First Mennonite Church of C-U--Nov 2021

November 14, 2021

Today I was happy to visit the Mennonites in this medium size sanctuary, simply and lovingly decorated,  with an intimate feel. Everyone wore a mask, and although it was only 40*, windows were open for ventilation. The congregation had met outside until a couple of weeks ago.

In the guest bag I found a full-size, fair-trade dark chocolate bar—Wow!  There was also church and denomination information, 10,000 Villages info and a friendly welcome card handmade by the kids. The handful of children present were called up for their own special story time near the beginning of the service.

Centering chimes and then piano drew us into worship. The congregation sang from a contemporary hymnbook, led by a single guitar player, Raphael, with a strong beautiful voice.  

Today’s message was an interesting video-link interview with Anne G K, former member here and 40-year Bible translator in Burkina Faso. She met us from her office in Africa and shared some of the difficulty of her work. Consider, for example, translating the word holy. Hebrew has something like three words for it, English four, and the native target language over twenty! Anne also shared a story of her fear in 2005 when armed men were firing shots in her street. She missed her flight to Canada. But the plane she’d been scheduled to fly on crashed in Cameroon. Consider the paradox, she encouraged us, of her great fear of the rebels, but her lack of fear of the flight. Anne reported that today, fall 2021, about one third of Burkina Faso is in antigovernment hands.

After a few minutes of meditation, it was time for congregational sharing of prayer needs and thanksgiving. About sixty people were there with another thirty tuned in by internet. As a visitor, I didn’t find the life details of unknown persons that relevant, but of course this sharing had great value for participants. It took maybe ten minutes:  people sick and those recovering, new jobs, woman leaving abusive husband, an anniversary, etc. Apparently, text messages were also coming in to a chat board for those who didn’t want to stand and speak up or those connecting by internet.

Several people struck up conversations with me after the service. The pastor caught me to chat as well and invited me to call anytime. 

I like it that this church is a big supporter of Champaign's 10,000 Villages, and they support Sola Gratia Farm too. For Thanksgiving they’re having a Gratitude Walk at Meadowbrook Park, and there's a gathering to sing around Pastor Deb’s firepit.

Irrelevant note:  FMC is the place where, many years ago, we were invited to a wedding in which we saw the adoring father of the bride crawl onto the stage to discretely (not!) take photos of his daughter's big moment. :-P

Wesley United Methodist Church--Sept 2021

 Sunday, September 19, 2021

I decided to go big for the first of my proposed other-church visits today and went to the Wesley Center at UIUC—their traditional service, not the contemporary one.

The grand Wesley Foundation building has been in continuous operation since 1920 and was modeled after the one at Oxford where John Wesley was educated. Because it's on campus, I parked half a mile away and walked in. The first two church doors I tried were locked, but circling around—it's a really big building—I found an open one at last. (I also noticed a small parking lot in the back—too late.)

The sanctuary is classically dramatic with high ceilings and stained glass. Because of Covid, every second pew was cordoned off and everyone was masked. About a hundred people were spread in the big room. A sweet older woman down the row from me was happy to chat.

Lovely, moving music opened the service, followed by congregational singing of hymns. Spirit of the Living God we sang the first time through with our voices and then in sign language only. Loved this! Passing the peace in sign language was also encouraged.

Preaching today was Rev. Julie Dowler, a dynamic woman in a black t-shirt, who spoke of Mary and Martha in a message entitled Mind Your Own Busyness. The detailed bulletin told me this is third in a series on Soul Rest and that today is the 17th Sunday after Pentecost. 

At the end, most people seemed to exit back toward the parking lot. But Pastor Julie was on the front steps when I came out, offering snacks to any walkers who had come today. (These were in addition to a snack in the guest bag handed out inside. It also contained information about the church, of course. 😁) It was nice to talk with her a few minutes.

Here are a few random pluses picked up from the bulletin. This congregation participates in the CROP walk! They host a "midweek campfire" with gourmet s'mores. Also listed were Friday picnics, ESL class, international coffeehouse on Zoom, "A Queer Space," yoga sessions, two book studies (one a New York Times bestseller), men's Bible study, and more. 

Overall, visiting here was a positive experience and I'd be happy to go back sometime—use the parking lot (!) and try the contemporary service. It was moving to pray the old chorus in sign language and I very much enjoyed the setting and the music.

The peace of Christ be with you!

INTRO to visits with different denominations

Firing up the blog for a look at different denominations 

I've been visiting different kinds of churches, once a month, for a year now. A few friends have read these reports as they come out, but I'm thinking it would make sense to post my observations and impressions here in case anyone else is interested or curious as to what's going on in Champaign-Urbana (mostly) churches. :-]

I'm not really shopping for a new church or denomination, so what's my motive? I was born and raised American Baptist. (Please do not confuse with Southern Baptist, quite different!) I was happily Baptist the first thirty years of my life and greatly respect the ABC to this day. In the early 80s, however, the Vineyard movement reached Indianapolis where we lived. Once I experienced Bill Jackson's teaching and Vineyard worship, I was all in. Even after Jax moved west and we relocated too, the Vineyard has  remained our tribe through the following decades. So from all the variety of Christian expression through different denominations, I had solid knowledge of only these two. Ok, I should include a third, Steve's family church, the Apostolic Christians. I've gotten to know that culture fairly well from many visits and personal interactions. 

