In the fast-changing conditions of our daily lives as we move through this new landscape due to the Coronavirus, Cottage Grove Rev. Karen Hill admitted she’s feeling a little overwhelmed.
“This is a time when many people are feeling grief and have deep needs, said Rev. Hill, pastor at the First Presbytertian Church in Cottage Grove. “With the orders that are in place to protect us, it limits my ability to be there personally for comfort and prayer.”
She said a church member recently passed away, another member is in hospice, and she has not been able to visit the sick in hospitals.
“One of our congregants was recovering from surgery, and was having a difficult time at first,” Rev. Hill said. “Not only was I not allowed to visit, but his wife was asked to leave, that being very hard for her.”
But on the bright side, the patient’s friend stepped up with the creativity and humor that often arises in time of crisis. He contacted his friend’s nurse to find out where his room was at Riverbend and showed up with a lawn chair and two beers.
“He set up in the grass and gave his friend a call,” she said. “ They had a good visit via cell phone and binoculars. His friend asked him to mark his room so that he could come back to visit again. So the patient had a nurse put a big ‘X’ on the window with tape. While the patient couldn’t join him for a cold one, his spirits were really buoyed by his friend’s concern and actions.”
