Love Notes

Hopefully with a smile.  Always with love. Dear Friends: In the last edition of this newsletter, I shared a story about my Dad and some of the lessons he shared with us.  The story struck a chord with many of you, so I hope you will indulge me with another. As my Dad aged, he increasingly needed help with work around the house.  Because he was so kind, he always preceded the request with “I hate to ask, but…”. “I hate to ask, but could you rototill my garden?  I hate to ask, but will you move the swing off the porch? I hate to ask, but will you please trim my hedge?” Fortunately, between my brother and sisters, our families, and the neighbor, most everything was done.  Inevitably, just as the initial task was completed, he’d say “I hate to ask, but before you sit down, could you do one more thing...”   That too would get done.  Usually with a smile.  Always with  love. That cadence is a fond memory – and it feels familiar as we launch the Enriching Lives Campaign. You receive this news

If you were at our It’s a Miracle Dinner last year, you will recall our guest speaker, Mitch Albom.  You may also recall some of the stories from his bestselling books that were part of his remarks.  Stories about Morrie Schwartz, Pastor Henry Covington, and others. He spoke about a book he published in 2003, The Five People You Meet in Heaven.  This book is not about the obvious people you hope to meet in heaven.  It is about the people who impacted your life and they didn’t even know it. That storyline has always been important to me as I think about the people who have impacted my life (and maybe didn’t even know it).  It is particularly relevant in the work of Angels’ Place.  So many people.  So much impact.  It really is a miracle. Our residents are certain to meet people like you in heaven when their time on earth ends. Rebekah Harahan recently share a $500,000 gift with Angels’ Place.  Here is a little of the backstory to Rebekah announcement: About a year ago, Blessed Assurance

 Dear Friends: My late dad would be happy. After a lifetime of caring for his Mother and then our family, he was able to retire. One of his favorite post-retirement hobbies was maintaining a good-size vegetable garden in his yard. Some days, he could be found sitting on a small cement bench near his garden, the morning sun warming his back, a glass of tomato juice in hand, and a statue of the Blessed Mother before him. It was his meditation place. He told me: "Tommy, if you don't pray today, you never will...". When we bought the new Hylane Home, the front garden needed a lot of attention, but it echoed the setting of my father's yard. And when the moms and daughters of Orchard Lake St. Mary's offered the proceeds from their brunch to the residents of Angels' Place, a Marian garden seemed to be a providential investment.  As contractors configured the interior, volunteers weeded, and trimmed, and mulched, and watered. Old shrubs were removed, bricks were stack

Hello Everybody. Yesterday, we held our service for Robert at the Maxwell Home -- you may know, Robert is currently under hospice care.  Program Director Tony Dickerson, led the service.  His words were so beautiful, we thought you might like to read them here. My Dear Friends in Christ, Today we gather together at the Maxwell Home to support and pray for our brother and friend Robert Grant.  Robert has been a resident of the Maxwell home for the 30 years Angels’ Place has been in operation.  In regards to the Maxwell home, it was the first home of the Angels’ Place organization.  For me as a program director, it’s an honor to serve this home because of the legacy surrounding it.  I like to call it the “flagship” of the organization.  It’s not the most modern or fancy of our 21 homes, but it is our first and has stood the test of time.  For example, the United States Navy has advanced ships powered by nuclear power, but the flagship of the fleet is the U.S.S Constitution. Despite havin