I am hoping to find a person – doesn’t have to be from Grace MC – who would like to visit seniors in two retirement communities. (Not long term care facilities.) It would be one afternoon a week. Contact Jan at 289 990 4839 or [email protected]
 
By the end of this week, your Bears and Blankets team – Ester, Mary, and Jan – will have placed over 60 gift packs to selected Seniors in Long Term Care. The gift includes an individualized teddy-bear, a shawl or blanket, a bearpaw cookie, and a card. We welcome donations of clean next-to-new teddy bears and homey or home-made shawls or small blankets. 

Greetings!  Our Bears and Blankets offering is being welcomed in the St. Catharines area retirement and long term care homes. Currently, we have 19 Friends to visit. Thank you Mary Koop for making personalized scarves and Ester Funk for making beautiful shawls. The bears, I buy up at MCC Thrift (and give them a gentle wash-up.) There will be a Church Family Blessing of this program in the coming months. Would you like to help in this Outreach? Talk to Jan Steven – at church, by phone at 289-990-4839, or by email at [email protected]

Free photo from www.pexel.com​

The Ozanam Centre (the St. Catharines Soup Kitchen) was delighted to receive boxes of fresh tomatoes from the Funk Family farm. Gleaners Jasper (6) and Walter (2 1/2) were helped by their grandparents, Laur and Jan. There will be more tomatoes available this week. The folks at The Oz tell me, “There is no such things as too many tomatoes!” (Or eggs.) Do you have surplus vegetables? There is always a happy home for them at The Oz.
 
https://ozanamstc.ca/

Chaplain’s Corner
 
This week your pastoral care and community chaplain was interviewed by Niagara The Week, the St. Catharines Standard, and Newstalk 610 CKTB. The topic was the Bears and Blankets program our church offers to people in long term care who are feeling lonely. Thank you to MCC Thrift for the affordable bears, to Ester for crocheting the blankets, and Mary K for making the scarves. So far I am visiting at Extendicare and Heidehof Long Term Care. Soon I hope to be visiting at Henley House and Lundy Manor. – Jan Steven

https://www.niagarathisweek.com/life/a-friendly-face-for-niagara-ltc-home-residents/article_2ac7fca8-da6f-5ee2-a155-7a8aa889c9e0.html
 
https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/life/a-friendly-face-for-niagara-ltc-home-residents/article_85e8e217-ab7b-5752-8362-d37d3348f8ba.html
 
https://www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb/audio/jan-carrie-steven-bringing-smiles-to-long-term-care-residents-reach-out-to-jan-via-jan-carrie-steven-gmail-com-1.20211480?mode=Article
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