The Little Chapel among the Palms
Celebrating Three Winter Seasons At The Palms RV Resort Chapel by the Pools in Yuma, Arizona
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RV Resort ministry is different. Having spent the better part of 50 years in parish ministry and education programs, I quickly observed that Chaplaincy of a Senior RV Resort has a different profile. First, the demographics are different. You may see children once or twice in a winter season. They are usually there for a couple of days, visiting grandparents. So nearly all of my ministry had to be created with Seniors in mind. But when children visit grandparents, they need to find some enjoyment in going to our chapel with their grandparents. Singing, or telling a story, or doing a performance with my ventriloquist mannequin filled that need nicely. And it was fun for all, seniors included. Next, the problems are different. With a community of senior citizens, the pastoral needs are skewered to the age of your parish. They are all seniors. Yes, The Palms does have a number of younger owners, but of the 480 RV s that will fill the park all winter, 90% of them are seniors with all of the problems of aging. A majority of our Seniors are Canadians. They are active but many have limitations relative to the number of years they have lived. Seniors enjoy the Thanksgiving feast. The special performances by professional entertainers offered most weekends play to packed houses. The burger bashes held on Saturday afternoons serve thousands, many of whom are from the surrounding community. The recreation facilities provide needed exercise opportunity. Organized games including shuffleboard keep schedules hopping. But these mass entertainment opportunities center on active healthy people. Many seniors are not able to do the fast paced activities any longer. As a Chaplain, I became an alternative activity.
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About the Book
A fourth season chaplaincy for Monte and Billie at the Palms has been scheduled for 2012. Only the good Lord knows what lies ahead for this season. We have learned to expect the unexpected. Other books Monte has written are “Stranger by the Lake” and “Catherina, A Praying Grandmother.” They are available through the publisher, Authorshouse, or internet booksellers like Amazon or Barnes and Noble. They are also available at Kindle.
About the Author
Monte and Billie Fast have served others throughout their lifetimes. Early on, in the 1960s, they pastored a growing church, then with Monte’s minister father pioneered another congregation which included Billie’s operation of a quality day care center, directed Christian Education in three churches, served in a national program for Laity, and finally spent 20 years directing a major full service human services charity in Carson City, Nevada. Due to health reasons, Monte retired in 2008. Billie, it turns out, was an excellent nursing care provider, and, with God’s help, Monte recovered to the point where he could begin to serve again. They celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary in 2009. In May 2010 they were given the “Distinguished Nevadian” award by the Board of Regents of the Nevada State System of Higher Education. They decided to pamper themselves for two winter months in warm and sunny Arizona. Monte was asked to assist in two chapel services at a beautiful RV Resort, The Palms. They were invited to come back the following 2010 season for a six month chaplaincy. A third invitation was extended for the 2011 season. It is from those chaplaincy services and duties that Monte decided to write this, his third, book. Billie allowed him to include a moving essay she had written in 1998 upon the death of their third son, James. The little chapel at the Palms became a place where residents of the Palms formed a community of the best friendships. When one sings with another, or one prays with another, or one learns vital Christian lessons with another, there forms a bond between them, that, in some sense, is eternal. We shared griefs and happiness. We worshiped, not as a denomination, but as a group of friends. The community now extended beyond Yuma, Arizona. It spans Canada and the USA. It continues to exist when RV ers return to far away home like Saskatoon, or Texas, or Ontario, or Nevada. And we look eagerly towards Yuma in October, when we will worship together again. A fourth season chaplaincy for Monte and Billie at the Palms has been scheduled for 2012. Only the good Lord knows what lies ahead for this season. We have learned to expect the unexpected. Other books Monte has written are “Stranger by the Lake” and “Catherina, A Praying Grandmother.” They are available through the publisher, Authorshouse, or internet booksellers like Amazon or Barnes and Noble. They are also available at Kindle.