Mennonite Women USA

What we’ve heard – ways Sister Care has been implemented after the seminar:

1. Organizing all-church efforts to assist families experiencing major illness and treatment. This was done for Evie Hertzler at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church, Virginia, when she was experiencing the debilitation of Lou Gehrig’s disease.  She and Don expressed appreciation for the Sister Care letter that went out to the church and provided needed R & R for Don and help for Evie during the last months of her life. 

2. Sister Care has asked churches to help with needs of Moms.  Here’s an example: “Dear Sisters, as you know Joe (names changed) is going on a mission’s trip and Sally will have the full care of their multiply disabled daughter for two weeks. Can you help – take a meal, arrange to stay with the daughter for a few hours, write a note, phone…” and the letter was signed by a woman active in a Sister Care support group offering to coordinate this effort.

3. After participating in Sister Care, Freda Neil, Shady Pine Mennonite Church, Franklin Conference, became aware of a large number of widows in her church and community (about 20). She organized a special dinner for these women called “Joy comes in the Mourning” and asked three to share their stories. These three were far enough along in their grief journey to welcome the opportunity to tell their story.  Each represented different experiences of being widowed – after a long illness, a sudden death, or a long period of being single again. The women expressed appreciation for the time to learn to know others in the same situation and have since networked on their own.

4. At Marion Mennonite, Franklin Conference, a similar support circle was organized by Grace Chase for single older women to get together and network.

5. At Pleasant View Mennonite, Franklin Conference, this email to her Sister Care support group: “I would ask for prayer for the ladies at Pleasant View tomorrow evening - Tues. April 21st.  We will be having our first Sister Care meeting.  We personally handed out invites to every lady in the congregation & also some ladies that were on the fringes!  Mary (named changed) will be sharing her story of her journey when faced with possible heart disease. We will be giving some input on sister care and I will be moderating the meeting.  We sensed excitement in the ladies as we asked them to come!  Pray that the ladies would feel "cared" for and that God would give us direction as we plan future meetings.”  (23 women attended)

6. From Virginia (in a conversation 9 months after the seminar), “We went to Sister Care for ourselves. Then we realized we needed to do this for our whole church. We put names in a pot and organized mentor-mentee/prayer partners/friendship pairs.”

7. Ridgeview Mennonite and Harrisonburg Mennonite:  In the months after the Sister Care seminar, a one-day or morning recap was presented at their churches using the material. 

8. Franklin Conference MW expressed the idea of listing resources in the community on a web page rather than every church creating its own. Indiana-Michigan and Central District is working on this in the Elkhart/Goshen area.

9. A woman in Virginia who was part of the Sister Care seminar sent this email in April 2009:  “The Lord has been nudging me recently to write a Mother’s Day Letter to about 30 young women that are a part of my life and have a solid place in my heart. Just a letter of encouragement and possibly a little instruction from an older woman… I am thinking of gifting some of these friends with a subscription to timbrel this Christmas. God Bless your ministry.”
 

-Updated April 2009