PHNA will re open on April 12th.

Wishing you a Blessed Easter from the team .

Kew, Victoria, Australia – AFCNA Conference
April 7-9, 2010.  “Promoting Mental Health” conference sponsored by Australian Faith Community Nurses Association.  To encourage and equip pastoral carers, pastors/priests and health professionals, faith community nurses and any person interested in the church’s response to the care of people living in our community with health issues and particularly mental health needs.  Download the registration form or find out more about the speakers.  Visit the AFCNA website for additional information.

The Geelong PHNA centre will clos on Dec 18th 2009 and reopen on January 11th 2010.

Holiday opening hours will be Mon, Tues, Wed Closed ,Thurs,Fr 10.00am – 12.30pm.

Do call in and sample our range of Pastoral reources or browse our lending library.

Delgates from 3 states attended our annual conference and traing days November and 5 new Pastoral Nurses received their badges from Training coordinator JoVeta Wescott visiting from Wichita , Kansas.

Two other guest presenters from the USA presented papers at the events and all were inspired by their educational offerings.

A  wonderful Pastoral healthcare network centre opened its doors in Geelong west on October 19th.

The centre has been in operation 3 days per week and is fully staffed by volunteers.

We have had a steady stream of people access our services and many very positive comments in our Visitors book.

The PHNA 2009 Pastoral Course & Conference registration forms can be obtained from info@phna.org.au

Due to unforseen circumstances, the Geelong PHNA  network will not open for appointments until Thursday October 15th. Looking forward to seeing you then.

80 Thank you’s

Early in 2009 my dear mother received news of a terminal bowel cancer. Her instruction to her 8 children and their families was “This journey does not need to be serious”. At 85 years of age and legally blind these were words of great courage.

The next six months were filled with gatherings of our clan, sometimes in small groups, sometimes in numbers too large for her little home, hospital room and eventually her nursing home. There was much joy along the way.

Mum had palliative surgery during Holy Week. A visit from Leonie Rastas from PHNA on Easter Sunday was to deliver a special gift of a Prayer Shawl and a Pocket Heart. My mother was always reluctant to discuss her ill-health. We were surprised at the ease with which she accepted the Prayer Shawl and the “little heart” with the message that it carried. She squeezed it regularly and would allow her children and grand-children to hold and squeeze it when they visited.

After the surgery and almost three weeks in hospital Mum became very frail. Her body was wasting and her weight loss extreme. She was always cold to touch. One day she asked for the Prayer Shawl to be placed around her. She kept saying that it felt ’surprisingly’ comforting. It was light in weight and wrapped her well. One day the shawl disappeared. It had inadvertently been taken off to the laundry. Mum was upset. I rang to tell Leonie and her reply was “Ask Mum what colour she would like her next shawl to be”. 2 days later her chosen pink and yet another shawl in pink and mauve arrived. Mum loved her shawls. She must have asked 50 times to be sure to say “thank you” to you all and a special thank you to Anne Rowan.

Some of Mum’s dying days were very difficult and very long. Many people visited. When she died on September 4th everyone knew about the Prayer Shawl and the Little Heart.

As we gathered to proceed into St Mary’s Cathedral for Mum’s Requiem Mass each of the 80 family members carried a “little coloured heart”. We were connected as one by the little hearts. They beautifully symbolised Mum’s love of sewing and cloth. We are so grateful to Mrs Geraldine Day for the hand=made, blanket-stitched, felt hearts. I will always remember Mum holding her little heart and wrapped in the soft pink shawl. She knew she was wrapped in prayer.

Mum’s last words to me were “God is good”. God’s goodness is revealed through the good works of His People. Thank you for being the people of God. Your ministries are very special.

Please be very sure that you and the work of PHNA are in our family prayer. Thank you once again.

God’s abundant blessings.

The PHNA office will open its Geelong office in Geelong West, on Monday October 5th 2009. Watch this space for more details.

Leonie Rastas , Pastoral Nurse Coordinator and Australian Delegate to the World Forum for Parish Nurses will travel to St Louis Missouri on September 24th to attend the 23rd Annual Westburg Symposiun “Opening Doors to Wholeness’. She will also attend the World Forum Dinner on the eve of the Conference, joining hundreds of other Pastoral Nurses from around the world.