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Older Adults and Ministry |
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Older Adults and Ministry
“Graceful aging becomes possible when one lives under the grace of God made known in Jesus Christ.”
It is projected that in Ohio in 2020, 22% of the population will be 60 or older. Check your local chamber of commerce or economic & development office to see the current percentage. It will be in the 16 -18 percent range. As you look at the demographics of your congregation, the demographics and projections for your community and then look at the ways in which older adults minister and are ministered to – how do they compare? Are older adults silently present, overlooked or active? Are older adults in the community intentionally considered in outreach efforts or are they over-looked?
Older adults and their families experience a number of transitions that can be overwhelming as well as challenging physically, emotionally and spiritually. A wide variety of services are available to assist in the physical challenges so that a congregation can serve in the unique role of complementing existing services and meeting spiritual needs. Resources to help a congregation evaluate the needs as well as develop an effective ministry with and for older adults are available. Some of these that are available to congregation leaders are:
Designing an Older Adult Ministry includes several survey forms for older adults, program assessment, local church accessibility, etc. It also has a litany on aging along with a variety of other resource recommendations.
Grey Hair and I Don’t Care: Celebrating Recreation With Older Adults provides themes with related games and activities. A great resource when looking for games or fellowship activities.
Ministry With Older Adults in the Church provides theological reflections on aging as well as numerous helps for developing an older adult ministry, including coordinator job description.
Share the Years provides 37 topics with related discussion questions and scriptural references for older adults to discuss. They also can be used to complement or introduce presenters related to health and other issues. In large print this resource includes a “Bless the Years” liturgy which can be used on Grandparents Day, during Older Americans Month (May) or as part of a church anniversary celebration.
Understanding the Senior Adult: A Tool for Wholistic Ministry focuses primarily on meeting the spiritual needs of the older adult. Unique tools in this book are surveys for nursing home spiritual assessment as well as a personal spiritual assessment. The latter is particularly helpful with new members or those who have recently become homebound. There is also a blessing of a new home service tailored particularly for the older adult moving into an assisted living facility.
Websites for assisting families or individuals:
http://benefitscheckup.org to help them identify potential resources of assistance.
www.caring.com provides links to articles, care facility options, financial and legal issues, etc.
www.spirituality4aging.org provides links to numerous agencies and resources related to aging.
Visitation Ministry - These resources are especially helpful for developing and strengthening a visitation ministry with older adults.
Building a Ministry for Homebound and Nursing-Home Residents covers everything from why to have a visitation ministry to leading a worship service in a nursing home.
The Tiny Red Bathing Suit of Mr. July educates the reader as to the signs and struggles of various diseases and disabilities. The book also provides helps in conducting and leading a variety of appropriate worship services.
Walking Together Through Illness is written specifically for care givers and care receivers. However visitation teams will benefit from reading this book as a way of better understanding the concerns of those they visit.
These resources in addition to many others are available for loan through the Northeastern Ohio Lutheran Resource Center. 330-929-9020/rc@neos-elca.org
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