Caring

Beth EL/Caring

Important Announcements
The latest information that we want you to know

"You’ll never forget the experience!"
A few months ago my Wife wrote in the Voice of her experiences and observations when she was struck by a lengthy, serious illness...
The Temple Beth El Caring Community now has voice mail!
If you have a request of the Caring Community, or would like us to know about someone in need of our attention, please call the Temple at (704) 366 1948 and leave a message at Ext: 111

A Covenant of Caring
Greet the Stranger * Comfort the Bereaved * Visit the Sick * Feed the Hungry * Honor Mother & Father * Act with Loving Kindness

A Covenant of Caring is the promise we make when we join the Temple Beth El Community. We promise to care for each other as best as we can and, in return, accept warmth and caring from our fellow congregants.

Building a Caring Community or
"What can I do?"

Attend Shabbat services -- increase connections and build community
"Greet the Stranger" -- introduce yourself to someone at our Oneg
Tell a member of the clergy about someone who is hospitalized, sick, or in need of extra companionship
Honor your father and mother. If living, talk to them; if passed on, remember something special about them to a child or a friend.
Contact Caring Committee to discover more ways to care for our congregational family

What Else Can We do?

New in the Neighborhood
If you are willing to contact a new congregant who lives in your neighborhood, let us know. We are connecting Temple members who live near one another. We'll be glad to send you a letter with contact information and suggestions on ways to connect with this new family.

Companion Visiting
The elderly are often alone and isolated from the larger community. We want to match those with care to spare to those in need.

Contact your new friend -- perhaps once a month. Whether it's a telephone call, a visit or a card, there are simple ways to add light to another's day. And in lighting the day for another, we find ourselves in the same circle of light.

Second Family
is a group of volunteers who recognize that Temple Beth El families can become overwhelmed caring for a chronically ill relative. The Second Family teams support the primary caregivers so that they can better cope with a difficult family situation and have some time for themselves. (see details below)

A Deeper Commitment

Every Step toward a life of mitzvot, no matter how larger or small, is a good one.
If you want to deepen your commitment to this covenant, please fill out this form.

Name			Contact a new Temple member Companion Visiting Help with Second Family Attend a Shiva minyan Drive a congregant to services Cook a meal and deliver to congregant Cook a meal and deliver it to Temple Deliver a meal from Temple to a congregant Please call me I'm not sure what I want to do, but I want to help!
Email
Phone
Address

Our Caring Community

Please Call Us!!!
It takes every member of our Temple family to be the eyes and ears
of our Caring Community.

As a Caring Community, members and staff at Temple Beth El seek to reach out to those in our community suffering from illness or with special needs.

As our Temple family grows, it becomes more and more difficult to identify those in need. The hospitals do not readily provide patient information to our office. Oftentimes, the clergy does not discover that someone has been hospitalized for several days - or until weeks after they’ve been released. And if someone is recovering at home, there is simply no way for our staff to know - unless we are called.

So....... if you know of someone in our congregation in need of a pastoral visit, please, please, please call the Temple office. In situations where privacy is a special concern, ask to speak directly to one of the clergy.

Healing: It’s not just for sick people
Service of Healing & Comfort

On the last Friday of each month, the Caring Committee sponsors a Service of Healing and Comfort at 7:15 pm in the Chapel. This 30 minute service of prayer and meditation is truly a sanctuary for our hectic lives. We pray for the healing of our world, our community and our relationships, as well as traditional prayers for the healing of those who are ill. It is also a time where the broken spirit can find a time of quiet and wholeness.

Whether you are praying for the healing of others or seek a time of shalom for yourself, you are welcome to join in this beautiful service as a prelude to our Shabbat evening worship.

“You’ll never forget the experience!"
Steve Muhlfelder

A few months ago my Wife wrote in the Voice of her experiences and observations when she was struck by a lengthy, serious illness.

When we were younger, we both pursued demanding careers. We usually managed to find the necessary time to dedicate to supporting our children’s educational endeavors, as well as their activities in sports and social organizations.

As in many homes, the bulk of the burden fell to “Supermom.” We all believed she could, and would, always do everything our family’s frenetic life demanded of her. Our belief didn’t change when the children became adults, and started their own families.
We moved to Charlotte, hundreds of miles from any family member. Life, in general, has been happy here, but in July 2000, it all came crashing down. After a major surgical procedure, Ellen suffered several complications, creating enormous fear and stress.
With each complication I became more frightened and increasingly stressed. I couldn’t believe this was happening to Ellen, and selfishly, to me. Doctors’ reassurances seemed to be half hearted, but I clung to every positive word.

There was no family here, and friends could not visit the hospital to give support and relief. I took on the role of “information officer” keeping everybody informed of day-to-day progress. This did help a bit, since I felt I was doing the only productive thing I could. Comforting visits from our Temple Clergy were shining oases in a desert of desperation.

Ellen courageously fought through all the adversity and returned home. For a time I needed to be available to her twenty-four hours a day.

My fuse shortened. Why did she need me to do something every waking minute? Of course, her demands weren’t nearly that frequent, but I had no relief, and so found the situation frustrating.

My frustration was irrational and unfair. Yet, the relatively short lived challenges we faced gave me insight into the value of our Second Family Team, of which I am a proud member, in providing relief and caring to seriously ill and/or confined members of our congregation, as well as to their caregivers.

I haven’t the language at my disposal to describe my feelings when a care partner expresses the difference we have made in his or her life. Expressions of gratitude from the partner’s family are great bonuses.

What do we really do? We show up with sincere and caring hearts; we do what we feel gives another human being a moment’s pleasure, and confirm how much we value that person.

As a result of Ellen’s illness, and her subsequent acceptance of the Second Family Team’s leadership, I have been part of a group mitzvah. One of life’s great ironies is the joy I feel in seeing the change in another person’s life. Strangely, the mitzvah performed feels as though it was for me, even though my original goal was to just provide a little support to someone else.

There are more people in our congregation, whose lives could be similarly affected. All we need is more caring hearts in search of a great personal mitzvah.
Join us. You’ll never forget the experience!

Please contact Ellen Reich with your stories of giving or receiving care, at ejreich@aol.com or 704-847-0900.