ST MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS

E P I S C O P A L C H U R C H

October 19, 2008

Dear Friends,

As many of you already know, I am the physical therapist at Elderwood Health Care at Riverwood. “Riverwood” (as we lovingly refer to it) is a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility here on Grand Island. In other words, it’s a nursing home. I have worked at Riverwood for the past 8 years and have worked for the parent company, Elderwood, for the past 16 years. Many days are filled with the difficulties and frustrations of working with people who have some form of dementia, perhaps a terminal illness or maybe they are depressed and therefore unmotivated or uncooperative. I will admit that, like many of you, I have days when it is hard to drag myself out of bed and in to work. But, I can tell you, that overall, I love my job. I love helping people recover and knowing that I had something to do with that.

Many times, when people find out that I work in a nursing home, their response is, “I don’t know how you do that…I couldn’t”, or “It takes a very special person to do something like that”. I agree, I am a very special person and that’s why I do what I do. God has given me certain gifts and in turn, those gifts are what help me to be good at my job. When I look at people in other professions, I often think that they must be very speciaI to do their jobs day after day. I could never spend the day (no less 180) in a room full of 6 year olds, or cleaning someone’s teeth or planning out the wiring in a new building. I could, of course, go on and on, but the point is that we are all special people and we are all good at different things. If God gave everyone the same skills and talents, what a boring world it would be! Not only would it be boring, but we couldn’t survive. The whole idea is that we use those skills to the best of our ability to make our homes, our community, and our world better places to be. 

This brings to mind the parable of the talents. I always think it’s interesting that the word “talent” was used in reference to money however it is so relevant when we think of the abilities and “talents” that God has given us. In Jesus time, a talent was a large sum of money. If you remember the story, a master is planning to go away. He calls in 3 servants before he leaves. To the first he gives 5 talents, to the second he gives 2 talents and to last, he gives 1 talent. He tells them each to do with them as they are able. The first servant goes out and makes 5 more talents. The second does the same and makes 2 more talents. The last servant however runs to the yard and buries his talent in the ground because he is too afraid of what will happen.  When the master returns, he praises the first two servants for doubling their investments. He promotes them, gives them more responsibility and invites them to share in his wealth and happiness. When he approaches the third servant, he becomes very angry. He feels that this servant has not done his share. He takes his money away and banishes him.

In case you haven’t figured it out…God is the Master. He has given each of us talents and has sent us out into the world to do with them as we are able. To some, He has given many talents and to others only a few. But the important part is that we use those talents, that we invest them in the world around us and make them multiply. This is a part of what stewardship is about and what God is calling us to do within our St. Martin’s family. God asks us to give of our time, our treasure and our talent to keep His church alive. It takes many individuals, working together, to keep our church functioning in a healthy and productive way.  No one person is expected to do EVERYTHING, that’s why we’re all good at different things. God is calling you to be the special person He has created and to use your talents to the best of your ability.

I ask you now to take some time and consider what talents God has given you. What makes you a special person? Think of where you could use these abilities to help do your part at St. Martin’s. Maybe you love to sing but just haven’t had a chance to join the choir, or perhaps you’re great with kids but you’re not sure if you’d make a good Christian Education teacher…the list goes on and on. Don’t run to the yard and hide your talents in the ground. Use them, invest them and make them grow. That’s why the Master gave them to you.

Faithfully,



Ellen Valvo

2587 Baseline Road ¨ Grand Island, NY 14072-1656

Phone/fax: 716-773-3335 ¨ padreking@aol.com ¨ www.StMartinsGI.org

Rector: The Rev'd Earle C. King, Jr. ¨ Bishop: The Rt. Rev'd J. Michael Garrison