Goshen chapter of ROMEOs keeps hope alive

Print Article Email to a Friend

Ross T. Bender of College Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind., shares from his experience with the Goshen chapter of ROMEOs:

Here are some grateful reflections on the healing effect which I received from being a part of the ROMEOs (Retired Old Men Eating Out).

First of all I am grateful to the group for including me and making me a part of its joyous fellowship. It is good to belong. I am also grateful to be a part of the weekly Wednesday morning breakfast. Although I can no longer drive a car, the others provide transportation for me not only to breakfast but also to my medical appointments and occasional shopping runs.

It is clear that they do not consider me a bother or a burden but value my presence in the circle. They help me to accept that I am not an invalid but that I am still a whole person even though I must cope with a medical problem. I am still loved and still able to be a loving person; I can still teach and still learn. I can still contribute to others and receive from others.

My ROMEO brothers keep me from being diminished or shrinking as the walls of my world keep closing in on me, literally and also socially, culturally, and intellectually. I am continually stimulated by our conversations, by the reports of their forays into the wider world and by their travels. I, too, have traveled extensively in the past and can share out of that awareness as well as out of my reading and other sources. They keep me from withdrawing from those around me and retreating into my inner world.

They help me to preserve my personal dignity at a time when it appears to be threatened or violated through loss of privacy or loss of autonomy and growing dependence on others. They are an effective antidote to depression. They keep hope alive.”

For more information about ROMEOs, see my book, “Tending and Mending the Creation,” which tells of my experience with Parkinson’s disease. For more information, search for the booklet on www.pandorapress.com. —Ross T. Bender

From the Nov. 4 2007 College Mennonite Church newsletter.

Current Stories

Articles

• Enlisted
• Redeeming the power, redeeming ourselves
• From preservation to engagement

News stories, digests and Meno Acontecer

• WEB EXCLUSIVE: ROMEOs are "Retired Old Men Eating Out"
• Goshen chapter of ROMEOs keeps hope alive
• Students learn theology in butchering
• CLC sees unequal racial, gender balance
• Mennonites and Catholics seek healing
• Children enjoy Harvest Day at Crossroads in Virginia
• Methodist bishop shares peace background
• John Byers, MWC Koinonia member, dies
• Preserving an art tradition in Guatemala
• Duke professor speaks about food at CMU
• CPT recalls team from Algonquin blockage
• MCC ships aid to Nicaragua after hurricane
• New name for Shalom Foundation
• Group meets to reduce handgun violence
• MDS considers response to California wildfires

Columns

• An army of love
• A river runs through it
• People-friendly good news
• Move beyond prayer to stop the war

Readers Say

• Look at the past objectively
• Why start at the top with health-care access?
• The idol in our midst
• The idol in our midst II
• The idol in our midst III
• Plea for U.S. leaders
• Plea for U.S. leaders II
• The appeal of cities
• Getting started in leadership

Additional Notes

From the Nov. 4 2007 College Mennonite Church newsletter.