LLMN

OV

20

12

2 8 13feature history world

A well-known Christian broadcaster caused a stir last

year with comments that seemingly suggested a

man would be justified in divorcing his wife, who

had Alzheimer’s disease.

The broadcaster’s remarks drew widespread criticism

from inside and outside Christianity. After all, Jesus shared

a different perspective on divorce in Matthew 19:3–12, and

marriage vows typically include commitments “in sickness and

in health” and “until death do us part.”

Many spouses faithfully serve as caregivers. Martha Evans

Sparks, this month’s foundation writer, helped her husband for

42 years as he battled chronic illness, and she served as his

fulltime caregiver during the final five years of his earthly life.

Children, parents, nieces, nephews, neighbors and fellow

church members also become caregivers when people in

their lives face physical or mental challenges. Biblical examples

of caregiving include Ruth, who supported her mother-in-law,

Naomi (Ruth 1:16–17); the Good Samaritan, who cared for a

stranger (Luke 10:30–37); and Jesus’ beloved disciple (com-

monly believed to be John), who took Mary into his home

(John 19:26–27).

As Jennifer Barrett reveals in this

month’s history article, the Free Meth-

odist Church continues its rich legacy

of caregiving institutions. Let’s make

sure we also do our part as individuals

to care for others — regardless of what

TV hosts say. [LLM]

Managing Editor Jeff FinleyLead Designer Erin EckbergWriter/Photographer Michael MettsCopy Editor Dawn McIlvain StahlInternal Communications Andrea Anibal Project Manager Julie InnesPublisher Jason ArcherBusiness/Operations Ben Weesies

Spanish TranslationEzequiel Alvarez Jazmin Angulo Janeth Bustamante Carmen HoseaJoe Castillo Karen KabandamaJennifer Flores Samuel LopezGuillermo Flores Rodrigo Lozano, Coordinator

LLM: Light & Life Magazine (ISSN 0024-3299) was established in 1868 by the Free Methodist Church. Pub-lished monthly by Light & Life Communications. © 2012 Free Methodist Church – USA, 770 N. High School Road, Indianapolis, IN 46214. Views expressed in articles do not necessarily represent the official position of the Free Methodist Church. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations, no portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version unless otherwise indicated.

Whole No. 5245, Vol. 145, No. 11Printed in U.S.A.Member: Evangelical Press Association,Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability

Periodicals postage paid at Indianapolis, IN, and additional mailing offices.

Postmaster, send address changes to:Light & Life Magazine, 770 N. High School Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46214

1 [openers]

LLML I G H T & L I F E M A G A Z I N E

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” — John 1:4

D e v e l o p i n g E a r n e s t C h r i s t i a n s S i n c e 1 8 6 8

Website: www.llcomm.orgEmail us: www.llcomm.org/staffNews and submissions: jeff.finley@fmcusa.orgAdvertising: ben.weesies@fmcusa.org

Address all correspondence to:Light & Life Magazine, 770 N. High School Rd.,Indianapolis, IN 46214 (317) 244-3660

Dare to Care

To receive Light & Life in Spanish, please contact our office: (800) 342-5531 or ben.weesies@fmcusa.org.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Read more at

llcomm.org.

1] Do you use QR codes?

Scan this box with your smartphone to

read more articles on this issue’s theme.

2] Caregiving Calendar

Martha Evans Sparks shares scriptures for

caregivers.

3] Being Grateful

Sudha Khristmukti learns to be thankful.

Jeff FinleyManaging Editor

i

B Y D I A N E M U Ñ O Z

Once upon a time in a faraway land, one

man’s vision of dignity in end-of-life care

became a reality.

Chancellor Nicolas Rolin opened the Hotel-Dieu

(Hotel of God) in 1443 in Beaune, France, after

seven years of construction. Moved by the de-

plorable conditions of the average citizen, Rolin

created “the palace for the poor,” a prestigious

foundation that exponentially raised the standard

of care for the dying. The halls were uuu

Preparingfor Life’s

Earthly End

emblazoned with Flemish tapestries,

original religious paintings — some as

high as 20 feet tall — and a hand-

carved altarpiece that rivaled any

other in Europe.

Finely carved wood canopy beds

were furnished with clean linens and

intended for only two patients per

bed — a luxury as the standard of the

day was four per bed. Architects still

marvel that the floor was centered

over a river with glass tiles enabling

the soothing sound of running water

to bring solace to the patient and

caregiver alike. The canopies opened

to the ceiling so patients could see

the artwork on the ceiling and

the mantra inscribed on

the rafters: Ars Sacra Moriendi, Ars Sacra

Vivendi (the

sacred art of

dying is the

sacred art of

living).

