PRAYER REQUESTS FROM DAVID@MONTREAL

David@Montreal Ore

beloved Giants:

the last 24 hours have been buzzing here with prayer requests.

 

remembering the joys and the challenges of living as the living Body of Christ i'm ask your prayers for:

 

young Nyland whose doctor and family are serious concerned about lymphatic swelling in the groin, this very young lad was born with immune defense issues which have kept his Mum and Dad hopping.

 

for E. a deeply cherished sister who is dealing with 'something not right in my body' and awaits an appointment with her doctor.

 

prayers for Thora C., a year shy of 90, who is having serious difficulty spiritually and medically, dealing with the increaed pain brought on by her deteriorating back.

 

for her grand-daughter Thea, less than a year old, with compromised kidneys, and Thea's young mum, Jennifer.

for Mark, recovering  from shoulder surgery.

 

for Doreen in her last months

for Jacques in his last months

 

for Prior Aldred, who last night received news of his mother's unexpected death.

for Beatrice, Aldred's Mum, that she may rest in peace and rise in glory.

 

for Rosemary:who recently celebrated her birthday, and who, tomorrow will be moving into a small, quite special longterm care facility.

for Jay, Rosemary's remarkable, generous  son

 

for Jon and Mary: with thanks for the news of his first day back on the job, after extensive an cancer hospitalization

for Marc

 

for all those living with loss: especially Susan

for those undergoing discernment: for a way forward and the means

 

for the people of St. Columba parish, Montreal. there church was closed last Sunday (Mam and i were present for the last service). their future is not yet discerned, and there is a lot of pain and confusion amoung the congregants.

 

for the people of Syria as they continue to pay such a horrendous cost for their liberation.

for the people of South Sudan

 

for young Montel and Aleisha, who continue to live in the toxic, chaotic environment of their father's addictions. for all those living with addiction, and those who love them.

 

thank-you my beloved Giants

 

love always-always Love

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

 

ABOUT THE VOTE IN NORTH CAROLINA

I'll let David@Montreal speak for me about the heartbreaking vote in North Carolina in favor of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

beloved Giants

this morning I'd ask for something equivalent to a group hug for all the folks we know and love in North Carolina.

these folks have been heroic in their witness; and in many cases their stand for justice, sanity and full inclusion has cost them- personally.

tired and discouraged perhaps, I urge them to take the time they need for self-care

but to also remember whatever the figures, they are so much further along the arc of history this morning than they were a week ago.

hearts have been changed, voices have found themselves speaking out and some incredible and unexpected allies have come forward.

but these folks are also our siblings in the Body of Christ, so I'd urge you to carry them in your hearts in the coming days. North Carolina is not over!

love always-always Love

Amen.

UPDATE: A statement from the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, the Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, following the passage of a constitutional amendment, called Amendment One. Find a transcript of this statement, and other related resources, online at the diocesan website.
 



H/T to Torey Lightcap at The Lead.

PLEASE PRAY...

From David@Montreal:

beloved Giants
grounds for gratitude: my dear Mam who will be 90 this November woke from a nap to incapacitating pain in her back, yesterday after getting back from Church.unable to get out of her chair, there was a phone within reach and she called one of my sisters who lives out in the burbs near her and who has a car.
taken to the hospital, turns out she has a fractured spine, has been given medication for the pain and is staying with one of my four sisters overnight.
at her age it could have been a lot worse, so i am profoundly grateful.

i will be going out tomorrow to spend the day with Mam and get a better idea of what we need to do to support her during her convalesence.
in the meantime, I would also beg your prayers for the people of Syria and most particularly for the people of Homs who are being bombarded mercilessly by the tyrant, 24/7
a Muslim friend asks that you ask not only that the people of Syria be delivered, but that the extreme violence which has been inflicted on the people of Syria become a teaching moment for the Islamic leadership.

thank-you my beloved Giants
love always-always Love

From me:

For members of my family who are going through a difficult time.

For positive results from medical tests for me. (Don't worry - nothing life-threatening.)

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Image at the head of post courtesy of Paul the BB.

