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As we roll into November and reflect on October, many things have changed over the past several weeks. The time change brings an earlier morning light and the ever-changing Texas autumn reminds us of passing time. October was Clergy Appreciation Month, and it was an honor to recognize the spiritual leaders in our community and reignite our devout habits.
Mirador is proud to be a faith-based community and part of Methodist Retirement Communities throughout the Lone Star State. MRC Mirador shares a main road, Staples St., with Second Baptist Church; Second Baptist memorizes one Bible verse as a church body each month. 1 Chronicles 16:34 is November’s verse, and Dr. Dana Moore with Second Baptist invites everyone to join their congregation in committing this verse to memory!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34
A handful of Mirador residents are excited to share their spiritual practices on the blog this month. One resident shares about the venerable act of simply being, two others offer a message of thanks to their pastors and encourage others to do the same, and a fourth resident shares an old call to action that has stuck with him through the decades; the last resident featured in this blog wrote of supplemental readings that quench her. Elizabeth Rhea, Lifestyles and Wellness Director, concludes this blog with upcoming additions to the MRC Family.
We pondered these items through October and into November, and we hope these tidbits of experience are encouraging and motivate you to work bits of faith into your daily life.
“The Tuesday afternoon chat group is a leaderless circle of Mirador women in conversation. As participants sit together, share time, space, diverse experiences and perspectives, one group conversation emerges and takes an active form. There is no agenda. In the informal process of chatting together for an hour as family and friends, all are free to speak, listen to each other and hear what is being said. All are free to be themselves; therefore, each response or contribution to the emerging topic helps create the nature of each conversation and meeting. It is interesting to note that this group was started by a quilter. Imagine a group of quilters at an old fashioned quilting bee. Our Tuesday group is like a quilting bee--minus the quilt, plus a changed spelling of the word ‘bee’ (dropping one ‘e’) and making the word ‘bee’ into ‘be.’ Being is about existing in actual reality. It makes us the group that we are.”
“Please go to YouTube for a message from Pastor Pamela Dykehouse from First United Methodist Church in Corpus Christi. She also leads a service every Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. Each service includes beautiful music.”
Ms. Reimer recommends the Wednesday Devotional from Sept. 23. Let this 10-minute video fuel your week!
“Billy Storms is the head pastor at Covenant Church. He was a friend before I began going to his church. It’s an interdenominational church, and is located on 7001 Williams Dr. It is a very caring church family, enforcing limited occupancy to observe social-distancing practices.”
“I found this on my second day, age 34, entering seminary for study leading to Ordained Priesthood in the Episcopal Church. It had been apart from a former Dean’s final sermon to the graduating class, back in the1840s. It simply said:
SEEK THE TRUTH, COME WHENCE IT MAY, COST WHAT IT WILL.
As I begin my daily morning prayers, I seek to know and recognize truth, from whatever quarter, regardless of what it may cost me, and the will and strength to follow it every day. It’s amazing to me that every day finds new truth I have overlooked.
It is worth whatever you make of it.”
“Spiritual practice is an ever-changing Mystery that is nurtured in surprises – on a teeny flower on a walk, a wide-eyed rabbit outside my door in early morning – as well as in regular practices.
Much of the music-making in my life has been of a spiritual nature, and the music makes it go deep. Books put me in touch with ancient teachings and fresh ideas. Currently, I am reading The Great Spiritual Migration by Brian McLaren, and a couple of essays from Consciousness and Tradition by Jacob Needleman.
They feed me.
And most of you know that I am Music Director at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, which keeps me in touch with other seekers.”
“Our residents show us that spiritual beliefs and practices sit deep in the core of who we are. Whether it’s a lifelong commitment to a specific faith tradition or a personal sense of purpose that grows over time, the life of the spirit needs tending as much as the mind and body.
Songs of faith, the rhythms of religious calendars, the sounds, tastes, and smells of weekly or yearly rituals—all of these keep us connected to who we are and where we are in the Universe. Many residents remain beloved, important members of their churches, synagogues, and other faith communities. Residents with dementia continue to connect to faith practices after seemingly-similar memories have faded. When residents look to the end of their life, many look forward to being reunited with the source of their faith. Cherishing this dimension of life is part of the culture and structure of Mirador.
We are thankful that in 2021 we will be inviting a half-time dedicated chaplain to our staff, as well as having a Lifestyles Director with a seminary degree and a Lifestyles Coordinator who co-pastors a church with her husband. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our programs to better meet our residents’ spiritual needs.”
