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elderly residents pose wearing medals, around Dinora Negrete, the staff member who started the "walk to Kansas" challenge.

We “Walked” to Kansas!

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Dinora Negrete, Assistant Activities Director at Sierra View Homes Retirement Community, noticed a problem. Sierra View Homes has a well-equipped Wellness Center, complete with indoor pool and machines that assist exercise at all fitness levels, however she noticed that fewer residents were using it than really should. Remaining active as we age is critical, but what could she do to incentivize residents to come work out?

She ended up coming up with a fun and creative way that has made a permanent impact in the lives of multiple residents!

“I wanted residents to come to the Wellness Center, but I wanted (them) to have a motivation, so I started asking them, ‘If you had to choose a place, where would you like to go?’” They chose Kansas because multiple residents have ties to the Mennonite community there. And the “Walk to Kansas” competition was born!

18 residents set out on their ‘journey’ logging their miles. Many visited the Wellness Center to use elliptical machines, bikes, and treadmills. Others logged their steps walking together around the Sierra View Homes campus. Over three months, a friendly competition broke out among the top walkers as they strove to beat each others’ miles. On June 16, when they finally made it, they had a party and gave out medals for the top achievers! The neatest thing? Since then, many have kept walking. They had created a walking habit that stuck!elderly residents pose wearing medals, around Dinora Negrete, the staff member who started the "walk to Kansas" challenge.

 

 

“They have

become stronger –

that’s what the

purpose was!”

– Dinora

The Benefits of Living in a Retirement Community

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We live in a time where we have begun to really understand the true value of our social connections. As we age, our connections with each other are what keep us strong and resilient. 

For this reason, more than any other, many retiring Baby Boomers are choosing to live in retirement communities. This simply means that they are choosing to live near other retired people who are close to their same age with similar interests. Living with peers offers friendship, companionship and a sense of community where you are looking out for each other. 

Retirement communities are full of folks in the same age demographic, yet the age variance may be up to 35 years. Most retirement communities enjoy a level of peace and quiet that cannot be found in the general community.

They also have events and activities that can vary to the degree that it caters to all individuals and provides opportunities for socialization. People have become traveling companions and created friendships who can share a cup of coffee and fellowship.  

After devoting years to work and family, many seniors have a desire to experience traveling, deepening relationships or simply enjoy doing the things that interest them. There is a sense of freedom when you leave on a trip knowing the staff and friends of the retirement community are watching your place.  

For many people, becoming a resident of a retirement community is a wonderful thing because many of the worries and burdens of life are gone. You do not have to worry about who will water the lawn or what if the water heater springs a leak. The chores of keeping up a house and the need to keep up with the yard are things of the past.

Shopping can be done independently or with the group that choose to take the facility bus for the weekly shopping trip. The ability to know what your rent will be and what your extra payments are help with budgeting for the future. Also, ancillary services are available to keep people living independently as long as possible.  

“My senior apartment at Sierra View is the best of both worlds,” said Joann. “I have friendship, community, and resources like meal delivery and grocery shopping services when I need them. However, I also have the freedom to go shopping myself when I feel comfortable doing so, and the ability to just jump in the car and go when I need to get out of the house! I feel so sorry for my friends who are stuck in their homes with no one looking out for them and no community resources to draw upon. Moving to Sierra View was the best choice I’ve ever made.”  

Another Garden Apartment resident agreed, “One of the best decisions in my life was coming to live at Sierra View Homes Retirement Community. On the day I arrived and moved into my apartment, I was welcomed by many of my neighbors. One of my neighbors even brought over some cupcakes to enjoy with my coffee. My doorbell rang quite often during that first week. Though I didn’t know them, they’ve since become good friends. It’s so nice to know that I’ll always have someone to talk to, someone who notices when I’m away, and always someone who will help when it is needed. The whole staff has been so friendly, available and courteous. And, there are so many opportunities here for those of us who enjoy volunteering. It’s the best place to live as a retiree.”

Chaplain’s Corner: The Sorrow of God

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“It is said of God that no one can behold his face and live. I always thought this meant that no one could see his splendor and live. A friend said perhaps it means that no one could see his sorrow and live. Or perhaps his sorrow is his splendor.”

This quote by Nicholas Wolterstorff has come back to me as news reports have come out of Israel, each overwhelming and unimaginable in their horror. Images of mourning parents and dust-covered crying children. A fragile peace decimated in a matter of days in one of the most significant holy places on earth. So many innocent lives changed forever on account of the violent actions of a few. How can this happen? Where is God in this?

“How long O Lord?” This is not a new question. It appears often in scripture, most often on the lips of the psalmists and prophets. It is a question born out of an expectation that the Creator of all things is both compassionate and powerful to act in response.

A fully satisfying answer to this question may need to wait until we meet our Creator face to face. Yet we cling to the conviction that God does indeed care, and that God grieves and that God acts.

We come to understand the compassion, love and yes, sorrow of God, through the life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, who wept at the death of his friend Lazarus and again over the city of Jerusalem and the destruction it would soon face. God, through Jesus, entered our suffering, and stands with us in solidarity with our grief.

