God, Me and Being Very Old

Keith Albans

Description

This book is not about old age, but essentially it is about old people, known and loved or lost and bemused. The heart of the book is the hearing and re-telling of the faith stories of fifteen of the oldest old, all of whom are living in residential care settings. The stories outline the lives they have lived and the impact they have made on their listeners.

Informations

• Publié par: Hymns Ancient & Modern
• Date de parution: 03 décembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780334049463
• Langue: English

Extrait

God, Me and Being Very Old
Stories and Spirituality in Later Life
God,
Me and
Being Very Old
Stories and Spirituality in Later Life
Edited by
Keith Albans and Malcolm Johnson
© Keith Albans and Malcolm Johnson 2013
Published in 2013 by SCM Press
Editorial office
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108–114 Golden Lane
London EC1Y 0TG
SCM Press is an imprint of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd(a registered charity)
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www.scmpress.co.uk
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, SCM Press.
The Authors have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this Work
The extract from ‘I Look Out Over the Timeless Sea’ by R. S. Thomas is from Collected Later Poems 1988–2000 , Bloodaxe, 2004. Used by permission.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is availablefrom the British Library
978-0-334-04945-6
Typeset by Manila Typesetting Company
Printed and bound by
CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon
Contents
Foreword by Baroness Kathleen Richardson
The Contributors
Acknowledgements
Editors’ Introduction
Part 1 An Introduction to the Contribution, Care and Support of Older People Living in their Fourth Age
1 The Changing Face of Ageing and Old Age in Twenty-First-Century Britain
MALCOLM JOHNSON
2 Supporting and Learning from the Oldest Old: The Spiritual Journey of Ageing
KEITH ALBANS
3 The Churches and Older People: Gift or Burden?
ALBERT JEWELL
4 The Narratives of Old Age
JAMES WOODWARD
Part 2 The Testimonies of Age
5 Listening and Accompanying: The Essence of Later-Life Chaplaincy
ANDREW NORRIS
6 The Testimonies of Age
Story 1: Mary’s story – A generous friend
Story 2: Pearl and Walter’s story – God’s hand at work in people’s lives and in death
Story 3: Nancy’s story – Finding faith at the end of life
Story 4: Sidney’s story – Faith discovered late
Story 5: Robert’s story – Faith made stronger through adversity
Story 6: Joyce’s story – A faith evolved
Story 7: Arthur and Alice’s story – Faith sustained by finding God in the commonplace
Story 8: Edith’s story – God, an ever-sustaining presence
Story 9: Joan’s story – Making sense of the life lived
Story 10: Ada’s story – Am I justified by faith?
Story 11: Sally’s story – The importance of faith exercised in community
Story 12: Daphne’s story – A deep, emotional and hard-wired faith
Story 13: Elizabeth’s story – Faith that survives despair, anger and fear
Story 14: Winnie’s story – A story of enduring faith and devotion
Story 15: Barbara’s story – Faith in the face of confusion
7 Distilling Meaning through the Stories
MARGARET GOODALL
Part 3 Making Sense of the Stories
8 Long-Life Discipleship: The Fruits of the Journey
JOANNA WALKER
9 The Challenge of Unbelief in Old Age
ANN MORISY
10 Remember the Lord your God! Dementia and Faith
MARGARET GOODALL
11 An Ageing Church is not a Failing Church: Finding New Paradigms for Accompanying Older Pilgrims
LAWRENCE MOORE
12 Chaplaincy Among Older People: A Model for the Church’s Ministry and Mission?
ANDREW NORRIS
13 Lessons from Listening
MALCOLM JOHNSON and KEITH ALBANS
Index
Foreword
This book is not about old age. Old age is a scientific or sociologic­al construct that people feel the need to define and describe in biological or financial terms, expressing its needs and opportun­ities and often its cost to society. There is something of that in the book, but essentially this book is about old people , known and loved or lost and bemused. Some of the old people featured in this book have grown old imperceptibly, slipping from one stage of life into the next, gradually changing roles and responsibilities. Some have been catapulted into old age by accident or disease; they have woken up one day and been told they need extra care because they are old. And they have found themselves, by their choice or by that of their relatives or carers, in residential care, dementia care or nursing homes run by Methodist Homes.
That has been their good fortune.
