Welcome to this week’s UMTV web brief. I’m Reed Galin.

We are living longer. Well, that’s good...but it also means we are going to have ever more challenges in caring for the elderly. In Dallas, United Methodists are helping families wrestling with the challenge of getting loved ones the right care, in the right place.

FINDING GOOD HEALTHCARE FOR AGING PARENTS CAN BE A NIGHTMARE.

Ruth Robbins / Mary Lee’s Daughter-in-law: “We couldn’t leave because we didn’t know when they were going to show up, and they would leave in the middle of the day without telling anyone.”

AFTER A DISASTROUS NURSING HOME EXPERIENCE, AND SEVERAL HOME HEALTHCARE WORKERS THAT DIDN’T WORK OUT, EIGHTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD MARY LEE ROBBINS’ PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.

Barbara Swygert / Caregiver: “Gonna go in here and find a little lunch...”

SHE AND BARBARA SWYGERT NOW SPEND ALL DAY, EVERY DAY TOGETHER.

Thomas Q. Robbins / Mary Lee’s Son: “Barbara shows her not only care and concern, but shows her dignity.”

THE TWO WERE PAIRED THROUGH THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH’S “ELDER POWER” PROGRAM. IT’S DESIGNED TO MATCH UNSKILLED WORKERS WITH PEOPLE WHO NEED HOME CARE.

Barbara Swygert: “It is very fulfilling to be able to help someone and especially someone that is as sweet as she is, and I just enjoy being with her and doing whatever she needs me to do.”

ONE OF TEN CHILDREN, BARBARA HAS A NATURAL KNACK FOR CARING FOR OTHERS. SHE’S BEEN A GREAT SOURCE OF COMFORT TO MARY …EVEN HELPING HER DEAL WITH THE LOSS OF HER HUSBAND.

Barbara Swygert: “They were married 68 years, so it took a lot of getting used to.”

TOGETHER, BARBARA AND MARY HAVE A NEW BEGINNING.

Jean Chapman / Director, Elder Power: “You ask them and they say, ‘This is my ministry,’ and when they say that, they’ve got a job.”

IT’S ABOUT LIVING WELL THROUGHOUT LIFE - FOR THOSE BEING CARED FOR, AND THOSE WHO NEED A CHANCE TO CARE.

A lot of churches across the country have programs for active seniors, but a program in Houston specifically focuses on the less active. The Seniors Place was started by St. Luke’s United Methodist church five years ago. Now there are a dozen churches involved in the program. Beth Wiggins takes her father there and feels it is a great idea become reality.

Any time you see a group of people with an idea that make that idea a reality, it’s one of God’s miracles.

All of us want to live out “Love one another,” do unto others as we want them to do to us...it’s what being a Christian is all about. It’s serving other people and being a resource for people.

There’s such caring that starts with the telephone call in the morning -- “Mr. Bronson, are you ready to come to Seniors Place today?” -- and carries on throughout the entire day, through the exercise phases, through singing. The staff is very knowledgeable about the disease that is affecting these seniors and very caring in everything that they do.

And, now to the opposite end of the life experience...some of the youngest among us are the focus of a group of United Methodist women. Known as “The Cover Girls,” they give infants a warm welcome to the world - literally.

EVERY DAY, ALMOST ONE HUNDRED BABIES ARE BORN AT DALLAS’ PARKLAND HOSPITAL...MOST TO MOTHERS WITH NO HEALTH BENEFITS AND VERY LITTLE OF ANYTHING ELSE.

Lisa Miller / Volunteer Crocheter: “I just can’t imagine having a baby and going home without anything.”

THAT’S WHAT MOTIVATES THE “COVER GIRLS.” THE WOMEN AT GRACE AVENUE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN FRISCO, TEXAS PUT THEIR CROCHETING SKILLS TO WORK TO MAKE SURE NEW MOTHERS AND THEIR BABIES KNOW SOMEONE CARES FOR THEM.

Kara Hodgekiss / Volunteer Crocheter: “Hopefully, through touching their lives, they come to know there are people who care and a God who cares.”

IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, THE GROUP HAS DONATED OVER SEVENTY BLANKETS FOR PARKLAND HOSPITAL NEWBORNS.

Jan McMillan / New Crocheter: “Kara says she does one in a week, I do one in a month.”

JAN MCMILLAN DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO CROCHET AT ALL, BUT SHE IS A QUICK STUDY - SIX BLANKETS IN SIX MONTHS.

Jan McMillan: “I like to do things for other people, and I especially like babies.”

THE IDEA GREW FROM A CHURCH TRADITION OF PRESENTING A HAND-CROCHETED BLANKET AT EACH NEWBORN’S BAPTISM.

Reverend Billy Echols-Richter: “It was a wonderful expression of ‘this is a gift we have’ and it’s another way of saying we can use all of our gifts to glorify God.”

ALTHOUGH THE CRAFTY WOMEN NEVER MEET THE BABIES OR THEIR MOTHERS, IT DOESN’T SEEM TO MATTER.

Dee Parker / Volunteer Crocheter: “The ‘thank yous’ are what you feel inside.”

AND EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS, THEY SEND THEIR GIFTS OF LOVE.

“These are from the Cover Girls at Grace Avenue United Methodist.”

Lisa Little / Parkland Hospital Volunteer Coordinator: “To be given a beautiful, spectacular, magnificent afghan like this is heaven sent.”

AND JUST IN TIME FOR ANOTHER SPECIAL DELIVERY.

Along with making those receiving blankets, the Cover Girls collect clothing and infant supplies for the newborns.

Thanks for watching. Make it a good week.