2008-11-29  

Memorial for the Sick Folks Prayer Group and for Andrew Richards Swice

Richards Swice passed away earlier this week.  He was the administrator for the Sick Folks Prayer Group
for several years, and I was his technical support.  Richards would take prayer requests not only from
the St. Pius Catholic church but also for family and friends across the world.  I would put the data into
a format and update the website so that anyone with Internet access could appreciate what he was working on.
The site started originally with one page but grew into several pages and offered spiritual and religious
resources such as bible references and links to other prayer groups online. Richards would send out weekly
updates to people on the prayer list.  He enjoyed working on this project and saw it as a duty.

At one point, Richards could on longer maintain the Sick Folks Prayer Group and due to health reasons entered
the Hemphill Care center, where he could be professionally care for by medical staff.  Margaret and I worked
on a computer system for Richards in the care center, but he was unable to use it. Over the past few years,
his condition deteriorated and most recently did not recover from a severe stroke.

I believe in prayer, in God, spiritual belief systems and the after-life.  I don't think anything that
ever really existed can cease to exist.  From this perspective, I believe in Augustinian spirituality
and Platonic forms.  I also believe that when someone is approaching the end of their life, regardless of
who they were or what they did, should be treated with kindness and love.  The transition from life through
death to the next phase of existence can only be described as a difficult and self-reconciling journey.  
Richards believed in God and loved my mother.  He did a great deal of good.  

Please remember Richards, the SFPG, and continue to pray for peace, love, and the amelioration of pain.  
The page will stay up for as long as I can maintain mypylon.com. 

--Joseph