14 November 2012
[Please distribute this email 'everywhere' and *please* do so with the
above date intact.]
Every sentence I write falls short. I will, therefore, try to be as
brief as possible, since all attempted eloquence fails:
The Rev. Dan Chambers was joyfully serving the Lord at this time last
year, shepherding the Lambs and Sheep of Christ as the Holy Spirit had
set him in place to do. After Christmas, he went to Texas to visit
family.
Had he not ended up in the hospital, that would seem like a very
ordinary story about a pastor.
Had he, perhaps, broken his leg or had a heart attack and some
bypasses, it would seem pretty normal.
Instead, Pr. Chambers ended up in the hospital ALL YEAR. For a good
portion of it, he was minimally responsive. TO THIS DAY, he cannot
stand on his own or walk AT ALL.
The parish he served no longer waits for him; he was 'let go' for
being unable to perform his duties. Needless to say, with his
inability to walk at this point, neither Calls nor other employment
will be immediately forthcoming.
His experience with Concordia Health Plan/Blue Cross—Blue Shield has
been less than exemplary: they have threatened to kick him out of
rehab several times, since he was not progressing 'fast enough'. Now,
there is a hard and fast date of 17 December 2012 fixed when he will
have exceeded all the physical therapy his insurance will cover. Will
that be enough time for him to be able to walk and go home? Only our
Lord knows. What if he needs another week or two? What if ten more
days would make the difference between recovering and not recovering?
The doctors fully expect him to regain this ability, but it's a matter
of when?
At the same time, when will he be able to work again? Again, how will
his family's needs be met in the mean time?
The Augustana Ministerium has disbursed well over $100,000 of funds
during its short existence to help pastors in need…but we don't have
the sort of resources necessary to make Pr. Chambers any promises. For
that reason, we come imploring all of you for help. If you consider it
a good thing to help this pastor who will be cast out of his hospital
the week before Christmas whether he can walk or not, much less work
or not, we wish to provide you the means for doing so. And PLEASE
NOTE: none of us from The Augustana Ministerium get a salary, etc.,
for doing this and there will be NO administrative fees (other than,
perhaps, a stamp to send Pr. Chambers a check…and that will come out
of our regular account, not out of your gift; if you donate by credit
card, of course, the bank will take its fee…but whatever comes into
our account goes directly and ONLY to the aiding of pastors).
Here's how it works:
1) If you use PayPal, send a donation to [email protected] and
include a memo that it is for Pr. Chambers.
2) If you want to use a debit or credit card, go to http://augustanaministerium.org
and click on a 'Donate' button. This will take you to a PayPal page,
where they will offer to set up a PayPal account, etc., but you don't
have to do so: just enter your card info on their secure site, make
sure a memo is there saying it is for Pr. Chambers, and you're all set.
3) To send a check, put "Pr. Chambers" in the memo line, "TAM" in the
pay to line, and send it to:
The Augustana Ministerium
c/o The Rev. Gregory J. Schultz, Bursar
721 Payne Avenue
North Tonawanda, NY 14120
A COUPLE OF THINGS TO CONSIDER
1) Now would also be a great time to make a general contribution to
the work of the Ministerium and to add it to your congregation's
budget for 2013.
2) Pastor Chambers's expenses for therapy alone are over $200 per day.
That being the case, we would like to provide him with at least
another month's worth of rehab and a gift for other expenses by the
time his insurance runs out. Even if our Lord were to grant him to
walk on 16 December, it would be a gift well-given: a year in the
hospital is expensive even if the hospitalization part were paid for
in full. If we are blessed to send him a check next month, we will
report to you what the next month's needs look like, as well.
Thank you for your consideration of this request and for your prayers
and any other aid you are able to provide this pastor and his family!
[Please distribute this email 'everywhere' and *please* do so with the
above date intact.]
Rev. Eric J. Stefanski
Dean of Communications, The Augustana Ministerium
hattp://augustanaministerium.org
Holy Trinity Evangelical-Lutheran Church (UAC)
P.O. Box 2612
Harrison, Arkansas 72602-2612
http://HolyTrinityLC.com
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