PROTECTING THE 'DELICATE SENSIBILITIES'

Read David@Montreal's post at LGBT Vocations about his conversation with a friend in England. Here's a brief quote:

When V. called she was tears, having read a news story of the on-going antics in the British Synod over the proposed ‘protection’ of the delicate sensitivities of priests and parishes unable to accept the oversight of women bishops in the English Church.

‘Rowan is actually tying the English Church into a legislative straight-jacket to normalize misogyny within the Church.’

Sad but true. Read the rest of David's account of their heart-rending conversation, and pray for our brothers and sisters in the Church of England.

ON THE FEAST OF STEPHEN FROM DAVID@MONTREAL

A Blessed Feast of St. Stephen, beloved Giants of Faith & Practice

the following text (see below)just came across my desk and I couldn't help but pass it on
i would also ask your prayers for the people of northern Nigeria, where several churches were bombed on the feast of the Incarnation.
and for the people of Syria, as things threaten to get even more violent with the arrival of the investigators from the Arba League

love always- always Love

David@Montreal

Letter Written by Fra Giovanni

I am your friend and my love for you goes deep. There is nothing I can give you which you have not got, but there is much, very much, that, while I cannot give it, you can take.

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today. Take heaven!

No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant. Take peace!

The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach is joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see - and to see we have only to look. I beseech you to look!

Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by the covering, cast them away as ugly, or heavy or hard. Remove the covering and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom, with power.

Welcome it, grasp it, touch the angel's hand that brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty, believe me, that angel's hand is there, the gift is there, and the wonder of an overshadowing presence. Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys. They, too, conceal diviner gifts.

Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty - beneath its covering - that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven.

Courage, then, to claim it, that is all. But courage you have, and the knowledge that we are all pilgrims together, wending through unknown country, home.

And so, at this time, I greet you. Not quite as the world sends greetings, but with profound esteem and with the prayer that for you now and forever, the day breaks, and the shadows flee away.

This letter was written by Fra Giovanni Giocondo to his friend, Countess Allagia Aldobrandeschi on Christmas Eve, 1513.

Born in Venice, Giocondo would become a priest, a scholar, an architect and a teacher. He was indeed a true 'renaissance man.'

In 1496 Giocondo was invited to France by the King and made royal architect. If you've ever been to Paris and walked across the beautiful bridges Pont Notre-Dame or the Petit Pont -- both of these were designed by Giocondo.

Thank you, David, for passing on the beautiful letter from Fra Giovanni.

Please pray for the people of Nigeria, especially those in the North, where most of the violence is centered.

PRAYER

O God, you have bound the inhabitants of Nigeria together in a common life. Help all your people in the country to confront one another without hatred, bitterness, religious strife, or violence and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect to bring peace to their land. Amen.

PLEASE PRAY...

...for whiteycat:

Mimi, will you post a prayer request for me? I would be very grateful. I am under incredible stress right now and need all the prayers I can get!

I am in the midst of a serious household crisis that directly involves the cats and our entire home. We are desperately in need of prayers from the OCICBW community. I know this group has worked some miracles. Do I ever need one now!

Thank you so much.

Dot aka Whiteycat

...and for requests from David@Montreal:

L’Shanah Tova beloved Giants of prayer & practice

Wonderful news of Ann Bailey in California, her mother Isabel tells me Ann has one more chemotherapy treatment but is already back at work part time. Ann is the creator/director of www.startingarts.com a wonderful art education programme.

Prayers for Montreal Rabbi Ronnie Cahana who is praying/working/fighting his way out of ‘locked-in syndrome’ after suffering a very serious stroke. Incredibly, even when unable to speak the Rabbi was dictating his sermons by facial gestures, blinks and sounds-communicating in four languages. http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Montreal+rabbi+blinks+sermons+from+hospital/5473142/story.html

Prayers for your fellow giant Joel, who on top of all his other health issues is healing from a broken back which had gone undiagnosed for some days.

Prayers please for our dear Margaret as she and Joel live their way through discernment.

Prayers for our Barbi’s Mom who undergoes surgery October 4, at 11 a.m. (central time) for what is believed to be a malignant spot on her left lung.