Bands of nuns and volunteers

cared for the sick and dying. A new-

comer would be stripped of clothes,

bathed in ashes to relieve lice, and

robed in a gown. The patient was

invited to go to the altar for confes-

sion and prayer with a priest. The

open canopies enabled patients to

better hear the prayers, hymns and

liturgical chants being offered.

These people understood the rela-

tionship of the spiritual to the physical:

care for the body necessarily involved

caring for the soul. A medieval artist’s

depiction shows townspeople provid-

ing Sunday brunch, nurses nursing,

children playing, musicians singing

and pets roaming.

Medical RelianceFast-forward six centuries.

Advances in medical science are

breathtaking. Yet I believe

the scientific fine-tuning

comes with an unfortunate,

if unintended, trend. Growing

confidence in medical profes-

sionals leaves family members,

neighbors and volunteers feeling

ill-equipped to care for their loved

ones and unwilling to trust their

instincts.

Dr. Ira Byock, a former

president of the American Academy

of Hospice and Palliative Medicine,

observed that in spite of all these

medical achievements the last two

generations of Americans have not, in

general, died well. Americans spend

more money on medicine and high-

tech care at the end of life than any

other society in history. Physicians

now have an arsenal at their disposal

to control physical symptoms like

breathlessness, nausea and pain.

Yet for many of us at the moment of

death, something essential is missing.

When I began my first unit of

clinical professional education at

Hospice of the Bluegrass in 2005, a

social worker colleague presented a

seminar on cultural understandings

of end-of-life care. Magdalena Lehman

came to the United States from Swit-

zerland. She shared how her family

never questioned her grandmother’s

living in their home in her senior

years; it was assumed. At age 8, she

participated in her grandmother’s

care through the day her grandmo-

ther died in their home. She helped

prepare her body for viewing, which

also took place at their residence.

Lehman recalled her bewilderment

about how hands-off Americans

generally were toward caring for their

elderly.

3 [feature]

Surveys find that 80 percent of

people would prefer to die at home,

yet 80 percent of people die in hos-

pitals and nursing homes. (Nursing

home placement can be a viable and

good choice for some families and

patients.)

I have become increasingly aware

how much the American culture is in

denial about the reality of death. As

the old adage goes, nothing is certain

except death and taxes. Yet I have

seen, time and again, how ill-prepared

families can be to accept this reality,

even if their loved one is advanced

in years and has strong Christian

beliefs.

Dr. Lawrence Schneiderman sta-

ted the dilemma well at a conference

I attended on medical futility: “In the

past, we went to church and prayed

to God for a miracle. Now we go to

the hospital and demand a miracle.”

The Hippocratic tradition desires

to restore health and alleviate suf-

fering. Hippocrates would have had

great difficulty imagining a medical

culture that could enable life beyond

what nature would allow.

Church ChangesThe medical culture is not the only

one in denial. Observe some changing

phenom-

ena within the

church.

One hundred

years ago, graveyards

commonly bordered church

buildings. Worshippers were remind-

ed as they walked past graves that

this too was their fate. When was the

last time you saw a graveyard being

built alongside a church?

A century ago, many hymns

referred, usually in the last stanza,

to the surety of death and the hope

of heaven. While the hope of heaven

can occasionally be heard in modern

songs, the reality of death is much

less prevalent.

All these changes are to our detri-

ment because the dying are among

our best teachers. Thankfully, the

modern Western concept of hospice

is enabling and empowering families

to once again care for their loved

ones. I have seen spouses, sons,

daughters, grandchildren, nieces and

nephews step up to care for family

members. Families that embrace

the process, refusing to isolate their

loved ones, often experience what we

call a “good death.” Physical, emo-

tional and spiritual needs are

addressed. Patients are surrounded

by their families while hearing familiar

sounds, voices

and smells within

the sacred space of

a familiar place.

Although it’s not easy,

family members who draw near prior

to death tend to have less troubling

grief processes after their relative

dies. I have heard story after story

and witnessed firsthand the grace of

[feature] 4

Death has the power to heal because it has incredible power to put life into perspective and bear out life’s important priorities.

God being poured out as a soul nears

death. Sometimes this journey is

complete with glimpses of a loved one

seeing things from the other side or

conversing with deceased loved ones.

Now is the time to have the con-

versation with your loved ones about

your hope and wishes for the end of

your life on this earth. Now is the time

to place trust and confidence in your

family to be able to provide that care.

