Christian Council on ageing

for older people and their life of faith and hope.

   

A VOICE FOR OLDER PEOPLE AND THEIR LIFE OF FAITH AND HOPE

 

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Being Older

1st December 2017 By GerryBurke

Being older is first and foremost: being an older woman or man. We are people with hopes and fears, loves and hates, friends and enemies, things to do and things to avoid, times of sickness and times of health: we are human. Being human brings with it the ability to give as much or as little to the world around us as we wish, and the need from time to time to seek and to receive help and support from others around us. In this part of our website you will find reflections on some of the facts of being older and on some of the demands being older can make on ourselves and on others.

The faith of older Christians

Christians on Ageing’s Membership Survey 2012 suggests that their faith needs are just as great and varied as those of younger Christians. As the end of life comes closer, questions about belief and relationship with God become more urgent, and many find their need for support with prayer, spirituality and working out the Christian life is not met. Church leaders are not always sensitive to the spiritual traditions and patterns of worship which have fed older Christians over the years, and tend to judge changes in patterns of worship and Church life in terms of attractiveness to younger people, while older members of congregations are taken for granted.

At the same time, decline in older people’s social contacts within the Church, as their contemporaries die or can no longer attend church, can lead to a sense of loneliness and a lack of anyone to share their religious concerns with.

It must not be taken for granted that non-churched people are only to be found among the young: there are many older people who not only have no church links now, but have had little or no contact with the Church throughout most or all of their lives.

The needs of older Christians

Many older Christians, like other older people, lead active, fulfilled lives, but they become more at risk of physical, mental and social decline as they get older, and these create challenges and opportunities for the pastoral work of the Churches, leading to, for example:

  • establishing social clubs within the local church
  • visiting schemes for those who are housebound or in hospital and residential care
  • building awareness of the particular needs of those living with dementia (read more on Dementia Care) and
  • the pastoral care of those who are dying (read more on Dying and Death) and bereaved.  Read more about Bereavement.

Older people and the Church

The office-holders in many Churches – wardens, stewards, elders, church secretaries – are often drawn from the ranks of the (fairly) recently retired, and it could be asked how many local churches would survive without these people. A less commonly noted factor is the high proportion of retired clergy: in some denominations this may be over 50% of all clergy, and these too are often found ‘filling in’ for full-time clergy. Yet this dependence on older Church members is not always acknowledged, or is seen as a ‘failure’ of the Church to recruit younger members rather than as a gift to the Church of this relatively new ‘third age’ generation.

These ideas are further developed through this website and in our magazine and other publications.

Filed Under: Being Older

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Speaking Out

There are some things which just have to be said.  We have to speak out because at the heart of the Christian message is our belief that God is not silent.  God has spoken through creation itself and the evolving universe; through the human story; through the dwelling of Jesus Christ in time; through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in each believer; through the inspiration of the scriptures; and through the wisdom and the teaching of the Church through the ages.

We use words all the time.  Words of welcome.  Words of wisdom.  Words of warmth.  Words of warning.  Words of wistfulness.  Our words are wasted if words are just words.   In the beginning was the Word.  And the Word was with God.  And the Word was God.  Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him.   The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word made things happen.

As Christians, as followers of the Word, we do something about what we have heard.  Our own best words are our actions.

Please tell us what you would like us to Speak Out about by contacting:  info@ccoa.org.uk

 

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Comment & Opinion

Christians on Ageing cannot deal with every issue affecting the lives of older people but it can highlight those which are causing public debate or concern.  The charity’s first task is to identify these for its members and to provide information about the nature of the debate and the variety of views and opinions being proposed.  Unless members of Christians on Ageing have been canvassed for their views or the Executive Committee has taken a policy decision, the articles here are to be considered an exploration of the issues rather than a formal comment.  The nature of the contribution to the debate will always be made clear.

Some facts

Health & Social Care

The Churches’ pastoral care

Spirituality

Being Older

Reflect and Pray

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth.  Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust.  Lead me from hope to love, from war to peace.  Let peace fill my heart, our world, our universe.

The noon prayer for peace

Prayers and Reflections

Postal Address

Ms Barbara Stephens
Honorary Secretary
Christians on Ageing
The Depozitory
23 Nelson Street
Ryde
Isle of Wight PO33 2EZ

 

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