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Light & Love Ministries Team
"We welcome you to this New Year edition of the Light & Love Ministries newsletter. We hope you find value in its content and we welcome your feedback."
In Light & Love,
Rev. Lei Lanni & Jerry Burt |
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A Brand New Year!
Happy New Year! May this New Year bring you all your heart desires! The weeks after the Christmas and New Year's holidays are always an interesting time. For many they are spent cleaning up from the Holiday rush and busyness of shopping, cooking, decorating, entertaining and constant "doing." For others these first few weeks of the year may signify a time to slow down, rest, and contemplate - to take an inventory of the previous year's activities and to do some forward planning. How about you? How are you spending your time right now? I invite you to be consciously aware of how you are starting out this New Year and what you are creating.
Are you ready for a new beginning? And are you willing to dig in a discover what you would like to have happen in your life this year? What would you like to accomplish? What good would you like to attract and what particular areas of growth do you desire? What would you like to attain, where do you long to go, and what types of relationships do you want to attract to yourself?
All really good questions, aren't they? Breathe...Iinvite you take out a sheet of paper and write down the answers as an affirmation to you, your life, and your ability to choose. Then let it go! Let it go, let it go, let it go.... This is a brand new year, a time of making new choices, a time to let go of what is no longer serving you, open the space, and allow in new ways of being. This New Year stands before you, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written and you are your own author. Each one of us gets to choose! As Myrtle Fillmore says in her writings from How to Let God Help You, "The restrictions of yesterday have no power to overshadow our lives today, when we realize that we are in the eternal now. Let us begin our day with newness of thought and courage. Let us at the beginning of the new year throw the doors of our hearts and homes open to the new."
Dear friends, as you open the space for new beginnings, let the words from the Psalmist be your mantra, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)
In Light and Love,
Rev. Lei Lanni Burt |
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Presenting our 2009 Training Schedule
 NOW is the time to infuse your program with new energy, train new leadership, or bring this powerful Prayer Chaplain Program to your ministry. The 2009 Training dates are as follows:
February 26-28, El Cajon, California
March 26-28, Charlotte, North Carolina
May 14-16, Boulder, Colorado
September 17-19, Palo Alto, California
October 15-17, Mahway, New Jersey
Early discounted registration rates available. For information and to register call
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Monthly Meetings - Part I
We often hear from Trainers in the field that they have trouble with attendance at their monthly meetings. Our first question is always - "What are you doing at your monthly meetings?" The expression from the movie Field of Dreams with Kevin Cosner really is true - "If you build it, they will come."
In other words, when your meetings are well-constructed, filled with inspiration and content, begin and end on time, and create a sacred space, your Prayer Chaplains will attend. Monthly meetings are considered on-going training and are a critical part of keeping your Prayer Chaplain program on track.
From our perspective, a most important component of the monthly meetings is prayer partnering. Creating time for your Prayer Chaplains to pray with one another deepens their practice of holding spiritual space and their relationship with eachother.
Please share with us ideas and activities that you have incoroprated into your monthly meetings so that we may share those ideas with other trainers. |
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Volunteer Recognition - Ideas from Trainers
Last month we asked for ideas on volunteer recognition and here's what we heard:
As an "appreciation gift'"to my prayer chaplains I reminded them that one of their committments was to take care of themselves. As a way of helping them do that I then presented them with a Unity cup filled with envelopes of flavored hot chocolate, various teas and afew Geradella chocolates all wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a big bright bow.
At our monthly meetings we always share what appreciation messages (emails, phone calls, letters) we may have received from congregants since our last meeting. We don't share the letters themselves so as not to breach confidentiality, but just sharing that we received these messages reinforces the important work the Prayer Chaplains are doing.
We put a living plant or fresh flowers in the wellness calling room with a note - "Thank you for your sacred service."
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Dollars and Cents!
 Upon a recent visit to the hospital to visit a friend, I noticed a volunteer escorting a patient in a wheel chair to her car. This volunteer was wearing a badge that stated that he had worked "3500 hours of volunteer time." I struck up a conversation with him - his name was George - and he proudly explained that those 3500 hours of his service along with his fellow volunteers equated to a savings to the hospital of $175,000 each year. George further explained that he received gift cards to local restaurants and constant "thank you's" from his supervisor for the time and energy that he gave in service. George is an extension of the hospital staff's hands and feet to further serve their patience just as your Prayer Chaplains extend the hands and feet of your minister in service to your congregation.
Have you taken the time to put pencil to paper to calculate the cost savings to your ministry that your Prayer Chaplains and you as a trainer give in the number of hours of service you perform each year. You will be amazed at the result. You and your Prayer Chaplains bring real value to your ministry both in a spiritual context as well as a financial one. Being able to quantify that value brings appreciation to the work that you do and helps make the case for additional resources that might be needed to carry on the Prayer Chaplain Program.
Don't be shy - be a strong advocate for your volunteer Prayer Chaplains and the value they bring to your ministry.
In loving service,
JB |
| Featured Products - New! Visit www.lightandloveministries.org and click on "Products" for a complete catalog. |
Affirmation Notecards
Utilizing the beautiful photos and affirmations from the prayer album, these notecards can be used to send to congregants, friends, and family. They would also make great gifts for your Prayer Chaplains.
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Prayer Chaplain Monthly Meetings and Agendas CD
This CD contains 11 months of customizable meeting agendas with in-service training and inspirational pieces aligned with the Prayer Chaplain Manual for your use in your ongoing Prayer Chaplain training. |
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New Prayer Album
Updated affirmations and beautiful photos will assist you in that 18 inch journey from your head to your heart! Organized by category, this prayer album will help you center yourself and pray with others during wellness calling and/or support you in your personal prayer life. | |
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We are here for you! Light and Love Ministries' team is available to support you and your Prayer Chaplain Program. We are just a phone call away to answer questions, troubleshoot, and support you with prayer. You are not alone. Call us at 602-843-8360 |
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In Light and Love,
Reverend Lei Lanni and Jerry Burt
Light and Love Ministries Team
Light and Love Ministries is a 501c(3) alternative ministry with the Association of Unity Churches International. We are supported through love offerings and tithes as well as our trainings, programs, and products.
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