Death has the power to heal because

it has incredible power to put life into

perspective and bear out life’s impor-

tant priorities. The art of dying can

become the art of living.

As Henri Nouwen, a master pasto-

ral care theologian, aptly stated, “The

only people prepared to live are those

prepared to die.” [LLM]

5 [feature]

www.fmfoundation.org

i Diane Muñoz, an ordained FM elder, serves as a full-time chaplain with Hospice of the Bluegrass and as the vice president of the Free Methodist Chaplains Association.

Connect to

the Free

Methodist

Church on

iPhone,

iPad, or

Android.

Use your

phone or

tablet to

search the

Apple App

Store or

Google Play.

“God is love” (1 John 4:8)!

John declares it on the strength of God’s own gift-of-Self in Jesus

(1 John 4:9–10). John describes it in terms of practical responses

of care offered to whomever needs it around us (1 John 3:16–17; 4:11). In fact,

John insists boldly: One who does not love with concrete acts of care does not know

God, love God or belong to God (1 John 4:8, 19–20).

Jesus reveals God’s person and way in human flesh. His followers form families,

societies and cultures of love: not love in the abstract, but love in the nitty-gritty; not

love when it’s convenient or comfortable, but love … whenever; not love when its

benefits may return blessing to us, but true love that cares … just because. Yes, they

form families, societies and cultures of love for whomever is there, wherever they

hurt, however they’re vulnerable, whatever the cost and as long as they need.

Throughout the world, the people who follow Jesus become communities and

families of such love. Their natural families (traceable through a genealogical tree)

deepen and widen in God’s love. They deepen enough to include the hurting, wounded

and aged whom they cherish, protect and bless.

People who walk with Jesus on His way of love can be recognized by the help and

support they readily offer others. Because they are devoted to God, they commit to

one another, commitments they then keep, as God helps them. Parents care for chil-

dren with disabilities. Husbands and wives remain devoted to each other even when

one of them can no longer recognize the other. Children love their aging parents,

though it requires an awkward and difficult reversal of roles.

In the world, it doesn’t often work this way. Love is conditional and contractual —

you do for me, and I will do for you. Commitments expire when no longer “helpful.”

Parents may counter their deepest instincts and reject their own flesh and blood.

Spouses bail on each other when it’s too much to bear. Children may despise their

now childlike parents. In the world, everyone understands these painful “necessities”

of life.

People are blind to the God who is love, except when God visits people and places

through the companions of Jesus. When the God who is love visits, blight becomes

beautiful, and people are helped to flourish. [LLM]

When Love Visits

[bishops] 6

Bishop David Kendall

To read more from Bishop Kendall, visit fmcusa.org/davidkendall.

i

People who walk with Jesus on His way of love can be recognized by the help and support they readily offer others.

When aging parents need help, remember to “honor your father and your

mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you” (Deuteronomy 5:16).

But be warned: Caregiving is emotionally and physically wearing.

Every caregiver — whether caring for an aging parent, a sick spouse or a perma-

nently disabled child — says at some time, “I am alone. Nobody knows or cares. I am

isolated and trapped.”

If you believe yourself alone, you have plenty of company. Moses thought himself

alone when an angel joined him (Exodus 3:1–2).

Paul’s friends deserted him, but he reported, “The Lord stood at my side and gave

me strength” (2 Timothy 4:16–17).

Jeremiah’s enemies threw him into an empty cistern. An Ethiopian eunuch res-

cued him (Jeremiah 38:6–13).

Caregivers may feel insignificant when missionary friends bring exotic reports, but

the person you care for is evidence that your labor for God has borne fruit. A stroke

victim may walk again with your help. You may patiently feed someone

three times a day for years. Your ailing loved one is your joy and crown

(1 Thessalonians 2:19–20). God looks for faithfulness.

Caregiving can be a source of personal growth. The more you know

about a disease, the better you can manage it. Caregivers learn for the

good of their care receivers.

But learn for yourself too. You may find the new knowledge intellectu-

ally stimulating. You may help others; they may help you.

In Psalm 18:28–29, David appeals to the Lord to keep his lamp

burning, and then says that with God’s help he can scale a wall. Caregiv-

ers, think that over the next time you feel overwhelmed. [LLM]

Former caregiver Martha Evans Sparks, a Wilmore (Ky.) FMC member, is the author of five books (three on caregiving).