Even with knowledge of three, I realized there were multitudes of people in the US worshiping the Christian God, relating to Jesus, in ways I had no experience with or understanding of. How do they worship? What are their priorities? I set myself a project, on a very limited scale, to find out. I decided to visit a different kind of congregation once a month to see what goes on. My purpose is not to evaluate or pass judgement, but only to observe. Of course, my perceptions are colored by beliefs and past experiences.

These are all posted with March 2022 dates, but they were written over the past year and a half. The dates of attendance, starting mid-Covid, are posted in the articles.

~Wesley United Methodist, UIUC 
~First Mennonite, Urbana
~Episcopalian Chapel of St John, UIUC
~City on a Hill Church of Christ, Peoria

~Christian Missionary Alliance, Champaign
~Living Stones Church, Kona, Hawaii
~Church of Christ Scientist, Champaign
~Greek Orthodox, Champaign
~Unitarian Universalist, Urbana
~Church of the Brethren, Urbana
~Apostolic Christian, Washington, IL
~St Thomas Catholic, Philo, IL
~Champaign Church of the Nazarene

~Eastside Church, nondenominational 

Seeing Specialist----not

 SHORT VERSION 

Except for three hours, Steve and I enjoyed our two days in St. Louis.  Unfortunately, we were not able to accomplish the purpose of the trip:  appointment with an osteoporosis specialist.  Someone overlooked the fact that the Washington University's Center for Advanced Medicine has no contract with our particular Medicare plan.  I had made the appointment, received mail from them, filled out their paperwork, and signed up for a MyChart as requested.  In all this, no one noticed a problem until about four hours before the scheduled time.  The call came while Steve and I were hiking the lovely Laumeier Sculpture Park.  Back at the hotel, I spent the next three hours on the phone—much of it on hold—with WU medical's accounting and our insurance.  Nonetheless, they canceled my much-anticipated appointment.  In hope, Steve and I went to the Center, at the correct time, anyway.  Everyone was kind and sympathetic, but we did not get in.  So we went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens instead.  Beauty and wonder.

 

 

LONGER VERSION

Yesterday, the long-anticipated, osteoporosis-specialist-appointment day, did not turn out as expected.  We were expecting to get a lot more information about my situation to help me figure out how to respond.  But I was prevented from seeing Dr. M. for the valuable info.

On the way to St. Louis Tuesday morning we stopped and climbed Monk's Mound, biggest of the 80 at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.  When it started to rain, we had crackers and cheese in the car overlooking a wetland of egrets.  In the afternoon we wandered the St. Louis Art Museum.  After dinner at Frailey's Grill, we settled into our hotel room and watched Life of Pi.

Wednesday morning we walked the grounds of the Laumeier Sculpture Park—fascinating and fun.  Unfortunately, after about an hour, there was a cell call from Ran, the cheerful young man who had made my appointment two months ago.  Bad news, he said.  Some problem with insurance.  He asked me to send my card and I told him I'd already posted it on the MyChart site, but would send again in an hour or so when we got back to my laptop.  We finished our tour with Ran's assurance that he would figure it out and all would be well.

But it wasn't.  Back in the hotel, I spent the next three hours on the phone with Ran his supervisor, and four different agents from our Medicare Advantage group.  During long stretches on hold, we packed up, checked out and moved from our room to the hotel lobby and then to the waiting room of the specialist at the Center for Advanced Medicine.  Arriving there I was told my appointment had been canceled.  Ay-yi-yiee.  

Clinical Office Supervisor, Jay, did come out to explain the situation.  Last fall when Steve retired we signed up for a Medicare Advantage plan called WellCare.  We had heard that these added plans are sometimes hard to get things approved through.  In this case, WellCare actually did approve, but although Barnes accepts Medicare A&B, it "has no contract with" the additional plans.  

All well and good, but could someone not have figured this out and informed us before the day of my appointment???  I had received mail from Washington University's Center for Advanced Medicine, had filled out their paperwork, and had signed up for a MyChart with them as requested.  Apparently in all of that, no one noticed the issue.  Jay told us that the appointment never should have been made.  Someone in the "pre-arrival team" overlooked that key bit of information.

Jay told us that both she and Dr M were upset about this.  (I had mailed Dr M an introductory letter last week.)  Jay gave us her personal line number and said that if we change insurance, I should contact her first, before making another appointment. 

So, Steve and I left to be wow'd by the Missouri Botanical Garden instead.  The garden did not disappoint!

Setback #2

 Doggonit!  Rats!  Phooie!  Forgive my swearing, but I've done it again:  pushed myself* to another setback.  I was getting comfortable with recovery from setback #1, pretty much back to where I was pre-March 25.  I was noticing how easily I could move and how many things I could do again.  Yea!  So, how did I respond to this progress?  By pushing to get stronger.  That's the way it works with the human body, right?  Use it or lose it.  No pain, no gain.  Add a little to what you can do today, so that you can do more tomorrow.

