Mid-Atlantic OAMNews
Happy
New Year!!!
January/February,
2004
This newsletter is sponsored
by:
Synod of the Mid-Atlantic, PC(
Sunnyside Communities
The Presbyterian Homes, Inc. of NC
Mid-Atlantic
OAMNews – is a monthly e-newsletter dedicated to the promotion of spiritual
health and well-being of older adults and their families – offering
information, resources, model ministries, stories, and humor! Visit our web-site at www.synatlantic.org and click on Older
Adult Ministries.
In this issue:
OAM Calendar
Mid-Atlantic OAM Survey
Poetry Corner
Retirement Community News
Honoring Miriam Dunson
Dr. Harold Koenig on
Religion, Spirituality, and Medicine
Good News-Bits to Share
Vacations with a Purpose
Lack of Adult Day Services
Confusion over Status of
Medicare Bill
Funding
Happy Valentine’s Day
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OAM Calendar
Hold these dates!
Workshop Series on Issues of Aging
Presented by First
Presbyterian Church,
Now the Lord said
to Abram, “Go from your country and kindred and
your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” [Genesis 12:1]
As we grow older, we
often find ourselves called to such a place.
First Presbyterian Church of Edenton is pleased to offer free workshops
on the issues of aging from
For whom? For anyone with
concerns about aging issues – not just the aging, but for those with concerns
about parents, grandparents or other loved ones.
When? Each Saturday morning in February from
Where? First
Presbyterian Church,
Featuring Eldercare Consultant Martha Grove Hipskind, well-known author, speaker and trainer from
February 7: Changing
Faces/Changing Places
Understanding
memory change with age
February 14: Face to Face with Aging Issues
Is this normal or should I be worried?
February 21: Facing the Long Term Care System
What
is long term care? What does it cost?
Who pays?
February 28: Packing for the Journey
Reflections
on changing spiritual needs with age
§Transportation and child care available §Refreshments
provided
§Free! No charge, but donations to help defray costs
are welcome
Space is Limited: Call 482-3332 to Reserve Your Place
March 10: Conscious Aging – A
dinner/seminar featuring Harold Moody, Ph.D.
March 11: The Journey of the Soul: Spirituality in the Second Half of Life
– A day-long (9 AM-5 PM) conference at the Richmond (VA) Marriott, featuring
sessions on The Journey of the Soul (Harold Moody); Spiritual
Autobiography (Sr. Cora Billings); Women Mystics in the Middle
Ages (Rebecca Weaver and Bill Blake); Spiritual Tasks of Later Life (Henry
Simmins, Ph.D); Perspectives
on the Journey in Later Life (Buddhist) – Jean Frostick,
Hindu (Neil Bhatt), Jewish (Jack Spiro), Sufi Muslim (Harry Moody), and Sikh (Balwnat Singh Sekhon), and
closing plenary is entitled The Late Style of Artists: Mirror, Meaning, and Self (Harry
Moody). Cost $55
For both events the cost is
$105. Sponsored by
Need a workshop or
retreat? View some of the possibilities in this
brochure: click on:
http://civic.bev.net/OAM/congresources.htm
and look under Ministry Models.
Older Adult Ministries Committee to Survey
Congregations
The OAM Committee is
conducting a survey of every congregation, seeking input for future planning of
older adult ministries. Presbyterian
Women Moderators throughout the Synod will be assisting in this important
process. Please plan to
participate! Here’s the action plan!
v
PW Moderators
will receive a packet to include a survey and instructions for congregational
participation in early January
v
Return completed
surveys by February 15
v
Survey results
will be available by April 1
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Poetry Corner
On Growing Old
I sing the songs that no one else
remembers;
I say the poems no one else
recites.
I have grown old, and on my
hearth the embers
Grow cold through dark and
never-ending nights.
I dream the dreams that die
without fulfillment;
I dwell in darkness where
there are no lights.
But when I sing another
voice sings with me,
Another voice replies when I
recite;
And on my hearth the embers
glow and kindle;
The flames rise up and all
is warm and bright.
For God is with me and my
dreams are living;
My days are lit with
everlasting light.
By David Wynne
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Retirement Community News
Scotia
Village Retirement Community in
Expansion continues with the addition of traditional homes and villas on this
66-acre campus.
