Carol Sieverling, who has led this support group since 1998, submitted the following letter to the Board of Directors.

Go here for Carol's most current notice (posted online: 1/30/05).

It has been my joy and pleasure to lead this support group over the last several years. When I went on disability with the Presbyterian Church in 1996 with CFIDS and could no longer serve as a pastor, I never expected to be led to a new ministry, but that is exactly what working with this wonderful group became. For that I will always be extremely grateful.

However, God’s calling and guidance is a very dynamic thing, and over the past weeks and months I have made the extremely difficult decision to resign as leader of the support group. My time and energies need to be more fully directed toward recovering as much of my own health as possible. I also feel strongly that I need to use what energy I have in a more balanced way, spending more time with family and becoming involved in church activities to the degree that my health allows.

I do not intend to give up support group leadership immediately or to give up my involvement in the group entirely. My fervent hope is to “pass the baton,” to borrow a metaphor from relay races. I would very much like to work with a new leader or leadership team for a short time before they take the baton and lead this group in possibly new directions or ventures. Change is difficult, but can be an opportunity for growth.

Just as leading this group brought meaning and purpose to my life; I hope and trust that there are people out there who have been looking for such an opportunity. I would love to hear from a support group member, or a healthy relative of a member, who is interested in leading this group. It would certainly be possible, even desirable, to have someone head up a leadership team rather than working alone. There are many different roles that can be divided up: facilitating meetings, scheduling speakers, maintaining the mailing list, sending info packets to new members, gathering and/or editing articles for the newsletter from email lists, serving as group treasurer, maintaining a current referral list of healthcare professionals and other support groups, etc. Computer access and skills are very important for many of these positions.

I will book speakers for the next six months and facilitate our monthly meetings through June, unless someone is on board before then. Like other past leaders, I will continue to serve on our advisory board (Board of Directors).

The newsletter will continue through the other managing editor, Lori, unless her health makes that impossible; she will need volunteers. I still have many hours to transcribe from my recent visit with Dr. Cheney, and I will get this transcribed for the next two newsletters.

If you are interested in any leadership role (large or small), or have comments or questions, please contact me at dfwcfids58@comcast.net or 817.283.1115 (email preferred).

Carol Sieverling