Prayers also for our Barbi and her beloved Deb on the employment front. Within the past week they’ve both had interviews for really exciting jobs and await the outcome.

Prayers for Jacques’ ongoing recovery, though I hesitated to use that word. As you know Jacques has liver cancer and more than once in the last two years has been close to the point of death but you wouldn’t know it to look at him right now. Back to the home he and Marion share on the Gaspé coast, he’s working part time in construction again while continuing treatment

Prayers for a cherished brother who has less than four months to go before stepping down from an important and challenging responsibility.

Prayer please for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian Christian pastor who had three times already be hauled before a tribunal to renounce his Christian faith and who is threatened with the death penalty for his refusal to do so.

Prayers for the people of the middle east please: that the carnage will stop, that the tyrants be confounded: that the people of Syria, Dubai, Lybia, Saudi, Bahrain be given real cause for their praise of the living God and a brighter future to live into.
Thank-you beloved Giants
David@Montreal

PLEASE PRAY FOR FRANK AND FOR HIS FAMILY

From David@Montreal:

dearest Giants:
we've just had the call from Carol
my sweet, sweet cousin Frank Davies passed to the other side at 4 a.m. British Columbia time this morning.

at the time Carol and two of their three daughters were with my cherished cousin.
in her call Carol specifically asked me to thank all of you beloved Giants- to tell you, you couldn't possibly have any idea what a comfort and strength it has been throughout this long struggle, knowing so many of you were upholding them both in love and prayer.
likewise, every time i spoke with Frank over the course of these last years, he cited your prayers and those of dear Mam, as the only reason he'd been given so much time since the first diagnosis. more than one of the nurses in the Vancouver hospital heard about the 'incredible Giants' he had praying for him. (My emphasis)

talking with Mam, who is Frank's Godmother, she in typically celtic fashion recalled all of those who would be waiting for him, the other side of death- each of them memorable beings- the original giants in my life, growing up in a Welsh family here in Montreal.

so i'd commend dear Carol, their daughters Krysta, Kelly and Kerri, and their families to your prayers..

thank-you again my beloved Giants. i truly wish you could have known dear Frank, he was one of the sweetest, most positive of men who had such a appetite for Life.

love always- always Love

David@Montreal

Book of Common Prayer

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Frank. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.

Almighty God, Father of mercies and giver of comfort: Deal graciously, we pray, with all who mourn; that, casting all their care on you, they may know the consolation of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

My friends and prayer partners, we've prayed for Frank and Carol for quite some time, and you see from the portion of David's note which is in bold type that our prayers count for a great deal for those for whom we pray.

David, thank you for letting us know what our prayers meant to Frank and Carol and those who love them, even as we continue to pray.

DAVID@MONTREAL ASKS FOR PRAYERS

dear Giants
in the generosity of your gracious hearts i'd ask prayers this morning for my cherished cousin Frank, his wife Carol and their family
Frank was re-admitted to hospital this past week-end: barely able to walk, yet incredibly he walked from the car into the emerg..
at first it was believed he had c-difficile again, but it is something new going on, along with MAC, a fungal infection in the lungs.
Carol called Mam late yesterday & it would appear that after a rather extraordinary life my dear cousin might be living through his very last days.

prayers also for his latest grandchildren please, born less than a week ago: Katherine and Charlotte- both still in the icu: Charlotte with kidney and oxygen level issues.

prayers for the people of Syria who continue to be assaulted daily by the madman who claims leadership of their country. one for the international students who worked for me at the university is apparently still in the country with her parents.

prayers for President Obama (enough said)

and prayers please for the several Giants, each in their own way undergoing serious trails or discernment at this time ( you know who you are).

thank-you beloved Giants

David@Montreal

David, I'm so sorry to hear the news about Frank. He and Carol fought the good fight for quite a long time. And now to have the little ones in ICU. Prayers for the entire family.

