Carers' Week 2009
To mark Carers' Week, Penrallt is holding a special service on Sunday morning June 14th at 10:30am in which we will acknowledge and give thanks for the dedication and sacrifice of those millions of people in the UK who care for someone with disability or illness. Most of us will probably be a carer at some point in our lives so it is good to recognise its importance and affirm those who publicly do it. In the service we will not ask the carers to stand up, come to the front or identify themselves publicly, but we will thank God for you, pray for you and look together at the example and ministry of Jesus, the supreme carer. The service will be lively, informal and friendly.
You are very welcome to join us and invite anyone you know who is a carer.
This is what our minister wrote in Penrallt's monthly news letter for June:
Thousands of walking boots are tramping over our mountains. Millions of grains of sand are being flicked into the air by feet skipping along our beaches. Yachts are tacking, golf balls are slicing, kayaks are paddling, rods are casting, ropes are belaying and shutters are clicking. Fish is frying, cones are melting, scones are crumbling, soft drinks are bubbling. But not everyone is out having a good time. Some are staring out of the window with envy.
Mops are swishing, pens are scrawling, keyboards are clicking, trowels are cementing, stethoscopes are listening, phones are ringing, tills are calculating, factories are humming, voices are chattering, and they're thinking how good it would be if they were out there enjoying themselves. But some are staring out their windows, envious of those at work.
They haven't been at work for years. They can't go for a stroll whenever the sun shines. They can't even weed the flowerbeds in the garden without making sure the front door is locked, and they're within earshot of the house. And they feel forgotten. They feel undervalued. They feel alone. And, sometimes, to be honest, they feel, bitter. They are the carers.
They don't want to be patronized. They don't want you to tell them how to solve their problems. They don't want to know the address of the nursing home your aunty went to live in fifteen years ago. They have no desire to be told they should make more of an effort to get out. They can do without you telling them how you could never cope as well as they do. Truth is, some days they don't feel they cope at all.
They won't tell you that some evenings they sit down and cry. They won't tell you that they snap and throw things across the kitchen. They won't tell you that they punch their pillow in anger. They won't tell you that there are days they shout at God that it's all so unfair. They never signed up for this before they came into the world.
They do want to be treated as human beings. They do want to be spoken to as adults. As equals. They don't want you to look down on them, or look up to them. Just look them in the eye. They want to know that God values them and has their welfare at heart. They crave assurance that despite their sense of frustration they really are handling the situation as well as possible in an imperfect world. Just being remembered would be nice. Oh, that would feel so nice . . .
Penrallt acknowledges the millions of carers in the UK, and to mark the end of Carers Week, our Open Sunday service on June 14th will be centred around them and their ministry. We affirm them, we respect them, we pray for them.
