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Ongoing Updates |
HARTFORD (08/09/2008) -- Connecticut's Conference Minister, the Rev. Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree, announced today that she will begin treatment next week for breast cancer. In a message to the Conference's authorized ministers, she declared her determination to overcome the disease and her total confidence in God's loving presence with her.
Dr. Crabtree wrote that the diagnosis was confirmed on July 25 after mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy procedures. She begins a 16 week round of chemotherapy on Wednesday, August 13, which will be followed by surgery. The outlook for her recovery is quite good, but doctors cannot predict her energy level at any given time during the treatment period. Other conference staff members may assume some of her duties at times, and when necessary, the Rev. Dr. Ron Brown, Associate Conference Minister for Clergy Concerns, will step in as Acting Conference Minister.
"I ask a few things of you," Dr. Crabtree wrote: "First, that you pray not only for me and my healing but for all who encounter such news and endure the treatments that can restore us to health; secondly, that you allow me to carry on my work as I am able, understanding that there may be times when the best therapy is to allow work and ministry to be a place where I am not defined by the cancer; thirdly, that every woman be unrelenting in her self-exams. Finally, I ask that you understand that I will appreciate all your messages of caring, but it may be impossible for me to respond to them as I would like."
She has launched a page on Caring Bridge to post updates on her progress. Caring Bridge is a web site which allows persons experiencing serious illness to share the news with others, and allows well-wishers to leave their expressions of support for that person to find. Regular updates from Dr. Crabtree will be found at that site.
"Most of you know," Dr. Crabtree said, "that I am both a person of deep feeling, which I tend to express openly, and also a person of a deep faith conviction. The morning after the diagnosis, when my doctor called to ask how I was doing, I told her that I had decided that this isn’t going to kill me so let’s get it over with! I have a strong sense of being accompanied by God on this journey. It seems to me not coincidental that, along with many of you, I had that amazing experience at General Synod of hearing Lynn Redgrave speak of her journey of survival of breast cancer. I will never forget her reading the 23rd Psalm from the perspective of the survivor, and it ministers to me even now.
"God is good! I am thankful for so much: This United Church of Christ faith and mission that we share, the Conference staff that so ably ministers among you, the power of God’s presence in times of challenge. I entrust the Conference to your good will and shared responsibility – no different than usual, just with a special measure of care and concern. "
Davida Foy Crabtree has served as Connecticut's Conference Minister since 1996. Raised in Connecticut and an active leader in the church as a youth, she spent many years as pastor of the Colchester Federated Church, where she was a pioneer in understandings of the ministry of the laity. She later served as Conference Minister of the Southern California-Nevada Conference before her return to Connecticut. She is well known throughout the United Church of Christ as a dynamic leader and passionate advocate for justice.