I have more reason to be grateful for Methodist Homes than many who will read this book. My mother-in-law spent the last years of her life in a fairly happy state of dementia in MHA, and my husband was magnificently cared for after significant brain damage left him needing more physical care than I could give.
At the heart of this book lie the stories and songs of people whose lives began in the years between 1908 and 1938. Their stories reflect years of hardship and austerity, of deep fulfilment and of disappointment, of lovers lost or married, of work done and families raised. Many remember more vividly their childhood years as their own years increase and recall their parents and the influences of the time. Many are able to rest in the faith that has sustained them all their life and others feel the need to explore what life really means as the time to die draws closer.
The authors of the book reflect on the experience of knowing and caring for people in Methodist Homes. In particular the chaplains, appointed to each home as the ‘hopeful presence’ for the residents, their families and staff, have carefully researched and offered stories for us in the voices of the people themselves. This is authentic research and comes to us with integrity. We hear the struggles and delights of the faith journeys of real people and the impact these have on those with whom they share their daily life. They will have their impact on us too as we read them.
For some, entry into residential care is a traumatic experience of loss; for others, it offers a grateful release from anxiety and fear. When did this journey into old age start? The seeds of our ageing have been there from birth. As someone said, ‘If a thing is old, it is a sign that it was fit to live.’ The songs that our hearts sing are likely to be the same that have sustained us in our lives – though we may be singing them in a different key! The ability to embrace ageing with serenity is not easy for everyone and some need careful help to enable them to let go of the lives they have known without feeling they are falling into a vacuum of nothingness.
It is the contention of this book that autumn and winter of the seasons of our lives can be some of the most fruitful. Many old people discover the joys of freedom from responsibility so they can wear purple and act outrageously! Others fulfil a calling to be of service to others, and we find many of the volunteers are old themselves while still active. Many would echo the words on the tombstone of Winifred Holtby, ‘God give me work until my life shall end and life until my work is done.’ But some of those whose physical frailty needs the care of others discover a life of the spirit that has been waiting for the opportunity to develop. The freshness of old memory gives new chance for regrets and hurts to be healed and forgiven, and for joys and delights to be lived again. And the religious faith that kept hope alive, or that had been shelved in the day-to-day struggles of existence, springs afresh at the expectation of meeting the mystery of death.
It is also the hope of the authors of this book that those reading it will be prompted to review the good experiences and tools for living well that they currently enjoy and build up the resources of faith and love that will last into the experience of ageing. The book is also offered to churches and religious groups that may be looking for ways to encourage conversation around the issues of living and dying well.
The poet R. S. Thomas wrote:
I look out over the timeless sea
over the head of one, calendar
to time’s passing, who is now open
at the last month, her hair wintry.
Am I catalyst of her mettle that,
at my approach, her grimace of pain
turns into a smile? What it is saying is:
‘Over love’s depths only the surface is wrinkled.’
It is the privilege of those who work with old people to catch glimpses of the way God is at work and sometimes to assist him.
KATHLEEN RICHARDSON
June 2013
The Contributors
The Editors
Keith Albans is a Methodist minister with almost 30 years’ experience in a variety of settings. Prior to ordination, he read Chemistry at Oxford University, took a PhD in Chemical Entomology at Southampton University, and a BD at Manchester University.
In 2001, Keith was appointed as Senior Chaplain and then Director of Chaplaincy and Spirituality at Methodist Homes (MHA). In this role, he has particular responsibility for working to support the spiritual needs of older people in care homes, housing schemes and community services, in collaboration with local chaplains, building relationships between MHA and local churches and faith communities and looking to share experience and expertise with churches and community groups.
As well as developing a general understandin