Publications and Resources
Planning Resources
Newsletters
Older
Adult Week Planning Guide
The church-planning calendar designates the first
week in May as Older Adult Week. We dedicate this week to older adults because they are
the backbone of our church, our nation and the world. The purpose of Older Adult
Week is to help congregations recognize aging as a natural part of living, involving
life from birth to death and to affirm the worth of persons in all
stages of development and at all functional levels. Each year
a special theme is chosen around Older Adult Week and a planning guide is provided
to help congregations recognize and honor older church members.
The 2007 Older Adult Ministries Planning Guide is available from Presbyterian Marketplace for $2 plus shipping
and handling.
$2.00 • PDS # 1211207917
AGEnda
This quarterly newsletter gives an update on news concerning
older adult ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), program
ideas, worship materials, articles on older adult issues and
helpful resources for ministry with older adults. AGEnda is available as a free, printable Adobe Acrobat pdf file (download
below), or through the Congregational Ministries Division, Room
1615, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396. (502)
569-5487. Free.
ARMSS
newsletter
The quarterly newsletter of the Association
of Retired Ministers, their Spouses or Survivors.
Books
Consult this list of suggested books written by Presbyterians and compiled
by the Center on Aging, Presbyterian School of Education.
Book Review
'I’m
Still Dancing: Praying through Good Days and Bad' by Rose Tillemans, C.S.J.
Twenty-Third Publications (185 Willow
Street, Mystic, CT 06355), 2002, ISBN : 1-58595-237-0, 71 pages.
Reviewed by Carol Taylor
“Good morning, Holy God, I give thanks for my upbeat awakening this
morning…”
Rose Tillemans, an activist for peace and justice, wrote this slim volume
of prayers in 2002, the year she died at the age of 79. The forty prayers
span the spectrum of human emotions from joy to anger to depression to fear and
back to joy.
“…May tomorrow be cooler and calmer. I ponder my own spurts
of rage and try to replace them with tenderness of heart toward those who might
do me harm…”
Sister Rose founded Peace House, a community day center for poor and homeless
people in Minneapolis, Minnesota, even as she struggled with depression and other chronic
illness. Sister Rose resisted aging, especially retirement and moving to
an assisted living facility.
“Dear God of Joy, a feeling of heaviness overwhelms me this day…”
Although
she accomplished much by anyone’s standards, in her prayers Sister
Rose questioned the purpose of her life. She also prayed to understand
God’s nature, human nature, and the causes of suffering. Sister Rose
was able to put into simple yet eloquent words her praise, her concerns, and
her questions about God and about life.
“…The reality of universal pain overwhelms me at this moment,
but I see myself in this great pool of common anguish trying to hear what you
are asking of me...”
In her prayers Sister Rose revealed herself to God and to us. Her vulnerability
is irresistible: as I read her prayers, I open my heart and join in Rose’s
communion with God. These prayers are appropriate for personal devotion,
to open meetings of mission groups, and could easily be adapted for worship.
“…The God of the Dance will take away your every fear and lead
you from darkness into a light that is ever near…”
Statements and manuals
from the office of Older Adult Ministries
Dimensions of Older
Adult Ministry: a Handbook
Edited by Richard L. Morgan
Contributing writers for this book are recognized authorities in the field
of older adult ministries.
This handbook takes up common issues surrounding the aging process, including
learning in later life, nursing homes, retirement community living, elder abuse,
late-life depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia
that plague older adults. There are also chapters on aging from both the
Jewish and Islamic perspectives. This resource is a practical guide for
caregivers and faith communities seeking help in overcoming barriers to ministering
to older adults.
$15.95 • PDS #1571530592
Older Adult Ministry: a Guide for
the Presbytery Committee
by Jack and Sue Angerman
Published in 1990, this manual is designed to help presbyteries initiate
ministries with older adults. It outlines how to organize and how to proceed
with ministry on the presbytery level. However, it includes ideas that can be
used in congregations as well.
$9.95 • PDS #090300
Older
Adult Ministry: A Guide for the Session and Congregations
Compiled by Jim Simpson, edited by Kim Richter,
revised and edited by Miriam Dunson
This manual is designed to help the congregation initiate
ministry with older adults. It is a compilation of successful
programs and strategies resulting from the "Gift of a Lifetime"
program. In one section on educating the committee on older
adult ministry, it contains a study guide for exploring the
issues of aging based on material found in Older Adult Ministry:
A Resource for Program Development, listed above. Task Force
Report (In the fall of 1992, this booklet was sent to each congregation).
$10.00 • PDS #7025000711
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