As aging adults and their families are faced with difficult decisions about long-term care, a senior adult’s church family can provide desperately needed support and encouragement.
Ernest Hill, minister to senior adults at Mount Zion Baptist Church, Huntsville, in Madison Baptist Association, knows firsthand how difficult decisions about living arrangements can be.
When his sister died two years ago, Hill faced not only her death but also worried about their mother, who was 87 at the time and lived next door to her daughter.
Though his mother was in fairly good health, she was sometimes forgetful and unsteady on her feet. When she lost her balance while trying on a choir robe at church and broke her shoulder, he knew his mother needed more support than her friends could supply.
“She had moved next to my sister just to be near her. We all thought my sister would be there to help take care of her, but that just didn’t work out,” Hill said.
Ultimately his mother moved from Mississippi to Huntsville to be near him and his family, but during those transitional months, her church family, friends and neighbors ministered to her and helped her in ways that her family could not.
“Through that whole process, my wife and I became more sensitive, knowing this is a situation many people have to face,” Hill said.
Virginia Moore-Bell, state long-term care ombudsman with the Alabama Department of Senior Services, said long-term care decisions — especially decisions about entering assisted-living or nursing home facilities — are very difficult for all involved. “Many families work very hard to keep their loved ones at home, but physically it’s taxing and sometimes they can be overwhelmed with the task of caregiving,” she said.
“Still it’s difficult to accept that a relative can’t take care of [himself] or herself and that you cannot either,” Moore-Bell noted. “It can be frustrating and unsettling.”
Churches can help families before, during and after that transitional time, however, said Tom Randall, vice president for ministry with The Baptist Foundation of Alabama.
He said churches that want to effectively minister to senior adults and their families should form a ministry team made up of people who would be willing to accept a “ministry opportunity beyond the church walls.”
Many senior adults are able to continue living in their own home, though some begin to need help with laundry, shopping, cooking or cleaning — help that church volunteers can often provide.
“Once the ministry team is in place, make it known that there are persons available to help with needs like transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping, short errands, purchasing of personal items and picking up filled prescriptions at the pharmacy,” Randall said.
Providing literature, including Sunday School books, taped sermons and senior-adult publications such as Mature Living, for homebound members or nursing home residents can create opportunities to visit with senior adults and evaluate their needs.
Because many long-term care facilities offer ministry programs for residents, churches may find opportunities to help with music and Bible study programs.
Churches also can help prepare older adults and their families for decisions that may come in the future.
Randall said churches should conduct educational programs about planning for aging and end-of-life issues to help members and their families.
“These kinds of issues should be included in the adult education program of every church.Discipleship-training classes, senior adult groups and special seminars are appropriate venues for such discussions by qualified persons,” he said.
Keeping a list of caregivers, community resources and contacts for services for the elderly also can help people find what they need more quickly, especially in times of crisis.
“Suddenly any one of us could become physically or mentally incapacitated,” Randall said. “The church can become a referral agency when there is a need.”
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Creating senior adult ministry teams
– Develop a group of people within the church who are willing to minister to senior adults.
– Explore possible liability and insurance issues related to transportation and care with a trusted lawyer or insurance agent.
– Make it known to senior adults that there are people available to help with needs such as providing transportation and running errands.
– As they minister, volunteers should keep their eyes open for ways to meet other personal needs.
– A church also can become a referral agency when members have needs beyond the abilities or expertise of volunteers.
Source: Tom Randall, The Baptist Foundation of Alabama
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