Orange For Luke
Orange For Luke
Greetings AUMC, the Richardson, North Dallas and online community,
When people join as members of a United Methodist congregation, two covenants are made. First, the one joining enters into a covenant to support the local church through their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. At the same time, the congregation enters into a covenant to support the individual and their family, to surround them as Christian community and offer love and grace through the mountaintop seasons of celebration and the deep valley seasons of grief. At AUMC, I know we hold this covenant sacred, and I write this letter to offer an important way for us to express this covenant in the coming weeks.
The Childs family--Beth, Derek, Luke (6), and Jacob (3)--have called AUMC "home" for many years. In November of 2020, Luke was admitted to Children's Medical Center after being diagnosed with leukemia. For the next few months he received chemo treatments in anticipation of a bone marrow transplant, which he received in March. Then, in late June, Luke's doctors discovered the cancer had returned, and Luke began another round of chemo. I'm heartbroken to report that late last week, we learned that the cancer is not responding to the chemo, and no further treatment is planned.
Luke is now at home, so that he can enjoy a few weeks with his family before receiving end-of-life care at the hospital. Beth and Derek, with the help of family and friends, have planned to make memories with Luke featuring his favorite things, including a personal plane flight, a supercar joy ride, and getting knighted at Medieval Times!
The members of AUMC have offered exceptional care for the Childs during this past year; you've prayed, delivered meals, called, texted, sent cards, delivered more meals, helped care for Jacob, and lent a listening ear to Beth and Derek. I want to call your attention to a few ways you can offer support (in addition to prayer) for Luke, Beth, Derek, and Jacob during this time:
Orange Bows on Our Trees: Luke's favorite color is orange, so we are tying orange bows to our trees as a sign of love and prayer. You can use a plastic orange table cloth cut into strips as a weatherproof ribbon; we have strips available at the church office if you'd like to pick one (or more) up. Take a picture of your tree and send to judy@arapahoumc.org.
Donate to Help Make Luke's Memories: If you would like to offer financial support to the Childs family as they go above and beyond in making memories, you can give directly to Beth on Venmo at @beth-childs, or you can reach out to family friend Kasey Cummings at kasey.cummings@arapahoumc.org with any questions.
Deliver a Meal: Meals are still welcome and needed! You can find their Meal Train at mealtrain.com/trains/m69qw6.
Learn about Providing Support in Crisis: Beth had shared the following article earlier this year, and it is an excellent resource in understanding what it feels like to be the one receiving care and support, and how we can best show our love in the days, weeks, and months to come. You can read the article here: How to Help: Supporting Someone in Crisis.
Beth and Derek asked me to say how much they appreciate all the love and support, and while they cannot respond to every message they receive, they are grateful beyond measure. If you have any questions about how to support them at this time, you can reach out to me or Kasey Cummings (kasey.cummings@arapahoumc.org).
Thank you for being a church of radical generosity and abundant care. Let's continue to live into the covenant community that God has called us to be, looking to Christ as the one who understands the deep pain that so often accompanies deep love. May we always choose the tears, the fears, the anger, the grief, the long nights of worry, all of it, every time, because the love we share is worth it. For a love real enough and deep enough that it hurts, let us ever be thankful.
We belong to each other, my friends.
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Scott Gilliland