By Marcia (Marcy) Schnorr, EdD, RN-BC CLM-Parish Nurse at St. Paul Rochelle, Treasurer and Education Chairperson- NID Parish Nurse Network
In early 2005, Marcia Schnorr received an invitation from Dr. John Eckrich, an LCMS physician from St. Louis inviting her to participate on an assessment team under the umbrella of Wheat Ridge Ministries and Bright Stars of Bethlehem. Marcia was serving as parish nurse or St. Paul Lutheran Church (Rochelle, IL and coordinator for parish nursing in the LCMS. Rev. Dr.Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church and president of Dyar Consortium in Bethlehem had identified a need for a ministry to the older adults.
Mandatory retirements, lack of social security, no insurance available, and limited health care make life challenging for the older adult. In addition, it is the cultural norm for adult children to provide care for their aging parents. Due to high unemployment and sociopolitical concerns many young people emigrate after they graduate from college.
Parish nursing was unknown in Bethlehem, but Rev. Raheb was interested in how this vocation might be able to address the needs of many—beginning with the elderly. Marcia knew she had to accept the invitation. The up close and personal visit only made her more certain of this call—and her response. The separation wall between Israel and Bethlehem and nearby communities is 28 feet high meanders through the countryside often separating Palestinian farmers from their olive groves (and their livelihood). The separation wall makes travel difficult—if not impossible—for Bethlehemites wanting to travel to Jerusalem (about 3 miles away) for medical care, employment opportunities, or family visits. One Bible verse that she frequently use in her visits is Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor lie, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else [emphasis mine] in all creation, will be able to separate [emphasis mine]us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The people she met during this visit openly shared their Christian witness to one another. Marcia was touched by how faithful and hopeful (if only for the future) the people were in spite of being separated by a wall.
Christmas Lutheran Church did not have a nurse at the time of her visit, but it was not long before Rev. Mitri Raheb had identified a Christian nurse who was interested in becoming their parish nurse—but there were none in the Middle East so educational opportunities needed to be developed. LCMS Health Ministry approved Marcia’s proposal to develop a distance learning course in collaboration with Concordia University Wisconsin. The NID Parish Nurse Network “adopted” Raeda Mansour and she completed a month long internship at St. Paul (Rochelle) and Cross (Yorkville) and numerous short visits to other congregations. The NID Parish Nurse Network funds a biannual trip for Raeda to participate in the annual Concordia Conference for Parish Nurses at CUW and other brief visits within the district.
The original group of fourteen seniors from Christmas Lutheran Church has grown to several hundred Christian seniors in and around Bethlehem being served by this program. In addition, outreach activities are provided to others throughout other communities within the West Bank.
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