Welcome to the United Church of Sun City 

Greetings from your Parish Nurse…

I love to read the Psalms! You may already know that about me. To me, the Psalms give  me words to read and feel no matter what I am experiencing. They have reminders of God’s goodness, calls to praise Him, but the Psalms also has a lot of whining in it!

I read Psalm 42 the other day, and it starts out great talking about how “hungry” I am for the Lord and how I long for Him day and night. That sounds really spiritual and makes me feel like the author is in a good space. But the next verses – 3 and 4 – are nothing but whining! “I have only tears for food,” “my enemies are taunting me,” and “my heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be.”

You get the picture! I’ve been there! Maybe you have too! Those days when nothing seems right! When I have no control over what is happening to me or to those I love! When I must sit and watch the suffering of others because there is nothing I can do to make it better! I just want things how they used to be – when I could walk without the fear of falling and when I had purpose and strength. For goodness’ sake, I might settle for being able to get out of a chair without groaning a bit!

I want to go back sometimes – when I had “the answer” to all life’s problems and was willing to share it with everyone – whether they wanted it or not! But then verse 5 hits the stage! “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again.”

To me, this is self-talk at its best! It’s asking the tough questions – Why am I whining? Why am I afraid? Why am I upset? And the answer is to put our hope in God and praise Him! Does it take away the situation – no! But does it give me a reality check and peace – YES!

What kind of self-talk do you indulge in? Is it all the regrets you have – “if only” I had done this or that.” “If only they had been different.” “If only…” Or are you more of a “blamer?” “They never should have done it like that!” “I can’t believe he/she did that to me!” “Who did this and what were you thinking?”

Do you worry about the “what ifs?” “What if he/she does this! Then I’ll…” “What if I can’t stay in my home?” “What if the stock market crumbles?” “What if this war spreads?” “What if my situation gets worse?” Or are you caught in putting yourself down? “I know I’m not good enough.” “Of course I was treated badly because I deserved it.” “I’m not smart/strong/pretty/lovable…”

We all get caught up in the self-talk. So what do we do about it? The first thing to do is to recognize it. If you don’t recognize it in yourself, ask a trusted friend or family member help you to see what you are going over and over in your mind. 

Then break the cycle! Sounds easy doesn’t it? But the truth is it takes hard work to change some of our thought patterns. But turning our thoughts to gratefulness to God and others, praising God and others, and looking for the little ways during the day that God gives you something beautiful help. Something beautiful may be a majestic view, or a hummingbird, or a smile. It may be something you hear – the laughter of a child, a songbird, the wind in
the trees, or a special song. Maybe God will even give you something to laugh about! That’s a special gift!

Whatever it is, practice focusing on the new thoughts. You can also ask yourself the question from Psalm 42:5 “Why am I so discouraged?” and then go on to say “I will” put my hope in God. It takes a choice and a commitment to change our negative thinking but you can do it with practice.

Spoiler alert: The author of Psalm 42 did go back to whining in verses 9 and 10! But ended the whole Psalm with verse 11 which is a repeat of verse 4 – the more positive self-talk. No, we won’t get it right every time. We may fall back into bad thought habits. But by recognizing it and breaking the cycle, we can change with God’s help from the inside out!

Lisa Dunbar, Parish Nurse

Dispelling Some of the Information About the COVID-19 Vaccine

As a Parish Nurse, the pandemic of COVID-19 has certainly brought many challenges in focusing on the health of our congregation. Currently, the challenge is to help our congregation members to understand, to make an educated decision, and to receive the vaccination.

I have found that the first hurdle is in educating our congregation. I have been able to put short articles in the church newsletter, and to send an all-church email that gave information about the vaccine. It focused on dispelling some of the misinformation being disseminated on the web. For instance:

Concerns have been expressed about the vaccine being developed so quickly. Is it safe?
Although we don’t have years of research, the companies developing the vaccines tested it on the usual number of people that they have tested before with any new drug or vaccine. The difference in the timing is because much of the governmental bureaucracy that slows down the process after the test is finished was mitigated. The testing itself was still completed in a manner similar to other vaccines. As with any new treatment, vaccine or drug, there are potential side effects, but for the vast majority of recipients, the benefit far outweighs the risk.

I have heard about people reacting to the vaccine and becoming very ill, or even dying. Is this true? 
As with anything that we put into our body, we run a risk of being allergic to a substance in the medication or vaccine. At times, this may be a severe reaction called anaphylactic shock. In this case, the allergy may cause the body to swell tissues especially of the neck and trachea that may result in shortness of breath, a racing heart, and at its worse, a cardiac arrest. This is the reason that any recipient of the vaccine is required to remain at the site for 30 minutes after the injection as this is the time period where an anaphylactic reaction would take place. Each site is equipped with medical personnel and supplies to deal with this type of allergic reaction.

This happens very, very rarely. The current numbers are 11 reactions like this in 1 million recipients. These reactions may also occur after an influenza vaccination injection at a slightly lower rate. Although very serious for the 11, the 999,989 other recipients had no serious problems. A recipient of the vaccine may commonly have minor symptoms – a sore arm, muscle or joint pain, a low grade fever – similar to symptoms following other vaccinations. These are from an inflammatory response our body produces after a foreign substance has been introduced and usually only lasts 24-48 hours.

I have heard this vaccine may change my DNA. Is that true?
There is nothing in the vaccine to change our DNA. This vaccine is a new technology. In the past, vaccinations have carried in them a weakened amount of virus, which immediately stimulated our bodies to make antibodies to fight off the infection, The new Covid 19 vaccine has no weakened virus in it. Instead, it carries a message to our RNA to watch for an identifying factor on the virus – in this case a “spike” on the virus body. When our body recognizes that factor, it then begins very rapidly producing antibodies to fight the virus.

So a recipient may in fact “have the virus” for a short time before the antibodies are produced. It fights the virus before serious symptoms develop so one does not become ill. But it does raise the question of whether someone who has been vaccinated may still “spread” the virus even though they may have no symptoms. Studies continue to focus on this question. This is why even after vaccination, we may be required to wear masks in public places where social distancing is not possible.

Are fetal cells used in the production of the vaccine?
Fetal cell lines from fetuses in the 1960s and 1970s continue to be used in much of the early testing of many of our vaccines and other drugs. These tissues are registered and reported as the testing takes place. But no recent fetal tissue has been used in developing the Moderna or Pfizer Vaccinations. Other vaccines, notably the one from Johnson and Johnson, do continue to use more recently harvested fetal tissue in their development. There may be other companies as well.

After educating our congregation, the next step has been to identify those who are most vulnerable and require help in registering for the vaccination.

I began to make phone calls on those over 75, and those with chronic illnesses. Many had family or friends who were working with them to register for an appointment and who were willing to transport them to the appointment.

However, some of our congregants did not have access to a computer or were not able to complete the process on their own. I was able to assist them over the phone, at times registering them as my “family members” (after all, we are a church family!). I also helped to arrange transportation for those needing assistance.

Finally, I have continued to follow up with those registering – reminding them to take their ID and insurance card, walking them through the process at the sites, and informing them of the possibility of minor discomfort after that could be treated with Tylenol. I also continue to remind everyone to continue their social distancing precautions, handwashing, and wearing a mask.

Some in our congregation have chosen to wait to receive the vaccine. Some because of concern of long-term effects of the vaccine, others wish to wait for the vaccines with only 1 injection. I continue to share information with them, and to support them as they continue to follow the social distancing precautions and choose to remain limited in their social activities.