Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women, a 501 (c ) 3 non-profit, non-denominational Christian organization, was founded in 2004 by Kelly Gerken with the purpose of reaching out to women and families to offer comfort, encouragement and hope. The Dreams of You division of this ministry was created specifically to provide comfort to women and families who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. Kelly has experienced the loss of twin daughters (Faith and Grace) at 26 weeks and the loss of an infant son, Thomas…who died shortly after birth from Potter's Syndrome. From her own family's journey of grief and healing, Kelly has created the Dreams of You Memory Book and other beautiful support materials to help families form a precious memory for their babies who leave this earth too soon. Her mother, Kathy Rutter, created the Comfort Bear in 2004 for grieving mothers to have something to hold to comfort the ache of their empty arms. (Although Kathy went home to heaven in October 2006, the bears are still made with a grandmother's love and prayers by the Helping Hands Ministry at Harvest Fellowship Church.) Over the years, Kelly has shared her testimony of God's comfort and sufficient grace and her gift of song with churches and women's groups. She has also given hospital seminars encouraging caregivers on the importance of creating a tangible memory and understanding the grieving parent's perspective. The Dreams of You Memory Book and Baskets are currently available at 5 local hospitals: Lima Memorial, St. Luke's, St. Charles, Henry County, and Defiance Regional Medical Center as well as Rodenberger Funeral Home. Many individuals have come to us as well through our website and word of mouth. Bereaved parents are never asked to pay for our materials. We are supported through donations from individuals, hospitals and other organizations. Sufficient Grace Ministries also provides a quarterly newsletter, The Women's Edge, which encourages more than three hundred women in eight states, through biblical truth. Our memory book is now featured in a national catalog (A Place to Remember). We are also working on expanding and completing more projects to serve grieving families.
Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women, Inc. Board Members Include:
Kelly Gerken ~ Founder/President
Tim Gerken ~ Vice-President
Tracy Sponsler ~ Treasurer
Rebecca Burner ~ Secretary
Dreams of You Memory Book and Baskets, Hospital Seminars ~ Kelly Gerken
Comfort Bears ~ Created by Kathy Rutter and now made by the Helping Hands Ministry from Harvest Fellowship led by Kaye Shively, Joyce Erven, Jacie Phillips
Burial Gowns ~ Cindy Roller
Creations from the Heart Memorial Bracelets ~ Marlene Carpenter
Webmaster ~ Chris Koppenhofer
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Photographer ~ Dawn Marshall
Dreams of You CD and Music Ministry ~ Tim and Kelly Gerken
The Women's Edge Quarterly Newsletter ~ Kelly, Becki, & Tracy
Outreaches:
Dreams of You Memory Baskets
Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women, Inc. was founded by Kelly Gerken. The Dreams of You division of this ministry was created to provide comfort to women and families who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. Kelly has experienced the loss of twin daughters at twenty-six weeks gestation and the loss of a newborn son due to Potter's Syndrome. Through those experiences, she has gleaned some useful insights into the needs of Mothers and families who grieve for their precious babies.
The Women's Edge Newsletter
The Women's Edge Newsletter is an outreach of Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women. It is a Christian newsletter written by women and for women with the purpose of encouraging other women with Biblical advice and truth about marriage and family and other issues relevant to today's woman.
Remembering:
Faith Elizabeth Gerken -- November 3, 1996
Grace Katherine Gerken -- November 3, 1996
Thomas Patrick Gerken -- July 14, 1998
Kelly Michelle Sponsler -- March 12, 2003
For all the precious children whose footprints are forever ingrained in our hearts we still dream our dreams of you until we meet again.
See I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palm of my hand. Isaiah 49:15b & 16
On those difficult days, remember, God's love for you. He sees your pain and sorrow. Cry out to God and lay your burdens at His feet. He is able to meet all of your needs, today and everyday. The grace He gives is sufficient to mend even the most broken hearts.
My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in your weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
©2005 - 2009 Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women, Inc.
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