SCRIPTURE:

Deuteronomy 5:16

Exodus 3:1–2

2 Timothy 4:16–17

Jeremiah 38:6–13

1 Thessalonians 2:19–20

Psalm 18:28–29

Honoring Aging Parents

7 [foundation]

B Y M A R T H A E V A N S S P A R K S

Caregivers, visit llcomm.org/llm/november-2012 for a

downloadable one-month Scripture calendar compiled

by Martha Evans Sparks.

“I’m old, I’m helpless and feeble, and the days of my youth

have gone by and it’s over the hill to the poor house, I

must wander alone there to die” is the chorus to an

1874 song based on the poem “Over the Hill to the Poor House” writ-

ten two years earlier by Will Carleton.

The song and poem reflect what many older adults faced, often

because of loss of ability, depleted wealth and the dispersion of many

families from the East and Midwest as the Western Movement pro-

gressed during the mid-to-late 1800s. During the latter part of the

19th and the early 20th centuries, employer-based and government

pensions were virtually nonexistent with the exception of Civil War

veterans and their widows.

Displaced older adults, as well as orphans, found themselves

crammed into dilapidated shacks with criminals and the mentally ill.

Benevolent societies, charities and churches were the first groups to

help improve these deplorable situations.

Serious discussions focused on these problems. With loving

hearts and limited resources, Free Methodist Church members responded. In 1886,

they formed the board of the Gerry Orphanage and Home in New York and estab-

lished the Chicago Industrial Home for Children in Illinois. The Chicago-based home

was later relocated to Woodstock, Ill., and renamed the Woodstock Children’s Home,

followed by the addition of the Old People’s Rest Home in 1903. Denominational

pioneers in this field included Pastor Samuel K.J. and Ann Chesbrough and Bishop

Walter A. Sellew in New York, and Pastor Thomas B. and Tress Arnold and Pastor

J.D. Kelsey in Illinois.

More than 125 years later, Heritage Ministries in Gerry, N.Y., and Hearthstone

Communities in Woodstock, Ill., are thriving examples of honoring God’s call to “stand

up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God”

(Leviticus 19:32). [LLM]

FM Caregiving Pioneers

[history] 8

B Y J E N N I F E R B A R R E T T

p This building housed senior citizens at the Gerry (N.Y.) Orphanage and Home, now known as Heritage Ministries.

With loving hearts and limited resources, Free Methodist Church members responded.

Dean Griffiths met his wife, Bobbie

Jane, at Roberts Wesleyan Col-

lege in 1971. Three weeks after

their first date during homecoming, they

became engaged. On Dec. 16, 1972, they

were married.

Early in their relationship, problems with

Bobbie Jane’s health came to light. uuu

B Y M I C H A E L J . M E T T S

God’sarms

inheld

“She missed a lot of class her

freshman year,” Dean said. “There

was a pretty significant baseline of

some medical problems going on at

the time.”

Dean and Bobbie Jane dreamed

of having a big family, and their first

son was born in December 1973. In

July 1976, they welcomed a sec-

ond son, but Bobbie Jane’s health

problems soon forced her to have a

hysterectomy.

Her pain and seizures caused the

cancellation of vacations and camp-

ing trips. “It got to the point where it

was easier not to plan on something

than to plan on something and have

to deal with the disappointment,”

Dean said.

The family still found ways to con-

nect. The boys often sat with their

mother after school, talking with her

and reading to her. “God’s grace was

so evident,” Dean said.

When the boys were in high

school, Dean accepted the call to

move to southwestern Pennsylvania

and become a pastor.

“I could see how even in the dark-

est of times, God was there, keeping

us from letting go,” Dean said. “If I let

go of God, I have nothing.”

As Bobbie Jane’s needs grew,

Dean took a leave of absence from

the pastorate in late 2008.

“When we went in to get married,

it was with the understanding that

there’s no back door here,” Dean

said. “It doesn’t matter what happens

from this point forward, there’s no

out. There’s no turning around.”

Bobbie Jane was diagnosed with

15 health problems. None of the indi-

vidual problems were life-threatening,

but the combined effect led to her

death in March 2010.

outdoor chaplain After Bobbie Jane’s death, Dean

didn’t feel led to return to the pastor-

ate. Instead, God gave him a heart to

minister to a group that rarely comes

into contact with church — people

who work as river guides and outfit-

ters in the wilderness.

“There’s that group of people

there, and they’re so special and

they’re so sweet,” Dean said. “They’re

worshiping creation, and they don’t

have a clue that there’s a Creator.”

Dean sold his house and now lives

in a camper pulled behind his car.

