Cheryl: Hi, Little One. I brought a friend with me today. Her name is Pam Waterman and she, along with her husband, Dan, direct Benjamin Ministries. Pam will explain what Benjamin Ministries does in just a minute. Where’s Arnold? Oh! There he is, way up in that tree over there! Helloooooo, Arnold! C’mon down! I have a friend I’d like you to meet. Here he comes! Duck, Pam! Wooo! We always see you flying way up high and don’t realize how big you really are, Arnold! Arnold, this is Pam Waterman. She and her husband, Dan, are the directors of Benjamin Ministries. Thank you for visiting us here in the pasture, Pam. Can you explain what Benjamin Ministries is and what it does?
Pam: Well, hello, and thank you for having me as your guest today. I would love to answer that question. Benjamin Ministries is a faith-based bereavement outreach that provides various services to help people during the time that we believe can be their stormiest days on this Earth. When people lose a loved one, they usually are not prepared to say goodbye. There can be numerous challenges in the days ahead as they try to figure out their New Normal. The heart of our ministry is to provide a free bereavement care package that includes a personalized remembrance document as well as carefully selected bereavement materials that can be personally given or sent to people who have lost a loved one. Our bereavement care package project has grown tremendously in the past 1 to 3 years and we are now delivering 100 or more care packages, each and every month, all over the United States.
We also provide bereavement support groups, a wonderful website loaded with helpful grief resources, and a bereavement respite project which I will share a little bit more about in a few minutes. Oh, and we have hosted one very successful bereavement conference and hope to do more of these in the near future.
Cheryl: When you mention loss, what kind of loss do you mean?
Pam: The loss of a loved one can be the death of a child, a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a grandfather or grandmother, uncle, aunt, cousin, friend or co-worker. This loss occurs upon the death of one of these special people that we are acquainted with or love very deeply.
Cheryl: Is this just for those who have suffered a recent loss of some kind?
Pam: The services that Benjamin Ministries provide can be for those who have lost a loved one recently or years ago. You see, we believe that the bereavement journey is a lifelong journey. We never truly get over losing a loved one. We will always miss them and long to remember them. We can learn to carry on…and the days can become less heart-wrenching and painful. We can come to a place where we can even experience joy in remembering these loved ones. Each person’s bereavement journey is unique. It is the desire of the Ben Min Team (as we sometimes call it) to help anyone that reaches out to us no matter where they are in their bereavement journey. It’s never too late to ask for help.
Cheryl: Why did you name the ministry Benjamin Ministries, if that’s not too painful a question to ask?
Pam: No, I’d be happy to tell you that story. It was 19 years ago that my husband, Dan, and I would lose our little baby boy, Benjamin, in a horrific auto accident that I and my two older children would survive. The loss of a child, especially a newborn baby, is overwhelmingly heart-wrenching. Even though we had wonderful support from family members and friends, as well as our church family, we would have the need for bereavement support. When we went looking for a faith-based or Christ based, bereavement support group, we couldn’t find anything where we lived or even outside of the area that we lived. Dan and I knew at that time that this would need to change. Our world needs Christ-based bereavement support. When God called us to begin the ministry, we felt it very fitting to name it after our beloved, Benjamin.
Cheryl: Are licensed counselors on staff with Benjamin Ministries?
Pam: Though we do have many highly-skilled professionals on the Ben Min team, we don’t have licensed counselors on staff at this time. As our ministry grows, it is in our vision to one day provide that service as well.
Cheryl: What if it becomes clear that professional help is needed?
Pam: We do have the ability to make excellent referrals to licensed counselors and have done so numerous times for those who have had that need.
Cheryl: What about the ministry’s logo? Why a lighthouse?
Pam: Ahhh, this is one of my favorite questions to answer. It sort of started with my love for lighthouses which my father instilled in me when I was growing up. We would visit lighthouses all over the east coast, and even some on the West Coast. In the Christmas season of 1997, shortly after our little Benjamin went home to heaven, we purchased a little lighthouse ornament to put on the Christmas tree in his memory. It was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, one of the most famous lighthouses in the world. We nicknamed that Lighthouse, Ben’s light.
We love the symbolism of the lighthouse during the storm. It reminds us that a strong light can save us during times of peril. We believe that Jesus is the Light of the world Who rescues us from the perils of sin and destruction and His love, grace, and forgiveness can lead us to eternal life. We also believe that Jesus is our Lighthouse Who can save us from the raging sea of grief. It seemed only fitting to make the lighthouse the symbol of Benjamin Ministries.
Cheryl: That leads me into my next question. Is there something in the works involving a lighthouse?
Pam: We have had a vision for numerous years to begin what we call a Bereavement Respite Project. This project would entail raising funds to send a couple and/or individuals that are experiencing complicated grief on a 2 – 5 day respite; an escape from the everyday routines of life. A time for folks to relax, refresh, restore, rejuvenate, and hopefully, reunite with God. It’s highly recommended that folks who are experiencing complicated loss take time to get away, but not everyone can afford to do so. Just as there are programs that have been designed to send families that are dealing with cancer for these times of respite, Benjamin Ministries would like to do the same for those who have suffered the loss of a loved one.
Can you believe that we have discovered that there is a bed and breakfast lighthouse right here west of the city of Rochester on the shores of Lake Ontario? Not only that, but we have made an arrangement with the owners of the Braddock Point Lighthouse to develop this project so that we can send chosen couples/individuals on a two day/night lighthouse respite as part of our Bereavement Respite Project. We have raised enough funds to purchase our first gift certificate for a two day/night respite to the Braddock Point Lighthouse. It will be presented to a family that our team has selected to receive this gift during the month of April. This will be the answer to our prayers for just about 7 years now, as we have been praying for this project to get off the ground. We hope to send more couples/individuals on a bereavement respite this year and in the years to come. We are currently seeking donations in order to help us to do so.
