A series by Chaplain Ben Boland. This article stands alone, but it is part of a series. The Church and Older People. This is Part 4 – How to engage with older people. Search “older people” at theothercheek.com to read the rest, or use the links at the bottom.
Given the huge gap between the Biblical imperative to care for older people and the low engagement with older people by most churches. As cultural pressure and poor theology have led churches to neglect engagement with older people, it is appropriate to consider how churches can better engage with older people. For the sake of simplicity, this will be done under three concentric categories: individual, church and denominational.
Individual
Engagement with older people starts and is primarily delivered via individuals who are in relationships with older people. The question for Christians becomes, “Are we in relationship with at least some older people?” If we are not in relationship with any older people, then how could we build some older relationships? I hasten to clarify; older people are not projects but immutably valuable humans who, like everyone else, are designed for relationship.
In terms of seeking out older people to build relationship, there are four prime ways of “finding” older people to build relationships with relatives; neighbours; volunteering and church.
Relatives: perhaps the most obvious older people are older family members. Indeed, the advantage of family members is some level of pre-existing connection! The challenge regarding family members is that often they live a significant distance away, which can make relationship-building hard. While long-distance relationships are challenging, they are eminently possible. Writing letters is powerful and modern technology is amazing. A regular phone call, sending videos of the great-grandchildren and Zoom are all powerful tools. If you are not sure what to talk about, perhaps offer to read with the person (e.g. newspaper, book or Scripture).
Neighbours: Even if you do not have older relatives, you almost certainly have older people in your neighbourhood. If you have lived in the same place for a while, you may well already have at least an acquaintance-level relationship with them. If not, a great way to meet them is to get some exercise and walk the neighbourhood and be willing to stop and chat.
Volunteering: A great way to engage with older people is through volunteering, particularly volunteering with a group involved with older people (e.g. Meals on Wheels, Dementia Australia or at an aged care facility).
Church: Church is a great way to meet older people. If your congregation is just young, consider going to an ‘older’ service once a month. Or ask your minister to introduce you to some older people.
Church
Not only is church a great place to meet to meet older people, church is a wonderful place to care for older people. This care typically starts with an awareness that builds to love for older people. Awareness can be built into church services via inclusion in prayer, notices about activities with older people and, of course, sermons that include references to older people in Scripture. Once awareness has increased, it is important to audit a church for relational and physical accessibility.
Physical accessibility includes ramps, accessible toilets and seating for people who have mobility issues. Relational accessibility refers to ensuring church services and activities are senior-friendly. For example, while the “traditional” church service is often early on a Sunday morning (to allow for the mid-morning family service), it may be worth moving the “traditional” service. A weekday service at mid-morning can be much easier for seniors to attend, particularly in winter. Another relational concern is transport, as some older people do not drive (or don’t drive at night, so evening events are complicated) or have a partner whom they cannot leave home alone. Providing people with transport options or a roster of people to sit with a homebound person to release the partner to attend church are great blessings.
Finally, churches can also powerfully engage with an older demographic in terms of outreach. For example, engaging with local aged care density points such as respite centres, villages and facilities.
Denominational
While individual and local church engagement with older people is critical, groups of churches, both denominational and geographical, have a critical part to play in answering Scripture’s call to love older people. For example, churches in a town or suburb can work together to provide spiritual care to a local aged care facility, either via volunteers or fundraising for a chaplain.
Denominations also have an incredibly significant role in setting standards for the training of clergy. For example, most Australian Bible/theological colleges do not have even one subject on ministry to older people, so it is unsurprising many church leaders are intimidated by this core ministry area. Additionally, most denominations require significantly fewer qualifications for aged care chaplains than local church leaders despite the challenges and complexity of aged care ministry.
Finally, denominational bodies run a large percentage of aged care providers. Thus, they have the opportunity to support (e.g. via donation and volunteering), ‘their’ aged care provider as well as ensure the organisation stays true to its values.
Conclusion
Scripture is clear; the church is called to love older people. How we share this love is diverse but this article has demonstrated it needs to happen at all levels (e.g. individual, church and denomination).
Image credit: Kampus Production/Pexels
The Church and older people series
Part 1 – Does the church love old people? The answer is we don’t prioritise them.
Part 2: Why the church does not love older people as much as Jesus did
Part 3: Scripture and older people
Part 4: – this story