Greetings Brothers and Sisters,
We are very much concerned by the new struggles endured by long-term care residents all over the country. These struggles have been imposed on them by the necessity of facilities attempting to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus in their population. Specifically, residents are not able to socialize and move around within the building to the same extent they were accustomed to before the outbreak. Many are confined to their rooms all day, every day. This isolation can be devastating. To compound the problem, especially for the Christian believers living under these conditions, Christian ministry input has often been reduced significantly. At least for the time being, nursing home ministry has changed, but these dear souls, our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus, still need encouragement and reinforcement as much as anyone else. [Click here to see what one Bible teaching institute is doing to address this problem.]
Here is what we are doing to address the Christian ministry needs of LTC residents:
• We have produced and made available on our website a 34 page Christian adult coloring book called God’s Love and Grace. It uses Bible quotes accented with encouraging meditations. It is in .JPG format and fully downloadable as individual pages for free for ministry to the elderly and infirm. In addition, we produce, for limited distribution, a free printed version of the coloring book which is 8½” by 11″ using 70 lb. paper.
• For use in long-term care settings, we produce and distribute at no charge, in large print format, two hymn booklets, one Christmas carol booklet and two Scripture booklets. We produce and distribute instrumental and vocal accompaniment CDs for the hymn and carol booklets. Additionally, we have put all of our printed booklets on our website in giant print which are fully downloadable for free for ministry to the elderly and infirm.
• All of our videos, currently over 80, are viewable online for free. Some are on our website and and all can be accessed at https://vimeo.com/jerryjohnson/ . These include “hymn videos” which use the vocal and instrumental accompaniment for our two hymn booklets and our Christmas carol booklet as their soundtrack. The visuals are photos and videos we have taken of the beauty of God’s creation. The “hymn videos” are collected into five DVD’s and are available free for the asking for ministry to the elderly and infirm.
• We are now in production of our sixth DVD, Praise to Our Redeemer, Number 2. This one will be using nine of the hymns in our booklet, Hymns of Our Redeemer. The visuals in this DVD are photos and videos Dar and I took, mostly in the Blue Ridge mountains. Click here to check out the first hymn video, Beneath the Cross of Jesus, which we just completed.
• For local distribution, we have purchased a few CD players and packs of colored pencils and Dollar Tree gift cards. These are delivered to the activity staff of nursing homes along with our printed materials, Lutheran Braille Workers materials and Our Daily Bread devotionals.
• There are 13 Worship Service Programs, 4 Memorial Service Programs and 26 LTC Devotionals on our website for free download for use in ministry to care center residents.
We are blessed by ongoing calls and emails from staff and volunteers who request materials. As you can see, their role in what we do is vital! It sounds like a lot, but we work at what we think is a reasonable, sustainable pace and somehow it all gets done! Alleluia! Please know, as we try to say in every newsletter, that we are very grateful to each of you who support this mission with your help in finances and prayer!
Blessings,
Jerry and Dar Johnson