Hymn Stories – December 2022
This month’s hymn is a Christmas classic from the 19th century. Written by Father Joseph Mohr and composed by Franz Gruber, the story of “Stille Nacht” features a broken down organ on Christmas Eve, a poem, and the lofty desire to write the perfect Christmas song!
Click to listen.
Menno Place Team: Dreaming of a White Christmas
You’re invited to a Come & Go Turkey Feast on December 8th & 9th! Click for more details.
Passing Quilt Lead – Are you interested in leading this ceremony?
Passing Quilt Ceremony Lead Training
CLICK HERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TRAINING TO BE A PASSING QUILT LEAD
The passing quilt ceremony is one where we honour and dignify a resident who has passed by carefully draping their body with a lovingly handmade quilt as they are moved from their room to the funeral transport van.
This compassionate long-standing practice provides honour to the decease and comfort to the loved-ones, family members, residents and staff at an especially vulnerable and raw time of grief and loss.
The Passing Quilt Ceremony can serve as an important ritual that helps the family, residents and staff to say good-bye.
We are opening up the leadership of this Passing Quilt Ceremony to staff who are interested in ensuring that all residents are given this honour and dignity when they pass away. The quilts have been lovingly hand-made and are custom-sized to cover the entire gurney.
Our chaplains are eager to build teams of staff who can be called upon to provide this passing quilt ceremony if they are unable to do so. This opportunity is available for staff from any discipline who are given recommendation and flexibility in their work schedule by their supervisor. We are hoping to have 3-4 people sign up from each unit or apartment building. If there are more, that will be an incredible blessing.
Although the passing quilt ceremony is a simple ceremony to lead with clear written instructions, it is profoundly impactful as we say good-bye to our precious residents. Training by the chaplains will be provided.
Mhatma Ghandi is quoted as saying, “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treat its most vulnerable members”. How much more true is this for a campus of care where we say good-bye to 160 vulnerable elders each year.
If you value this ceremony and this sparks an interest in you to step into leadership in this area, please take a look at the video that shows how to do a passing quilt ceremony and fill out the application to be a Passing Quilt Lead in the area where you work – CLICK HERE
Volume 2022.27 Winter Weather Advisory
Volume 2022.27 Winter Weather Advisory
We wish to advise you of an upcoming shift in weather with risk of low-elevation snow for the Lower Mainland.
Details:
- Timespan: Sunday, November 27th to Saturday, Dec 3rd
- Cold temperatures. Temperatures will be 5 to 20 degrees colder than normal and will begin to drop Sunday, with the coldest days expected late in the week
- Gradual warming is expected to begin by next weekend (Dec 3-4, 2022)
- Widespread snow possible throughout the week with forecasts of 5-20 cm of accumulation Tuesday/Wednesday
Potential impacts for consideration
- Changing weather conditions may impact regular commutes and transportation corridors
- Staff may be impacted in their travel to and from work sites
- Blowing snow and accumulating snow on roads may make travel challenging
- Power outages are possible from moderate to strong gusty winds, or infrastructure damage from ground instability
- Menno Place may be directly impacted and will prepare for power failures
Potential actions to take
- Arrange alternative transportation, such as car pooling, if uncomfortable with driving in these conditions.
- Sign up for weather alerts through Alertable, WeatherCAN, and AlertMe
- Make sure on-call leadership is aware and knows how to report any impacts
- Maintenance is working hard to keep our campus clear of snow and ice.
- Take precautions when walking/driving and wear proper footward.
Sincerely,
Jeanette Lee
Director, Human Resources
Menno Place