For Frank:

May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

For Charlotte and Katherine:

Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd of the sheep, you gather the lambs in your arms and carry them in your bosom: We commend to your loving care these children, Katherine and Charlotte. Relieve their pain, guard them from all danger, restore to them your gifts of gladness and strength, and raise them up to a life of service to you. Hear us, we pray, for you dear Name’s sake. Amen.

For Carol and all who care for Frank:

Sanctify, O Lord, those whom you have called to care for Frank. Strengthen and comfort them by your life-giving Spirit, that by their ministries, Frank may be peaceful and without pain; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

FROM DAVID@MONTREAL

beloved Giants

as corny as it may sound,
sitting here, having given heart-felt thanks for the life, ministry, and brave articulate example of our Kirstin

i'm very mindful of what an extraordinary circle of grace and faithful lives we've all been a part of in accompanying our treasured friend

our loose, loving interconnectedness via the internet, which has been a source of grace/love/prayers/strength and support to so many over the years, and the incredible network which grew to surround our Kirstin-

'by their fruits' Scripture tells us- and i can't help but feel that what the Holy Spirit works/worked through this blessed interconnectedness says something of how/where our Church is called to grow.

so this morning, i'm deeply, profoundly grateful for each one of you - remembered by name, with gratitude and love

I am sending out one great Montreal hug- a group hug, in dear Kirstin's honour as we hold the memory of her, her life and example close to our hearts

and strive to live Life even more intentionally, more......... unconditionally present in our slow waltz with Ruach, all to G-d's greater glory.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Group hug))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

thank-you my beloved Giants

love always-always Love

David@Montreal

Thank you, cher David. You made me cry, but that's okay. I've been teary throughout the day anyway.

Love to you.

FROM DAVID@MONTREAL

dearest Giants of prayer and practice

before anything else, I'd beg your prayers/practice/love for our cherished Kirstin Paisley as she continues on her sacred path. prayers also for Andee, Kirstin's primary caregiver. our cherished sister magaret has the latest from Andee at http://leaveitlay.blogspot.com/

i'd encourage your ongoing prayer for Ann Bally in California. an began 18 week of chemo therapy today: six courses of treatment every three weeks. i'd commend Ann's primary caregivers her sister Jane, husband Dave, and Jane and Ann's parents Isabel and Bob here in Montreal.

Bob continues to experience serious reduced mobility and vision issues.

Margerie also stands in need of your prayerful support and she continues to live with treatments for aggressive cancer and livelihood challenges.

finally i'd ask traveling mercies for Prince William and Kate who arrived in Canada to huge crowds. unfortunately the indépenditistes in Quebec have threatened to disrupt their visits to Montréal and Québec on July 2 and 3, so prayers for personal safety please. tomorrow is not only Canada Day, but would have been the 50th anniversary of Prince William`s mother, Princess Dianna. William and Diana will join the nation on Parliament Hill for national celebrations tomorrow (and yes there will be pictures in an e-mail for a certain beloved sister who got up in the middle of the night for their wedding.)

thank-you beloved Giants and Blessed Canada Day, Blessed July Fourth

Lord, hear our prayers.

PRAYER REQUEST FROM DAVID@MONTREAL

dear beloved Giants:

before anything else, I'd ask for your ongoing prayers for our cherished sister Kirsten. as you can read in a post on Kirsten's blog by her primary caregiver Andee Barefoot and Laughing. there are now concrete needs in addition to our prayers which are required, and any of you- extraordinary beings that you are- who know of any possible resources..... well you know what to do.

i'd also ask for traveling mercies for our cherished margaret. margaret is about to take a sabbatical month away from her parish in Virginia to visit the Great Leonardo (another radiant Episcopalian, an awesomely talented artist and articulate gay man) living a life of real grace in Guatemala.

traveling mercies this week-end for Christopher also please

i'd ask your prayers please for the repose of my very dear friend and former colleague Louyse, and for the comfort of her family. shortly after my project and employment were cut for financial reasons at the university, Louyse underwent major brain surgery, to remove a large tumor, and essentially since then she has been living with the challenging outcome. a truly beautiful soul of amazing integrity and generosity, Louyse had both the courage and grace to embrace and to live beyond the woundedness of her past and loved nothing more than to invest in the future of her students.