He’s been appointed by the Pitts-

burgh Conference as an outdoor

community chaplain, splitting his year

between working for one outfitter on

the Youghiogheny River in Pennsyl-

vania and another in the Chihuahua

Desert along the Rio Grande River in

Texas.

eternal loveDean continues to love Bobbie

Jane, and looks forward to seeing her

again.

“I miss her more now than right after

she was gone, but I am more tightly held

in God’s arms,” he said. [LLM]

[action] 10Ph

oto

by M

icha

el J.

Met

ts

God’sarms

p Bobbie Jane and Dean Griffiths met as Roberts Wesleyan College students in the early 1970s. (Photo courtesy of Dean Griffiths)

11 [news]

“Lord if you can use us,

fill us up. Let us feel

your love rush over us.”

This is the refrain of “Alive,” one of

the songs on Brothers McClurg’s first

full-length album, “Join in the Sound.”

NewReleaseTuesday.com credited

the Free Methodist musicians’

recently released project with having

“all the reverence of hymns and all

the everyday relevance of contempo-

rary worship.”

Anthony Hoisington, lead vocalist

and keyboardist, is the director of

worship at Northgate FMC in Bata-

via, N.Y.; lead guitarist Justin Michau

serves at Northgate as creative arts

director. Chris Hoisington, fellow

lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist,

is director of worship at Brockport

(N.Y.) FMC. Dan Swain, bass guitarist,

is director of worship at Akron (N.Y.)

FMC.

“I feel proud that these songs have

been birthed from our local churches,”

Anthony Hoisington said.

The group’s name, Brothers

McClurg, is inspired by Anthony and

Chris Hoisington’s maternal grandfa-

ther. Pastor Bill McClurg led a

Southern gospel group called the

McClurg Family Singers.

“We see it as a way of continuing

the legacy and ministry while giving it

a fresh vision,” Chris Hoisington said.

The band members feel blessed to

be with Integrity Music, a record label

that has contributed to the worldwide

popularity of contemporary worship

music. The Hoisington brothers wrote

most of the songs on the album with

help from well-known worship song-

writers such as Paul Baloche, Anthony

Skinner, Mia Fieldes and members of

Rend Collective Experiment.

“God has brought Brothers

McClurg and Integrity together

nicely,” Anthony Hoisington said.

The members of Brothers

McClurg hope their music will be

used by God to transform hearts and

lives.

“For us, these are songs of healing

and new birth,” Anthony Hoisington

said, “a sense of urgency to wake up

spiritually, be healed, made whole and

become alive to what God is doing all

around us.” [LLM]

Worship Leaders “Join in the Sound”B Y M I C H A E L J . M E T T S

For more about Brothers McClurg, visit brothersmcclurg.com.

[news] 12

FOOD IN THE HOOD ON TVBloomington, Minn.

Cedarcrest FMC recently received attention on KSTP Channel 5 television news

for its Food in the Hood program, which provides approximately two weeks’ worth

of groceries to more than 1,500 people each month in partnership with Good in

the ‘Hood and Union Gospel Mission. For more coverage, visit fmcusa.org/blog/stories/food-in-the-hood.

FM CHURCHES FEED HUNGRY San Diego

Youth from the Foundry at Escondido (Calif.) volunteered Sept. 22

to help the San Diego FMC’s ongoing efforts to feed 250 people

each Saturday and provide an optional time of worship, prayer and

education. Each Friday, the San Diego congregation spends an hour

collecting the food at a local food bank and up to five hours sorting

and packaging the food.

CHAPLAIN BECOMES LT. COL.Colorado Springs, Col.

Tim Porter, the wing chaplain at Peterson Air Force Base, was promoted to

lieutenant colonel, according to the August issue of the Free Methodist Chaplains

Association’s Staying Connected newsletter. Approximately 70 people attended

Porter’s pin-on ceremony, and he used the opportunity “to give glory to God for

His guidance in my life.”

TEN BAPTIZED AT SERVICEWaterloo, Iowa

Lighthouse Fellowship FMC baptized 10 people on Sept. 23. Seven

are new believers in Jesus Christ. “Some just received Christ a week

prior to being baptized,” Pastor Bob Hetzel said. Nine of the people

attend Lighthouse. A California man joined the baptism service after

calling the church while in Iowa on a business trip.

The Rest of the Story

Want to find in-depth stories of remarkable Free Methodists? Visit fmcusa.org.

We want to hear from you!