On Tuesday I worked through PT assignments with no problem.  I balanced on the wobble pillow for 80 seconds with each leg.  I did sit-to-stands ten at a time. I did a few gentle lifts in the Roman chair.  I did the McGill 3.  I put my pants on while standing.  I worked in the yard.  I sat cross-legged for a while.  All of this was possible Tuesday. 

Wednesday morning movement seemed a little harder, but I pressed through.  I did a little more vigorous dance and more weeding besides the PT.  Steve and I took about a mile walk at suppertime.  I could tell things were not great with the leg as we walked, but I thought maybe it would loosen up.  It did not.  Apparently I had gone too far.  By the time we got back home, I needed to lie down, flat back, for an hour, my right leg achy sore and tight.  Later, going up the stairs had to be done left leg first for each step.  Sigh.

Steve suggested ibuprofen.  Ah.  For once I didn't hesitate.  Hopefully every eight hours for two days would restore normal—my new normal.

Thursday I skipped the PT work and had the sense to downgrade a walking date to a Zoom date.  But, I also spent several hours on my feet in the kitchen cooking for us and for neighbors with a new baby. 

By evening, the ibuprofen didn't seem to be doing much.  Watched a silly Diane Keaton video for distraction, but was aware of pain throughout and couldn't get comfortable.  Bedtime was the worst.  I had trouble getting my sox off and changing bottoms.  Only with slow struggle could I get into bed and settled.  No position was pain free.  I took a second ibuprofen 90 minutes after the previous one (9:30 & 11 p.m.) and moved to the guestroom with my magic-back-sleeper pillow.  Right leg complained seriously about having to bear any weight at all. 

By God's mercy, finally I slept and felt much better Friday.  But I’m on pins and needles.  Which of my activities caused the setback?  How do I balance working hard to recover with not overworking and hurting myself again?  Where is that line?!?  I don't like having to be constantly careful.  Show me where the line is and I won't cross it! 

*Or did it just happen without my pushing?  Who knows?

Setback

 I was getting used to the life change that happened on January 5, 2021, when a second one caught me by surprise March 24, 25, 26.

I had been recovering well from the ice crash, until then when I wasn't.  What caused the horrible, painful setback of those days?  Friday morning I was fine, picking up worms from the wet driveway and dropping them into the garden; by afternoon I could hardly move my recovering leg which hurt all the way down through the calf with no position that didn't make me want to cry.  What was happening?  I had been faithfully doing the exercises assigned by my excellent physical therapists.  Did I overdo?  Could it have been the eleven weeks of favoring my left side?  Compensating.  Worse thought:  had something gone wrong with the spike holding my femur together?

It was a horrible, awful, no-good afternoon of pain—and what-on-earth-is-going-on-in-my-hip?!?!? anxiety.  Finally I got a nurse on the phone who told me to take ibuprofen.  So I took that and then one of the leftover pain meds from the hospital stay.  In an hour or so I got myself back.  It was scary how much it had hurt and how much my movement was still restricted.  Had I lost the gains of those weeks of PT?  What was wrong?  The directive to take it easy all weekend was painful too because I wanted to go out for a walk so much.  :-[

X-ray first thing Monday morning showed the hip was fine.  Praise God!  Huge relief.  But then what's the cause of this setback?  My osteo surgeon's nurse practitioner said it was likely coming from lower back.  She told me to take an ibuprofen three times a day for two weeks and then to see the osteo doc again.  

So, that's where I am now.  Taking 200 mg of ibuprofen (a year expired) about every eight hours and actually feeling pretty good.  (I had never realized that ibuprofen had an actual benefit besides inhibiting pain.  Good to know.)  I have started doing some of the physical therapy exercises again, ever so gently, with no negative results.  And I’m out walking again, maybe up to about half the distance I was before.  Great relief!

Marking the spot

Yipee!  Clearance to put full weight on my right leg converged last week with the temps rise above freezing.  This, of course, meant going outside--finally--to walk.  Steve accompanied me and I had either my grandfather's 200-year-old cane (just a guess) or a hiking pole.  We started with up and down the street and increased each day.  After successfully enjoying a walk on the Peoria riverfront with Ellen, Kyle, and zooming roller-blading boys yesterday, I decided that today was time to go back to the the lake--where IT happened.  Sidewalks were all clear of ice, but plenty of slippery goose poop remains.  Careful.

About halfway around is where I had fallen on January 5.  We stopped there.  This is the spot, right?  We noticed a mud patch where water from yards had drained across the sidewalk.  Yep.  That would explain the sneaky hidden ice although the route had been dry up to that point.  I remembered lying there and looking around to see if help was at hand; Steve remembered finally finding me and carrying me to the car—with the aid of the helpful guy who came by walking his dog. 

Then a spot of color caught my eye—yellow and orange.  I took a couple steps closer and bent for a look.  My mask!  There in the mud was the mask I had apparently been wearing that day.  I recognized it as mine:  handmade from a yellow t-shirt and potholder loops.  It had been perfectly marking the accident spot for eight weeks.  After all, who picks up an unknown person's mask from the ground during a pandemic?  It may have been sniffed by a dog or two though.