The Rev. Susanne Methven Retires from Saint Simeon’s Senior Community
The Rev. Susanne Methven has retired from her role as chaplain at Saint Simeon’s Senior Community in Tulsa. Her final service with the residents was on July 27th. Susanne has served as chaplain since December 2020, right in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. At that time, all residents were isolated in their rooms, and family members could only visit through windows. Susanne recalls that the first in-person service she led at Saint Simeon’s was on Palm Sunday 2021, “with everyone seated six feet apart, we showed a video of 17 residents reading parts in the Passion Gospel, all recorded individually using my then very rudimentary technology skills.”
Beginning in 2022, Susanne made it her mission to make worship more accessible to all. Services are now held in each unit of the facility (Assisted Living, Health Care, and the Memory Center). To further enhance accessibility, Susanne created weekly PowerPoint slides with large-font text so congregants could see more easily. She also experimented with voice-to-text technology to help those with hearing challenges participate more fully in worship.
This year they completed an icon project, receiving six icons written by local artist Allen Cutler: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and Ordinary Time. These icons serve as aids to worship, tools for spiritual contemplation, and educational resources for the faithful. The artist incorporated a shade of blue that pays homage to the blues of the iconic peacocks at Saint Simeon’s.They will be on the altar in the Chapel of St Anna and used in services in the different units of the building. These icons are donated to the glory of God by three full-time chaplains who have served Saint Simeon’s since 1986: The Rev. John Norris (1986-2005), The Rev. William Holly (2006-2020), and The Rev. Susanne Methven (2020-2025).
Reflecting on her time at Saint Simeon’s, the Rev. Susanne shared, “I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve and for all the ways that this ministry has formed me and others as followers of Jesus. An important part of my work during the last four and a half years has been being on call for and serving over 275 residents and their family members through the dying process. After each death, I have created a notice which, along with a picture and obituary, is included in the Annual Book of Remembrance. Family members are also invited to connect with Saint Simeon’s again during the quarterly and annual remembrance services.”
“Thank you to the residents, resident families, staff, and leaders of Saint Simeon’s for all the joy I have found in this work. Thank you to Bishop Poulson Reed and my clergy colleagues for your support. I have learned to sing more, dance more, laugh more, and live more fully.”
