Spreading the word
Three of our clergy have been investigating the benefits of ministry to older people.
In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap. (Psalm 92.14)
At the end of October Revd Robert Wilkinson, Revd Shirley Murphy and Revd Sarah Llewellyn, representing St Davids Diocese, went on a residential training course in Anna Chaplaincy, (https://www.annachaplaincy.org.uk/) which is an older people’s ministry.
They were very encouraged to see so many people from all six dioceses acknowledging the importance of older people’s ministry and that as a team they were excited by what they each as individuals could all take away from the course and add to their own ministries.
According to Luke’s Gospel, Anna, or Anna the Prophetess, was an elderly woman who appeared at the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Anna Chaplains are named after her.
Anna Chaplaincy is a way of supporting older people emotionally and spiritually. An Anna Chaplain or an Anna Friend is essentially someone who walks alongside older people wherever they are, in nursing or residential homes, sheltered accommodation or in their own homes, providing spiritual care to them and their loved ones whether they are people of strong, little or no faith at all.
Within our diocese, 25% of the people are aged over 65 and 6.4% are over 80. Some of them are in our congregations and often play key roles but others are frail and in poor health. This training challenged us to consider how well we are ministering both to those within our congregations and to the spiritual needs of the wider elderly congregation.
As well as the practical training they received from experienced Anna Chaplains, they learned from case studies and group work, also by the personal experiences of each other.
The course stressed that, although it is important for the church to focus on youth as they represent the future, it is also important to remember that we owe the ones who brought us here a huge debt. Do we as church do enough for older people who can no longer come to church?
This is an important ministry and one that hopefully will become more widely known. All three have now finished the training and are waiting to be licensed officially as Anna Chaplains. They are happy to help and talk to anybody regarding this important ministry if needed.