by Nora and Peter Sykes
Hello fellow parishioners, we are Nora and Peter Sykes. We have been members of Ascension since 1996 when we moved to Kansas from NJ. We have three grown children. Our sons are on the East and West coasts, and our daughter and her husband are members of Ascension, along with their three sons.
Throughout our 28 years at Ascension we have been members of various ministries in our Parish. We have been the ministry leaders for the Ascension Foster and Adopt Ministry, AFAM, since 2021, when the ministry was initiated. There are three main reasons why we started AFAM. First, and most importantly, guidance from the Holy Spirit. Second, answering the call from the Archbishop to have such a ministry at each Parish in the diocese. And the Third reason would be our three grandsons. We are blessed to have the opportunity to watch our grandsons three days a week. Their other set of grandparents watch them weekly too. The boys give so much love and are surrounded by love each day of their lives. They have loving, caring parents and grandparents who get to interact with them every day. We thought about this when we heard the Archbishop’s appeal to start a Foster & Adopt Ministry. Our grandsons are blessed by God to have been put into such a family situation. Many children are not as fortunate and, through no fault of their own, have to be taken from their family situation and placed into the foster care system. God is so good, he intervenes for these poor children by touching the hearts of those He calls to foster or adopt. By answering God’s call, foster and adoptive parents open their hearts and homes to these children, who are the most vulnerable among us.
We feel that we were touched by the Holy Spirit to start AFAM, and to support the families who are called to walk with these children. AFAM forms a “Care Community” around the fostering or adoptive family. A Care Community is 6 to 8 people who will support one family, for at least a year, by providing a weekly meal, doing household chores, providing transportation help, and child care. Our care communities become an extended family to support the families that are fostering and / or adopting. Nationwide, only 50% of foster families make it past the first year. A family that is supported by a care community has a 90% probability of making it past that first year.
If you would like more information on becoming a member of AFAM, or if you are a family that is currently fostering or adopting and would like more information, please contact us at petersykes2019@gmail.com, or call 913-406-7608. We also get requests from the families we are supporting for contact information with other fostering families. If you are fostering and would like to reach out to other fostering families, please contact us so we can help make that connection.