Yet, to stop there, is to fall short of the calling Jesus set forth for us: to bring about a foretaste of the Kingdom of God, on earth as it is in heaven. This Jesus, who followed love all the way to a cross, forbidding Peter to take up a sword in his defense, is the Jesus we follow today. Let us cry out for peace, with our words as well as our actions, trusting that the God who mourns with us and over us, also works through us to bring peace and wholeness to all corners of the earth.

Image of a field with the words "God Speaks" floated over it.

Chaplain’s Corner: God Speaks

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Our Sierra View Bible Study has recently started a study of the book of Hebrews. It is a book that is rarely studied in its entirety. Perhaps this is because it is so dense, with so many references to other Old Testament texts. Perhaps it is because we know so little about its author or intended audience. Or perhaps it is because after the Gospels and Paul’s letters, our attention starts to wane a bit.

The first four verses of Hebrews waste no time beginning with royal fanfare. In the original Hebrew, those four verses are one long sentence, beginning with an affirmation that God speaks. We know God, not because we have puzzled out clues in God’s absence but because God has spoken and continues to speak, most profoundly through the coming of Jesus.

According to Craig Koester,

God “speaks” by sending his Son to share in
human blood, flesh, and death, and by exalting
the Son to glory so that he might be a source
of salvation for others.

We have experienced glimpses of the divine (or heard stories of such things,) through voices, events, visions, dreams, stories, prophets etc. Yet God revealed in the human form of Jesus, who lived and walked among us, taking on all of the body’s weaknesses and limitations, experiencing suffering, rejection, and despite it all, transformation is a revelation of an active God, a God who speaks.

Blessed are the Seekers

Chaplain’s Corner: Blessed are the Seekers

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Nothing feels better than being certain about something. In our day-to-day lives we are always looking for “clear cut” and “sure things.” It makes sense then that we would seek the same things in our spiritual lives. To our chagrin, certainty is elusive in the realm of the spiritual. Sometimes our pursuit of certainty gets us into trouble. We use it as a measure of achievement, either feeling guilty about not reaching a certain level of it, or feeling judgmental over those with reservations or doubts.

There were certainly people in Jesus’ day who were certain about their faith, but those weren’t the ones Jesus called to walk alongside him. The disciples were all over the place, sometimes boldly confessing Jesus as Lord, and other times denying him. Peter didn’t believe he could walk on water with Jesus right in front of him. Thomas needed to put his hands where the nails were just to believe Jesus had resurrected. Not prime examples of certainty!

What did seem to be a quality shared by the disciples was their desire in seeking the face of God. Certainty can be a ruthless way to measure faith, one that keeps track of our failures. However, to measure our faith by our desire to seek the face of God does not keep track of our failures,

but how we respond to them. The church is for seekers, open to all who seek the face of God, in spite of the doubts, uncertainties and failures that are a part of life. Let us persist in this journey of life with all of it’s ups and downs, acknowledging our imperfection, yet persistent in seeking the author and perfecter of our faith.

Flipping the Script

Chaplain’s Corner: Flipping the Script

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For one week every July I leave my chaplain/pastor routine in the Valley for an entirely different experience: Camp Director for our 3rd-12th graders at Camp Keola, situated at 7500 feet at Huntington Lake. In addition to swimming, singing and s’mores, it was a week of fellowship and faith formation shaped around the theme of: “Flipping the Script.”

Jesus was not the Messiah the world was anticipating. He was frustratingly non-compliant with the expectations of the world, which values strength over vulnerability, ambition over compassion, accumulation over generosity and the comfort of the individual over the flourishing of the community. Jesus flipped the script on every one of these expectations.

It is too easy in our world of modern comforts to just go with the flow and live a life that blends in with the world around us. Yet we are pulled towards Jesus, aware that we are called to more and asking God what that might look like for us today.

The call is going to look different for everybody, yet camp is a great place to discover it. For a week, the script of our daily lives was flipped. We reflected in nature instead of bustling about in the city. The expectations of school and work were exchanged for a week of play and meditation. We did everything together without the distraction of our electronics. And by the week’s end this intense intentional living together bore fruit through deep friendship and the kinds of mutual vulnerability and support that can only come from a week of giving up the comforts and convenience the world offers.

I pray that you take some time this summer to get out of your routine and flip your script, even if it isn’t camp, even if it is just for a day or two. May the words and ways of Jesus continually disrupt your norms so you may shine, distinct from the world around you.

An URGENT Letter from Sierra View’s CEO

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Dear Sierra View Homes Family,
We are writing to inform you of a critical need for our residents. The double-digit inflation of food, medical supplies and equipment is driving up the cost of caring for residents, and many of our senior residents with fixed incomes are struggling to purchase basic necessities like food and medication while paying their rent.

Sierra View Homes is a not-for-profit ministry. Since our founding in 1960, our mission has always been to provide an affordable place for seniors to receive love and care. While we make sound financial decisions for our organization, all of our decisions are made with our God-honoring mission in mind.

Over the years we have intentionally chosen not to increase rents to market rates – this would have left many of our seniors homeless – and we have maintained an endowment fund to help cover the costs for residents who could not afford rent in our Independent Apartments and Assisted Living.

