Dear Members and Friends
This past Sunday, I knew that we would be reminded during worship the importance of the Faith Formation program to the Congregation. Listening to the testimony of four graduating seniors and seeing 20 children and youth gather up front at the end of the service was deeply touching.
On Sunday, we were also reminded, as we often are during the sharing of joys and sorrows, that we are here for one another when one among us struggles. I was grateful for the courageous, brief sharing of Naree Viner (her photo is below). Naree shared how she was diagnosed a year ago with Stage 4 kidney disease. While her health has been stable the last six months, she needs a healthy kidney to extend her life. In the wake of her sharing, I perceived a palpable sense of sacredness come over those of us gathered, an experience of shared struggle holding the truth that we are all in this together.
I am grateful for Naree’s willingness to share her struggle with us and she would like our community to know more about her journey—and the process of donating a kidney. Naree is on the transplant list at Yale but the waitlist in Connecticut for a deceased donor kidney averages up to seven years. Her best bet is to find a living donor. To find one, Naree and her husband Michael are reaching out to their various networks.
Naree invites our congregation to visit her CaringBridge site, for more about her story and other information about the transplant process.
I share her hope that as she shares with her various networks, the word will spread and potential donors will explore this possibility of being a donor. Because the highest priority is to ensure any living donor’s health is preserved above all, the screening process begins with a series of phone calls. Lots of questions are asked to assess any risks before doing bloodwork or testing. To learn more about the donor evaluation process, please contact Yale New Haven Transplantation Center at 866-925-3897 or visit ynhh.org/organdonation.
Naree says, “Also, even if a potential donor is not compatible with me, if they are willing to donate to another person in need of a kidney who has a living donor who does match me, there is an option called ‘Paired Kidney Exchange'” Click HERE to read how that works.
She says, “As you could imagine, this has been a long and at times difficult journey and it’s not over. If you would like to connect, it would be most comfortable for me if you would please initially do so by sending a message via my CaringBridge site or through Rev. Jim Francek. Thank you in advance for your time, consideration, and good thoughts.”
As our congregation holds in our hearts Naree and all those among us who struggle with health challenges, I am grateful to serve you as a pastor. It has been a great privilege to companion your congregation through the past nine months. This Sunday we gather for a worship service entitled “Don’t Let Go of the Thread,” and then we gather for the Annual Meeting.
May we come together this Sunday recognizing that ultimately we are all in this together. As a faith community, we are called to respond to finer angels of our nature. We naturally have a range of perspectives and hopes and dreams. We are nourished in multiple ways, and may we remember that this congregation is a faith community holds us all.
Warmly,
Alan
Naree Viner and family
from Singing the Living Tradition:
We need one another when we, mourn and would be comforted.
We need one another when we are in trouble and afraid.
We need one another when we are in despair, in temptation, and need to be recalled to our best selves again.
We need one another when we would accomplish some great purpose, and cannot do it alone.
We need one another in the hour of success, when we look for someone to share our triumphs.
We need one another in the hour of defeat, when with encouragement we might endure, and stand again.
We need on another when we come to die, and would have gentle hands prepare us for the journey.
All our lives, we are in need, and others are in need of us.
—George Odell
