CHRISTINA WILLIAMS/THE EXPRESS Volunteer Mary Jo Langston, at right, calls bingo for the attendees.

CHRISTINA WILLIAMS/THE EXPRESS
Magnolia receives pets from group member Jan Wagner as the therapy dog’s owner, Pam Blesh, looks on.

LOCK HAVEN — The pandemic has put a damper in numerous activities over the last two years and Covenant Cafe was no stranger to that.

The cafe resumed activities in early April of this year.

“On their April 19th meeting the group members made suncatchers out of water bottles with volunteer Kitty Oechler leading the the activity,” said Covenant Cafe Coordinator Fran Decker.

The next meeting, which was held on Tuesday, May 3, included a sign language demonstration by Diana Andrus with Instructor Bob Probst. Diana taught the group how to sign the alphabet, spell out their names and some other signs such as help. The meeting concluded with a few games of Bingo and snacks to celebrate Cinco De Mayo.

The group celebrity, a therapy dog named Magnolia, attended the most recent meeting with her owner Pam Blesh. Merci Isle Magnolia is an 11-year-old Whippet and retired show dog.

“The attendees always enjoy seeing Magnolia as she visits on a regular basis,” said owner Pam Blesh. “We’ve been to the De-Stress days at Lock Haven and Lycoming Universities, History Camp at the Heisey Museum and Read To a Dog at the Ross Library.”

Magnolia brings comfort and ease with her laid back attitude to the attendees with Alzheimer’s including the volunteers.

The Covenant Cafe is an activity group for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or other diseases with memory loss. The group provides opportunities for participants to be involved in socially and physically stimulating programs to help them remain as active as possible. The Covenant Cafe meets the first and third Tuesday of each month from 1 to 3 p.m. at Covenant United Methodist Church, 44 W. Main St., Lock Haven. Light refreshments, speakers and presentations, arts and crafts, physical and other activities and a social time are part of each session. Family, friends and caregivers are welcome to join their loved ones in the activities of the Covenant Cafe.

The Covenant Cafe is a joint venture of the Outreach and Witness Committee of Covenant United Methodist Church, the Alzheimer’s Support Group and the Alzheimer’s Association and is conducted entirely by volunteers. New members are always welcome.

To learn more about Alzheimer’s disease or how you can get involved in the Covenant Cafe early stage activity group, visit the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Pennsylvania Chapter at www.alz.org/pa or call 800-272-3900 or call Covenant Cafe Coordinator, Fran Decker, MSW at (570) 748-4302 or (570) 263-2084.