Thank you for Edie Sodowsky’s article in the May issue of The Lutheran Witness (“When at Last I Near the Shore”). I have seen what she so touchingly describes happen countless times as I have engaged in the ministry of visitation. Sagging heads,vacant stares, unresponsive minds drawn briefly and joyously back into a precious moment of contact as I sit by a wheelchair or bedside and gently begin singing or humming a beloved hymn. Sometimes the clarity is so remarkable we have been able to engage in brief and relevant conversation or even celebrate Communion before the cloud returns. I rejoice in the peace that moment gave to her. I encourage pastors, visitation ministers, relatives, and friends to learn the simple truth her article offers: Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19). It works!
Rev. Allen Trapp
St. John Lutheran Church
South Euclid, Ohio
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