Urgent Help for Peter's Cancer Battle

Peter Converse McDonald has been a lay minister in the Episcopal Church for 40+ years. He has been a counselor to alcoholics and their families for 30+ years and has counseled inner-city drug addicts in outpatient clinics and methadone programs. He was a hospice chaplain for 11 years and was an eldercare consultant for those at the end of their lives, helping them and their families prepare for dying. He is the author of hundreds of meditations for those in recovery, has written articles and monographs on grief, spirituality, and recovery, and has a book in progress on preparing to die.

As a long-time practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM), Peter knows the healing effects and peace that come from meditating daily. Because 21 veterans kill themselves every day of the year because of war-time horrors and the resulting stress, the NIH and the VA now use Transcendental Meditation to treat PTS because it’s easy to learn, inexpensive, and highly effective in dramatically reducing stress and saving lives.

After learning this, Peter decided several years ago that teaching TM to fellow veterans (Peter is USAF, 1965-1971) would be his next calling to ministry. So he enrolled at Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa to gain the background, knowledge, and expertise required to teach TM. He has since earned an MA in Consciousness and Human Potential, taken training in advanced forms of TM, and last fall was preparing to begin an intensive five-month TM Teacher Training course in Thailand.

But in an ironic and cruel twist of fate, Peter was very recently diagnosed with terminal (Stage 4) lung cancer. After consulting with his daughters and brothers, therapist and spiritual director, and his own heart, Peter made the decision to come home to Massachusetts as quickly as possible and begin treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He wants to be near his family and friends, near the best cancer doctors in the world, and near the ocean he grew up by, with all of its powerful healing effects. And while he has the tools to face this health challenge head-on in many ways, there is one important factor missing: the funds to enable him to move from Iowa back to Massachusetts and to sustain him during his cancer treatment.

Peter has never needed much money and rarely has given it much thought. He has no trust fund, cash reserves, or emergency money, and barely makes ends meet every month. He enjoys living simply and humbly. But right now, he needs to raise the money it’s going to take to get himself, his car, books, and other possessions moved to the senior housing unit in Carver, MA that is waiting for him right now. Ideally, he needs to raise that amount by February 17th, if at all possible.

These emergency funds will be critical in helping to relieve some financial stress, allowing Peter to focus on the fight ahead.

Donations will go directly to Peter and will help to support:

* Packing assistance, moving and car preparation expenses

* Meals and lodging for trip

* Co-pays on medications and oncology visits

* Moving household goods from storage in Massachusetts to new Senior Housing apartment

After you donate, please click the Share button, if you would be so kind as to spread the word via email, social media, etc.. Thank you so much for keeping Peter in your prayers and please consider a donation of any size—no amount is too small and your support helps more than you know!

Thank you. :-)