As part of the on-going celebration activities Bill Oberst, actor and performer, will present a monologue,
"Jesus of Nazareth", on Tuesday, January 27th at
Westminster Canterbury in Richmond offers seminar on legal,
medical and spiritual issues
that affect abundant
living
“Looking Homeward” will bring together professionals
in law, medicine, hospice, and pastoral care, for a seminar on
Paula
Peaden, attorney with Parker, Pollard & Brown,
P.C., will discuss “Legal Care: How to
get the results you want.” David H.
Riddick, M.D., medical director, Hospice of Central Virginia, will address the
topic “Health Care: Healthy choices from
a medical perspective.” The director of
hospice and palliative care for Bon Secours Hospice,
Donna O’Brien, will discuss “Hospice care:
peaceful endings,” while the topic for Daniel G. Bagby,
Ph.D., professor of pastoral care, Baptists Theological Seminary at Richmond,
will be Pastoral care: making our final
way.”
The
public is invited to attend. For
additional information, call Obie Sue Thomas at 804-264-6607.
Lots to do at
Honoring Miriam Dunson
On a warm, autumn day in November, friends and
colleagues gathered to honor the Rev. Dr. S. Miriam Dunson
on the occasion of her retirement from her position as Associate for Older
Adult Ministry with the General Assembly.
There were tributes, poetry, quizzes, singing, fine dining and
fellowship, gifts, and more, surrounding a person who has given nearly every
waking moment to a ministry for which she has a great passion and talent. She plans a move to
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Centra Health
sponsors and First Presbyterian Church, Lynchburg, VA hosts Religion,
Spirituality, and Medicine, a Symposium featuring Dr. Harold
Koenig, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at Duke University. He is director and founder of the Center for
the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health at Duke, editor of the
International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, and founder and editor in
chief of Research News in Science and Technology, the monthly international
newspaper of the John Templeton Foundation.
To give you a “taste” of Dr. Koenig’s views on the strong connections
between spirituality and health, go to: http://www.usatoday.com/community/chat/0629koenig.htm to read a transcript of an
interview with USA Today. Dr. Koenig is
a truly inspiring speaker, with a gift to interpret his research and the
research of others. We applaud the efforts
of Centra Health and First Presbyterian Church to
sponsor and host this exceptional event.
Good
News-bits to Share!
Many of you know the Rev.
Donna Coffman, Executive Director of Caring Congregations in
Elaine Handley, member of
the Synod OAM Committee, and the Rev. Curtis Patterson were married in late
November, 2003. Elaine is Vice President
of Senior Services, Inc. in
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Interested in vacations with a purpose? Check out some
options at Today Show’s web site at www.msnbc.com
and type in “volunteer vacations” for a search list of organizations that offer
vacations that combine site seeing, fun, and volunteerism! Some organizations mentioned on the Today
Show on Monday, Jan. 19: Cross Cultural
Volunteers, World Teach, Airline Ambassadors, Pediatricians for
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National Study Cites Serious Lack of Adult Day Services
A new report released by Partners in Caregiving reveals that there are 60 percent fewer adult
day centers than needed to meet the demands of the growing elderly population.
The National Study of Adult Day Services says there are about 3,400
adult day centers nationwide, but 5,000+ more are needed. The Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation (www.rwjf.org), in
partnership with the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, funded the
study.
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Public
Confused About Status of Medicare Bill
The Nov./Dec. 2003 Kaiser Health Poll Report reveals that, on the basis
of a survey it conducted, four in 10 seniors and six in 10 adults overall don’t
know that Congress passed the recent Medicare bill and that the President
signed it. These findings point to future challenges in teaching Medicare
beneficiaries about the law and how it works.
More info: http://headlines.kff.org/healthpollreport/templates/detail.php?page=2&feature=hni
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Announcement of Funding for Intergenerational Projects
Family
Friends
offers unique opportunities for worthwhile intergenerational projects for
people of all faiths. Here is a special opportunity to submit an application
for funding at approximately $70,000. for 30
months.
The complete grant announcement with application
guidelines and eligibility criteria is available online at www.family-friends.org/grant.htm.
Background materials on the Family Friends program may be downloaded from the
Resources section of the Family Friends Web site at www.family-friends.org/resources.htm.
Organizations without internet access may request a copy of the grant
announcement and Family Friends program materials by calling or writing: NCOA,
Family Friends,
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We wish you a
Happy Valentine’s Day!
A tip: Buy a package or two of
inexpensive valentines. Once a day
between now and Valentine’s Day, write someone a personal note and make a stack
of your written notes. Mail them out in
time for Valentine’s Day and think of the smiles they will bring to those who
read your hand-written notes.
jmcgill@bev.net