So, beloved giants, you know what to do.

PRAYER REQUESTS FROM DAVID@MONTREAL

From David@Montreal:

beloved Giants
Christos anesti! Alethos anesti!
Risen indeed!

as early as it may be in the Easter season, it's one which already seems to be bringing prayer requests and personal stories into my life on every side, so of course i thought and gave thanks for each one of you- individually, once again mindful of the great blessing of being able to share the trust these individuals have placed in us to carry them in our hearts and uphold them in prayer and practice.

for F, a young man who within the last 24 was grieviously assaulted and raped. D was discovered by one of ours- an awesome priest who was in the ER for another one of ours, when F heard them talking and called through the curtain, asking if one of them might be priest. my dear sister writes of finding F 'totally undone, physically and spiritually.'

for Kirstin and the ongoing Good Friday she is living with multiple cancers at Barefoot and Laughing (By Mimi: Kirstin posted again just this morning.)

for dear Joel, who has been hospitalized yet again in Virginia, and for his beloved, my cherished sister margaret

for my cherished cousin Frank, who spent this Easter bed-bound and breathing-compromised, but in great spirits nonetheless when he phoned Mam Easter afternoon

for Jacques, who continues to make incredible recovery from a pancreatic cancer which was 'supposed' to have killed him last December

for Scott M. and his mother- Scott is only 19 and is terrfied and staggering under a bi-polar diagnosis just last week.

for Timothy S, one of God's walking wounded and challenged, and his Mom

for a cherised sister called to priesthood who appear to be experiencing a mother of a dark night

for David H, a pastor, currently finding himself in exile from his denomination

for Doreen G. walking the path of alzheimers and about to celebrate another birthday

travel mercies for a truly beloved brother, Paul, with Bill in Italy this Eastertide

for Anne undergoing cancer and her sister Jane, both in CA; and their parents Bob and Isobel here in Montreal

for Daniella,

for the repose of Mary P, and her family

for the repose of dear Rosemary; for David her husband and two sons experiencing their first Easter without their incredible mom

for the people of Syria and Lybia- not only for the overthrow of their tyrants and the healing of Lybian and Syrian life, but that the leaders in the West will have the grace and wisdom to know that something transformatively larger is going on within Islam and that the West can aid and support but not take control if Islam is to truly grow up.

having just caught up with the blogs of several of my online siblings in Christ I'm also calling down blessings on m, J, B, J, E&B, M& P, G& M, P&B, F&M, E&D, J&T, J&+M and would urge you all to give yourself a real treat and visit Elizabeth's blog for the story of the bubblegum Easter Egg. One day Ms. Conroy and I will actually meet, and I swear Montreal will never be the same by the time the two of us have finished with it!

thank-you again my beloved Giants of prayer and practice. as one beloved sister reminded me today, 'we know God, is good Easter is longer than Lent!'

love always-always Love

David

Prayers from me for all, David.

PLEASE PRAY...

From David@Montreal Ore

beloved Giants

i'd ask your prayers please for my cherished cousin Frank out in Brittish Columbia struggling with the effects of his long fight with lukemia.

dear Mam received a call from Carol this afternoon, and in the process also got to speak to Frank for a very short while.

able to control the spread of the fungus in his lungs, but unable to beat it with his immune system so seriously compromised by the most recent gene therapy transfer, they have sent him home from the hospital. not fully mobile, my cousin is a robust fellow and Carol is going to have to get help for handling him.apparently he spends much of the time sleeping at present.

as he is still intubated there will be medical staff going in daily to maintain it, and Frank will be returning to the hospital weekly for as long as he is able.

so i'd ask your prayers for both Frank and Carol, knowing that through the unfailing grace of that 'Love beyond our wildest imagining' they will be given what they need.

i'd also ask your prayer for dear Mam, his godmother, who at eighty-nine is finding it challenging, the possibility that her beloved godson/nephew could be dying before her.

in other quarters, i'd ask your prayers for the people of Tunisia, Egypt and Sanaa; that they indeed are able to claim that 'life more abundantly'. prayers particularly please for our Coptic brothers and sisters in Egypt- for their protection and safety. prayers please for the repose of David Kato, the gay Ugandan martyr, and for our LGBT brothers and sisters at risk wherever they might be.

prayers for the Great +Katherine and her brother primates in Dublin. prayers for Gabby and Mark and for all those struggling to heal in Tucson.

thank-you beloveds

love always-always Love

Lord, hear our prayers.