However, recent dramatic inflation is making even our moderate rent unmanageable for many more residents than usual. To make matters worse, our endowment fund is in a very conservative Everence account – it is not growing as quickly as it did before.

In the past year, we have had to dip into principle in order to accommodate the many seniors in need of assistance. This is an unsustainable path – if we can’t build the endowment back up, we won’t be able to help seniors in need in the future.

We are reaching out to you for help! Would you help us rebuild this fund so that we can provide financial assistance for future needy residents?

Today for #GivingTuesday, as you consider giving to charities, please consider Sierra View Homes as the recipient of your gift. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and your gift will be a direct investment in the well-being of your senior friends and neighbors.

Thank you for stepping up to help!
Roberta (Ro) Linscheid, CEO

P.S. For your convenience, you can now make your contribution online using debit, credit card, or PayPal.

 

Chaplain’s Corner: Beauty in Suffering

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When we experience hardship and tribulation in life our tendency is to immediately question things. Question what we might have done wrong to deserve such hardship, question how a good God could allow us to experience such tribulation in the first place, question whether the universe bends towards darkness and not towards light.

Questions like these, of course, assume that our well-being is a priority over all else in the universe. It is not unreasonable that we think like this. After all, Psalm 8 tells us that we are “made a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honor” (v5). But then again, the first three verses of the Psalm are spent contemplating just how small we are when one looks at the whole scope of creation.

One of the mysteries of the universe seems to be that beauty is so often baked into sacrifice and hardship. In a recent article titled ‘The Beauty and the Sacrifice’, Pastor Jeryl Hollinger reflects that it is beauty that sustains the world and yet sometimes beauty consumes beauty. We see it all the time in nature. One animal kills another in order to feed its young. We thin out healthy carrots so the others may grow bigger. We pick flowers to make a beautiful centerpiece knowing that clipping them means their inevitable death.

Hollinger writes that this is not a problem to be fixed but “a reality to be faced and a truth to be remembered, a challenge to gain perspective…the heart of all spirituality is to see the beauty of life and rejoice in it, to serve it and sacrifice for it, to know its pain and feel its cost. Life, in all its forms, is never to be taken for granted.”

This paradox of beauty and suffering flows throughout our Gospels. Jesus walks the road less-traveled, loving, healing and creating community on the margins of society, knowing that the scandal it would create would cost him everything, including his life. It is the tragedy of all tragedies, and yet, out of his life was born the church, as well as a deeper revelation of what true beauty and true love can look like.

Jesus told his disciples once: “unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single kernel; but if it dies it produces a great harvest” (John 12:24). We need not look for suffering in this world, but when it encounters us, may we have the grace to let our kernels fall where they may, thinking always of the blessing of beauty that God’s transformation can bring forth.
– Caley Ortman, Chaplain

Chaplain’s Corner: Now What?

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Acts 1 tells us that for 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and spoke about the Kingdom of God. It is hard to fathom the relief and joy the disciples experienced, after presuming him forever dead to them.

And yet, that feeling of comfort and security was short-lived. Jesus’ time on earth was done and the disciples would have to again return to the question that dominated in their minds: “Now what?”

We all go through “Now what?” phases of our lives. For years or perhaps even decades we can coast on the comfort of routine and normalcy. Everything in its right place, just the way we like it.

Then something shifts. The loss of a job or a loved one. A dear friend or mentor moving away. A trauma that fundamentally changes the way we see the world. And we too, turn our gaze heavenward and ask: “now what?”

Facing Jesus’ imminent departure, the disciples had a list of questions they needed answered, times and dates set in stone. But Jesus’ primary concern was not that of the disciples.

“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority,” he says. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8).

When the storms of change rage around us, may we cling to each other as the disciples eventually learned to do. May we open ourselves to the Spirit of God which accompanies us even when we feel it not. And when answers evade us, may we be content to stand witness to the simple yet profound love of the Kingdom until the answers are made clear in God’s time.
– Caley Ortman, Chaplain

Chaplain’s Corner: Advent – Actively Waiting

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I love the hymn ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel.’ It is a haunting tune that reminds us to stay and sit a while in the tension of advent before the celebration of the arrival of the Christ child.

Advent (Latin for ‘coming’) is commemorated the four weeks before Christmas. It is a good reminder that God’s people spent years and years longing and waiting for a Messiah as they lived under oppressive empires, sometimes exiled from their homeland. The first words of the hymn cry out:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

It is no surprise that we want to skip to the good parts (before the Thanksgiving turkey is off the table it seems!) but what might we learn by joining Israel in that time of anticipation and longing?

Advent is essentially a time of waiting, but it is not passive waiting, it is active waiting. Waiting that builds a holy longing. It is a waiting that is also a time of preparation for the coming Good News.

Just like the Israelites ate the bitter herbs of Passover with their shoes on their feet and their staff in their hand (Exodus 12:11), we too should use this month of December to prepare our hearts and minds, not just for the coming of Christ, but also for the challenge of the life and calling that Jesus would call us to partake in.
– Caley Ortman, Sierra View Homes Chaplain