We’ve also learned that the Braddock Point Lighthouse is on the market. We believe in bold and big prayers and have been praying that God may see fit to give us this lighthouse that we may use it for this mission as well as the central headquarters of Benjamin Ministries, a place to provide bereavement support groups, and so much more.
Cheryl: What are the support group meetings like? What happens during one? How often do they meet? How can someone join the support group?
Pam: We have two bereavement support groups that are gathering at this time. Each group meets one time during the month. We have a group dedicated to mothers who have lost or miscarried a child, and another group for any and all loss. The group for the loss of a child is bouncing around to various restaurants around the Rochester area.
Our other group is currently meeting at a local coffee shop as a place of convenience for those who come to this meeting. These meetings are a time for us to check in with each other, see how each member of the group is doing, share some of the struggles that are faced during the bereavement journey, discuss Scriptures that are helpful to the bereavement journey, have a time of prayer requests and prayer, and simply share from the heart, cry, smile, sometimes giggle, motivate, and encourage each other in these challenging days of the bereavement journey.
Cheryl: What about the bereavement packages? What’s in those and how does a person request one?
Pam: As I previously mentioned, our bereavement packages have been at the heart of our ministry since we began back in 2001. Each bereavement care package has a document presented in a picture folder. This document can be a personalized document that would include a picture, name, and date/s placed on it in remembrance of the loved one that is no longer here, along with Bible verses and a poem. If the requestor would rather not have a personalized document, they can choose our Loss of a Loved One document which is a beautifully written Scripture verse (Romans 8:18…our ministry verse) set on a Footprints in the Sand image. We provide faith-based bereavement materials in each of the packages including a small paperback book. Just visit our website www.benjaminministries.org and click on Learn About our Bereavement Packages and follow the prompts to order a package.
Cheryl: Who does all of the work for this ministry? You and your husband can’t possibly do it all yourselves!
Pam: You are certainly right about that! We are extremely blessed to have a group of 15 to 20 highly-skilled volunteers that help us do the work of Benjamin Ministries each and every month. We also have an Advisory Board of 10 volunteers who help us with some of the challenging decisions to make in the work of the ministry. We would not have the type of outreach that we have today if it were not for the committed work of so many volunteers. As we grow, our volunteer base needs to grow as well. We are always recruiting more hands and feet to come on board and help us with this unique, loving and extremely needed outreach.
Cheryl: How can a person become involved in Benjamin Ministries?
Pam: Anyone can become involved with Benjamin Ministries by emailing us at:
info@benjaminministries.org, calling our office, or speaking personally to Dan and I or any of the volunteers on the Ben Min team.
Cheryl: Are you on Facebook? Twitter?
Pam: We are on Facebook and Twitter. We do have volunteers that help us to keep our Facebook page current and up-to-date. Find us on Facebook at Benjamin Ministries. We have a Twitter account, too, but do not have volunteers to help us keep that to a cutting edge. We would love to find a volunteer to help us on Twitter and to help us on Instagram as well.
Cheryl: Do you have any goals for the future of BenMin?
Pam: We would love to send our bereavement care packages to countries around the world. National pastors are asking for us to do so. We need to raise more funds and recruit more help for this to happen. As I mentioned, we’d love to send more couples and individuals on bereavement respites. We’d love to get a lighthouse that could become our main base of operations and to be used to bring the bereaved to it for that 3 to 5 day respite. As our ministry has grown, so has the need for package supplies. We have a good foundation of donors who give to us regularly, and many who will give a one-time gift, for this we are so grateful. As we continue to grow and one day become a worldwide ministry, we need talented fundraisers and grant writers to help us create a broader base of donors and funding.
Cheryl: How could someone contact Benjamin Ministries? If Little One knows of a lamb in his flock that is grieving, what should he tell that lamb?
Pam: Please visit our website to request a bereavement care package, and browse our bereavement resources, stories, and testimonials. Email us at info@BenjaminMinistries.org or call us at 585-334-9048 ext. 236 or visit our Facebook page.
Cheryl: I’m sure I’ve forgotten pertinent questions here. What else could you tell Arnold and Little One about Benjamin Ministries?
Pam: We care for those who are grieving. We don’t want anyone to feel alone or to give up the hope to go on. There is a suicide epidemic and so many who suffer from anxiety and depression. We know that our ministry is in the fight to help lower this epidemic and help people to cope after losing a loved one.
Choose to live! Ask us for help! Get support! We care…you are not alone!
Cheryl: Thank you so much for coming to visit us here in the pasture, Pam. I will do my best to provide a link to the Ben Min website from this post. Arnold, we’d better let you get back to hunting. Whoooosh! Duck, Pam! Arnold’s wingspan is measured in feet, not inches! ‘Bye, Arnold!
Little One, I hear your shepherd calling you. You’d better go. ‘Bye!
Dear woman friend reading this, are you grieving a loss of some kind? A child? A parent? A spouse? A sibling? Another type of loss? Benjamin Ministries would be honored to send you a package, free of charge, to minister to you during this time. Ordering information is on their website and you can also contact the office with questions.
Would you be interested in joining the support group they offer? Information about that is also available on their website or by contacting the office.
Please don’t hesitate to contact them. They would love to have the opportunity to help you on your grieving journey.
Address: 990 Calkins Rd. Rochester, NY 14623
Phone: 585-334-9048 ext. 236
Email: info@benjaminministries.org
Website: www.benjaminministries.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benministries/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenMinistries
Lambs and Wings 