PLEASE PRAY...

From David@Montreal:

beloved Giants

I've just had news that Paul has brought Mark home from the hospital after early morning surgery on the damaged eye. (retina torn twice since Christmas Eve and immobility of the head since then). Mark as you might remember is one of America's finest poets with what's got to be close to a dozen books published. Paul, his spouse is a excellent writer with two volumes (one novel, the other essays) published, and the two of them are both gifted, generous teachers and beautifully thoughtful men. I'd ask your prayers for both men please. Mark is in quite a bit of pain this evening, and it will be sometime before the outcome of the surgery is known.

Prayers for Frank and Carol as they continue their daily treck to and from the hospital to beat what for Frank is a life-threatening fungus in his lungs.

Prayers or healing, strength and energetic restoration for dear Paul the BB, who underwent serious sinus surgery at the beginning of the week. Thankfully Paul is at home recovering; but here too the outcome of the surgery is still to be determined.

Prayers for the people of Haiti, as they continue to suffer while waiting for their government to 'get real'.

thank-you Beloved Giants

love always-always Love

David@Montreal

And for Paul the BB's continuing recovery:

This morning [yesterday] I shaved for the first time since Saturday. That felt good. I have managed to remove the "nose bag" as blood has mostly stopped draining. I am taking pain pills but I am not hurting. I breathe more easily each day. Kathy and Bill both came by to see me. I watered my back yard (some of the bulbs are sticking up their little noses already). Bill helped me do some January organizing, since I am not allowed to lift or bend over. I got about seven hours of decent sleep last night (interrupted by three hours of wakefulness in the wee hours). This is huge progress and gives me hope for catching up on rest. Michal Anne and Gail sent me a cookie basket (can't eat flowers, ya know) and the palliative and restorative effects of therapeutic cookies is well known. Tonight I will finish up the lovely chicken soup Bruce made.

And pray for healing for Cathy, who was ill again yesterday and had to miss work - again. She said she was going to work today, no matter what.

PLEASE PRAY FOR FRANK AND CAROL

From David@Montreal

cherished Giants:

I've just had a call from Carol, the heroic wife of my very dear cousin Frank who, as you'll remember has been putting up a heroic fight against lukemia and the compications it brings.

unfortunately Frank and Carol have had a pretty horrendous holiday season. the original plan to admit him before Christmas was abandoned when the hospital found themselves with some pretty serious viral outbreaks and Frank was sent home for his own protection. since then, they've been treating him daily as an outpatient with Carol having to drive to and from Whitrock BC to Vancouver each day and eight hours in the hospital, seven on seven.

in addition to the rapidly depleting white blood cell/platlets, the primary foe of the moment is an aspergillis fungal infection in his lungs.
with no spleen and a non-existent immuse system as his body still recovers from his second genetic transplant on Sept 22, the hospital is throwing everything they have at the fungus without success so far.

with a two hour drive each way, eight hours in the hospital each day, a recent fall by Frank and a nurse who inappropriately suggested it might be time for them to give up, Carol was really quite raw when she phoned,but before she had to go we were able to discuss getting some psycho-pastoral support for her and some practical help at home. working my computer while we spoke I even managed to find a Roman Catholic priest in hospital chaplaincy who it turns she knows slightly and she has promised to contact him for resources.

unable in my own financially precarious state to call her back, my heart knows that more than a call from me what my cousins need are prayers, and I couldn't ask for better than you my beloved Giants of prayer & practice

David

For Frank:

May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

For Carol:

O merciful Father, look with compassion upon your servant, Carol, for whom our prayers are offered. Remember her, O Lord, in mercy, nourish her soul with patience, comfort her with a sense of your goodness, lift up your countenance upon her, and give her peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.