Dear friends,
We write to you with words of encouragement and hope in order to strengthen your hearts and minds in these most difficult of days.
Many of us are now in self-isolation and the usual methods of connecting with family, friends, therapists and ongoing self-care practices will become more difficult and may very well be put on hold for the foreseeable future. Maintaining recovery and positive mental health becomes even more difficult with the constant bombardment of news and updates concerning the coronavirus.
It is only natural that our hearts are filled with fear and worry with the current state of our world. When we become further disconnected with isolation and physical distancing rules we need to find other ways of staying in touch and “forming” a community of sorts.
It may seem a bit old school but writing a letter such as this is one way of both reaching out and staying in touch. You are each a valued and much loved member of our St John of God community and we want to assure you of our love and support at this time. To belong, to be remembered and thought of is the encouragement we wish to offer you as you read this today.
Our prayer for each of you in this season is that your hearts will be filled with a quiet confidence and hopefulness for the days ahead.
Finally, as a counter to the negativity and news-induced despair we are hearing in these days we offer the poem “Sometimes” by Sheenagh Pugh
Sometimes
Sometimes things don’t go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don’t fail;
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.
A people sometimes will step back from war;
elect an honest man, decide they care
enough, that they can’t leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.
Sometimes our best efforts do not go
amiss, sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.
Given that these are indeed troubling times, we have included our contact details below. Please write, email or call either of us should you wish to stay connected.
However, if you feel as though you require more support at this time please do not hesitate to call:
St John of God Burwood Hospital
Telephone: (02) 9715 9200
St John of God Richmond Hospital
Telephone: (02) 4570 6100
Kind regards
Jonathan Browning
St John of God Burwood Hospital
Coordinator of Pastoral Services
Email: [email protected]
Ian Maynard
St John of God Richmond Hospital
Coordinator of Pastoral Services
Email: [email protected]
