talks and provide them to people in the villages. Veneta moved from that active and fulfilling life to Australia, and then contracted muscular dystrophy.
She now lives in a flat, attached to oxygen, with a tube long enough to allow her to move anywhere she wishes to go. She is house bound and only leaves to go to hospital.
Volunteer Pastoral Care Visitor team news
news
October 2016
Due to her health, conversation is often impossible. Today was different. Before a visit, I pray for guidance and help. Veneta said, "Let’s read our bibles today". We shared Bible readings - she read them in her own bible and interpreted them for me. She was happy, smiling and bubbly. We had a good prayer time together with thanksgiving for God's word.
Veneta’s joyfulness was so
wonderful. ‘Jumping for joy'.
is a good description. After
the visit I was elated that
it had gone so well. God
Volunteer Pastoral Care Visitor team news
used me to show real
love for another person
and to act when the Holy
Spirit poked me.
Lesley Muller, Narellan team
October 2016
What do I enjoy about being a volunteer pastoral care visitor?
Bruce responds: “Broadening our understanding of what it is to do life. Smashing our limited experience and blinkered vision of our community and the folk who give us the amazing privilege of permitting us to invade their time and space. Walking through the front door of a different world, often a parallel universe, and meeting new, different, interesting, challenged, perhaps disturbed, often on the edge folk and whatever brand of ‘normal’ the reader understands, dealing with the stuff life throws their way.”
Bruce James, Wagga Wagga team
(photo of team members from Wagga Wagga Baptist church)
Team training at Goulburn During September and early October,
Glen Scott, Roger Ellem and Vicki
Cheah trained up this team of
Volunteer Pastoral Care Visitor’s.
During 2016, we’ve had six
new teams of VPCV’s trained
around NSW. We thank God
for the one hundred VPCV’s
who serve in one of the teams
and we thank each person for their
ministry to residents and clients.
BaptistCare clients/residents appreciate visits by VPCV’s
Our Chaplain’s are hearing encouraging feedback from BaptistCare clients and
residents, who so value visits from VPCV’s. Over 1600 visits have been made to people since we started in December 2014. Our Hills chaplain comments: At the Social Support outing today, a number of ladies were commenting on how lovely the ladies are that visit them from time to time. I get updates about their visits, and from what they tell me, they seem to be connecting very well with the clients. Kath Mueller
Goulburn team with Glen Scott
and Roger Ellem
Graduation: 25.11.16
Spiritual Care series
Meaningful Ageing has partnered with the Aged Care Channel (ACC) in the production of eleven programs for volunteers, family and friends of older Australians for practical knowledge to offer quality voluntary pastoral and spiritual care via an online course.
With an international appeal for this important training, ACC is taking the opportunity to help redefine what good pastoral care looks like, within the context of spiritual care.
The producer and script writer attended the Narellan VPCV training early in 2016, to experience a training course first hand. After utilizing their insights, ACC finished the script.
anchorman for this series, due to be launched in Australia in June 2017, together with facilitation and participant manuals.
BaptistCare plans to run a pilot of the ACC content, blended with our VPCV course at a local church in early 2017. In the longer term, this initiative gives potential for training of pastoral carers for Baptist churches in NSW.
A
Filming was done during July and August, with Sue Chalk (Hills team) a ‘star’ in this video series, with her role being to model pastoral care. Aberdeen Prof John Swinton is the expert advisor for the project. Well know Christian journalist Leigh
Hatcher is the
God answers prayer for Eric
Eric Cowan is part of team at Frenchs Forest. One of his clients has a high level of dementia, so he made contact with Marleina Fahey (BaptistCare’s great dementia consultant) and received some practical suggestions to help his visits.
One of those ideas was music therapy Eric says: I had a great half hour with ‘Robert’. He was shuffling down the passage when I arrived, and I walked him to a quiet place. I asked him if he'd like to hear a bit of Rock 'n' Roll and he smiled and chuckled. He tapped along with a Jerry Lee Lewis song. I followed this by reading the beatitudes and a prayer. He intently watched me as I read to him and nodded when I asked if he'd like me to pray. An incongruous mix, but it worked. He thanked me for coming. I was amazed. I felt blessed because I prayed about it, asking for a breakthrough. God answers prayer and it is so encouraging. Blessings, Eric
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
A Pastor’s affirmation about VPCV’s
"The thing I love about this opportunity with BaptistCare is that it is building bridges into the community, while building up the abilities, skills and gifts within my congregation." Alan Hood, Senior Pastor North West Community Baptist church
Barbara joins Taree team Barbara Shoesmith is one of the VPCV’s at Taree. At the team Graduation on 5th October, Barbara shared how her husband enticed her into joining him in the course.
She didn’t go thinking she would become a pastoral care volunteer, nor was she thinking that this could be God’s answer for her unexpressed need. However when she started doing the practice visits after the training, she realised that God was opening a door for her to minister to people. Barbara shared with us her prayer to God after one of these visits: “Lord, you’ve brought me home. This is where I am meant to be.”