Tell us what your church is doing to impact lives in the United States and around the world. Submit your story at fmcusa.org/ yourstory.

i

13 [world]

B Y J E F F F I N L E Y

A retired Free Methodist missionary shares tales

of hardship and hope in “Pendo: God Loves

Africa!”

“A lot of people know there’s been war in Rwanda

and Burundi,” said author Martha Kirkpatrick during an

interview about her new book, which helps readers “under-

stand more that the church there is strong and powerful.”

Kirkpatrick’s book —- available in select bookstores and

also online from Amazon and Barnes & Noble —- details

causes and consequences of the fighting in central Africa.

Kirkpatrick and her husband, Jim, lived in Burundi from

1965 to 1978 and in Rwanda from 1980 to 1994 when

a violent period began while the couple traveled outside

Rwanda.

“Jim was area missions director then, and we were in

Nigeria when the presidents of Burundi and Rwanda were

killed,” she said. “Their plane was shot down.”

The United Nations prevented the couple from return-

ing to Rwanda, and they were reassigned to Kenya where

they served through 2004.

Despite tales of challenges faced by the couple and

Jim’s missionary parents, the book is a story of God’s love.

Kirkpatrick, said the title, “Pendo,” which means “love,”

was given to her by central Africans.

“They would give nicknames to missionaries so that

when they talked in their language, they could say that,

and missionaries wouldn’t know whom they were talking

about,” said Kirkpatrick, who learned her nickname at the

end of her four decades of service in Africa.

Her motivation for writing the book included making

sure her grandchildren learned of her African experi-

ences. Grandson Philip Kendall helped make that possible

by recording her verbal stories and then

emailing transcripts to her.

The book also is a response to Kirkpat-

rick’s friends who’ve urged her to write her

stories.

“These stories describe what God does

and has done,” Kirkpatrick wrote in the

first chapter. [LLM]

Stories of Love and War

To order “Pendo: God Loves Africa!” visit bit.ly/pendo.

t Jim and Martha Kirkpatrick (Photo by Michael J. Metts)

While my family sat around the dinner table one evening, my

youngest daughter, Jenny, quipped, “Don’t forget. I’ll be the one

deciding which nursing home you go to!”

We all laughed.

Therein lies the problem with the sandwich generation. You’re either

taking care of family, or you’re being taken care of by family. A friend — who

was taking care of grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren —

described it as a club sandwich!

Alzheimer’s ambushed our family when my grandmother slipped away

from us so quickly. It fell on my wife and me to take her into our home. I was

pastor of my first church at the time. Our children were 3 years old and 6

months old. My wife carried the load: two small children and a 93-year-old

woman who didn’t remember any of us.

Thirty years later, we find ourselves looking after the needs of my

80-year-old mother-in-law and my 97-year-old mother. Add to the mix several

young grandchildren that my wife watches a couple of days each week, and

you’ve got the makings of a classic sandwich generation.

You may find yourself in a similar situation, but fear not! There are things

you can do to ease the challenge:

l Pray for a discerning spirit.

l Involve your family and church.

l Contact agencies and organizations in your community.

l And, as the caregiver, take care of yourself!

I believe the Lord uses the challenges in the sandwich generation so we

may be a blessing. [LLM]

Chuck Roots is the senior pastor of the Ripon (Calif.) FMC, a retired Navy chaplain and the author of “The Sandwich Generation: Adult Children Caring for Aging Parents.” For more of his writing, visit chuckroots.com.

GROUP DISCUSSION:

[1] What does God’s Word

say about taking care of

family?

[2] What community

resources are available?

[3] How will you address

this topic with loved ones?

The Sandwich Generation

[discipleship] 14

B Y C H U C K R O O T S

Did you know a new disciple-ship article is posted to our website each week? The four monthly arti-cles are perfect for use in your small group or as a weekly supplement to individual study.

WARM BEACHThe Warm Beach Senior Community

near Stanwood, Wash., offers retire-

ment housing and continuing care:

warmbeach.org.

“CHERISH THE DAYS”In this book, Martha Evans Sparks

shares inspiration and insight for long-

distance caregivers: bit.ly/sparkswph.

1

2

Whether you’re a caregiver or in need of care, you can find information and support from fellow Free Methodists.

HEARTHSTONE Hearthstone Communities (Page 8) is

a continuing care retirement commu-

nity in Woodstock, Ill.: wclsil.org.

HERITAGE Heritage Ministries (Page 8) in Gerry,

N.Y., promotes health, dignity and pur-

poseful living: heritage1886.org.

3

4

[resources]

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4

3

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