5 Picnic plan
Where to go, what to do
housing from independent living to nursing care. Erffmeyer says his role is to visit and counsel residents and their families, and employees. He also conducts religious services and Bible study classes. Clergy from other religions hold services on campus too. “We are all connected,” he says.
Often, people are looking for a good cultural fit. They want to find a place that celebrates the traditions they’ve grown up with, a place that feels like home.
Phyllis Toback always kept a kosher kitchen. So, when she decided to move from the South Side of Chicago to be closer to her children, she selected the Selfhelp Home on the North Side. The Selfhelp Home was founded about 70 years ago by Holocaust survivors. The community serves kosher food and celebrates Jewish holidays. Tobak and her late husband had been very active in the Jewish community. “My Jewish identity is very important to me,” says Toback.
The pandemic has not only been a physical challenge for communities but a spiritual one too. Chaplains, rabbis and deacons made a quick pivot last year. Zoom services became standard. New ways were found to stay in touch.
Susan Peterson, chaplain at the Moorings of Arlington Heights, operated by Presbyterian Homes, launched a 10-minute live TV broadcast called “Chaplain’s Corner.” Six days a week she offers encouraging, hopeful messages to residents. “Folks who have an anchoring in faith have fared better in the pandemic,” she says. Peterson plans to continue her broadcast for the time being as the community gradually resumes its regular activities.
After a year, Sister Cathleen Cahill was heartened that in-person services returned just before Easter at Mercy Circle, a Catholic retirement community on Chicago’s Southwest Side. A former principal of Mother McAuley High School, Cahill is a resident at Mercy Circle and lives across the hall from her sister, Nancy Cahill. Both are members of the Sisters of Mercy. “The spiritual aspect of the community is central to our lives,” says Cathleen.
Mercy Circle has 110 residents, both lay people and religious clergy members. Everyone is welcome. The community opened in 2014. Mercy Circle was named for an existing circular chapel that was saved when an older structure was taken down to make room for the new community. “All hallways lead to the chapel,” says Cathleen.
Like many retirement communities, the residents at Mercy Circle have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Activities and services are getting back to normal. Commenting on the challenges of the past year, Frances Lachowicz, executive director at Mercy Circle, notes that the residents were affected by the pandemic, but adds, “They lived in hope because of their faith.”
Finding peace
Beyond the comfort of routine rituals, spiritual programs help residents reflect on their lives and accept their mortality, the chaplains say. Many communities offer grief groups to help deal with loss. Chaplains visit the sick in nursing care and counsel family members.
“There are a lot of questions that people find themselves asking as they contemplate end-of-life circumstances,” says Andrew Rosencrans, chaplain at Presbyterian Homes’ Lake Forest Place in north suburban Lake Forest. He admits that there are no easy answers to existential questions but that he can offer support. “I stand with them and we wrestle with those questions together,” he says. “It’s a comfort to them.” Communities often hold remembrance services for residents who have passed away. The services are typically a celebration of the person’s life and well attended by many residents.
At the Moorings, Chaplain Peterson recorded a monthly memorial service during the pandemic. Because the services were not in person, Peterson had the families gather pictures of the loved ones who had passed. “The photos were wonderful, of them as children, at their weddings, and with their own children,” says Peterson. “The pictures are something we’ll continue at in-person services.”