Birdflu Mailing List: FUS's Caring Circle & prep for pandemic

[William Weir (weirwilliam]

How can members of a UU congregation best reach out to help one another in 
sickness and grief?
Especially when a flu pandemic comes?

Here are some thoughts from the head of the Caring Circle at First Unitarian 
Society of Minneapolis (FUS)
which I hope will be helpful to other congregations. 

Bill Weir of FUS Committee on Emergency Preparedness (initially focused on Bird 
Flu)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Thue Rasmussen<mailto:trasmus [at] core.com> 
To: weirwilliam [at] msn.com<mailto:weirwilliam [at] msn.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 12:30 AM
Subject: Avian Flu


Hi, Bill
   Re what I said about Caring Circle's position on our participation in 
readiness for the pandemic:

Currently the number of congregation members active in our committee in 
is the range of 10-12 individuals.  

We are very interested in augmenting the number of persons active in fulfilling 
the role that we have - of being an adjunct to the minister, 
of providing outreach in the form of visits, phone calls, sending cards, 
providing some transportation, etc., and 
in helping to reinforce the conviction that 
ours is a caring and compassionate congregation that is mindful of - 
and responsive - to the particular needs of congregants 
at times of loss and other types of life challenges.

We are eager to get more people to sign on, 
to make at least a provisional commitment, 
an expression of willingness to respond when notified that 
we face the need for assistance of the type described - 
and of types that we haven't yet encountered, such as may be required
in case the pandemic really arrives in our locale.  

While the types of support that we usually offer are not particularly 
specialized, 
we would benefit from arranging for some specialized training if/when we have 
an 
influx of participants in preparation for a pandemic.  

As you mentioned, Bill, some of this training would pertain to self-care for 
how to 
accomplish aiding some of the ill ones without jeopardizing one's own health 
unduly.

Carry on.  Thanks for your efforts.      
Thue R.