Mid-Atlantic OAMNews
July/August 2003
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. Jan
McGilliard, Editor
In this issue:
Meet our Outstanding Older
Adult 2003
Fall Getaways and POAMN
Conference Announcement
AGEnda available on-line
OAM Committee Plans for
Future
Outstanding Older Adult
Award 2004
National Organizations Benefit
Adult Ministries
Don’t Miss! Issues of Church
& Society
Care Giving News
Denial Among
Elders Re: Long-Term Care
Resources for Spiritual
Renewal
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Meet our Outstanding Older Adult 2003
Daniel P. McDonald, member of McDonalds Chapel Presbyterian Church in
A quote from the Session’s
nomination: Dan is a living
example of service to others for the glory of God. We admire and commend his commitment,
dedication, and faith in Jesus Christ.
Dan received the Synod award at the meeting of Coastal Carolina
Presbytery on June 26, surrounded by many who know and love him. We’ve heard the celebration cake was good, too! Congratulations, Dan!
Fall
Getaways
Looking for a Fall getaway in a pretty place? Look no further than our own conference
centers at Massanetta Springs and Montreat!!!
Montreat Fall Older Adult
Conference: October 6-10.
This conference fills up fast, so don’t delay! Conference theme: To Everything There is a Season. Keynote speaker: J. Barrie Shepherd. For more information, go to www.montreat.org, or call 1-800-572-2257.
POAMN (Presbyterian Older Adult Ministry Network) Annual Conference
to be held in Tempe, AZ , October 22-25 at the Fiesta Inn Resort, 2100 S.
Priest Dr. (fly into Phoenix). Theme: Spirituality:
Health and Well-being. Keynoter is Marty Richards, Social Worker and
Consultant on Aging. Worship leader:
Dosia Carlson, UCC Minister, Founder of
Beatitudes Center for Developing Older Adult Resources in
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May Issue of AGEnda available
on-line!!
View
the latest issue of AGEnda, quarterly publication of the Office on Aging, PC(USA) by visiting the OAM website at: http://horeb.pcusa.org/olderadults/
It’s an excellent issue. Don’t miss it!
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OAM Committee Plans for Future
Here’s a summary of current
activities:
- On May 5-6 a Synod Consultation on Older Adult
Ministries was held – contact Jan McGilliard if you desire more details: jmcgill@bev.net or phone: 540-552-3233
- In June the OAM Committee met with an
Organization Development Consultant
- Next steps:
Consider becoming a non-profit organization that serves
congregations within the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic; Survey congregations
within the Mid-Atlantic region about their needs for adult ministries
- The OAM Committee will meet in September to
continue mapping the future
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Outstanding
Older Adult Award 2004
In the past five years the Outstanding
Older Adult Award has been received by five exceptional individuals. All presbyteries have participated in the
process and have cooperated in every way to make the award process go
smoothly. The committee has agreed it is
time to invite presbyteries to carry on the tradition of the
Outstanding Older Adult Award should they choose to do so. The committee’s goal has been to establish
the award, make annual improvements, and ultimately, to offer the model back to
the presbyteries.
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National Organizations Benefit Adult Ministries
POAMN – Presbyterian
Older Adult Ministry Network, is a
network of persons engaged in ministry
with older adults. They work in presbyteries and synods, are leaders in
congregations, and some serve in specialized ministries such as chaplains in
care facilities and presbytery staff who are involved with older adult ministry
committees. POAMN is related to the Congregational Ministries Division,
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through the Office of Older Adult Ministries. Membership dues are very reasonable! To learn more and/or to join, click on: http://horeb.pcusa.org/olderadults/poamn.htm
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Don’t miss the March/April issue of Church
& Society, Presbyterian Church (USA), entitled Encircling
Care: A New Vision for Congregational
Caregiving and the May/June issue entitled:
Encircling Care:
Alzheimer’s Disease and Congregational Caregiving. They provide an excellent overview of
caregiving trends and expectations, a history of the Care Team movement and the
theological resources for this concept, stories of congregational caregiving,
and more. Order your copies today from
PDS at 1-800-524-2612, Order #PDS 72-630-02-602. Single copies cost $2.50.
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Care Giving in the News
The Supreme court has ruled that states may not deny their employees up
to 12 weeks of unpaid time to care for their spouse, parents, or children. “The Family Medical Leave Act aims to protect
the right to be free from gender-based discrimination in the workplace, “ says the opinion written by Chief Justice William
Rehnquist. For more information: www.supremecourtus.gov.
Editor’s Note: This is a significant ruling in light of the prevalence of multi-generational caregiving. The average caregiver is a woman of 46 years, employed full-time with caregiving responsibilities for at least two generations, younger and older.
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Lawrence Woodstock
We’ve all heard about the
benefits of a glass of wine, but too much alcohol can be very detrimental to
health and well-being. Substance-abuse
professionals are particularly concerned about aging boomers. Many in this population are still social
drinkers, having experimented with drugs and alcohol in their youth. We do not know the effects on such persons as
they age. “We’re going from Lawrence
Welk to the
- As the body ages, it loses water volume. A little alcohol has a greater effect on
a senior.
- Some seniors start drinking when they retire
(less social activity, more time)
- A divorce late in life or a significant change
may bring on drinking
- As a response to depression, women generally
take medication if they are depressed and men tend to drink alcoholically
- Suicide in white elderly men is more prevalent
than for other groups. Depression
increases a person’s chance of dying by suicide sixfold.
- Drinking may increase depression because of
alcohol’s effects on the aging body.
- Many seniors are drinking more than they think
they are. On the plus side, seniors
who start drinking later in life generally respond well to
intervention.
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Survey
Shows Americans in Denial about Long Term Care
A survey done by the
American Society on Aging shows that seniors think long-term care is an
important issue but aren’t doing much to prepare for it. “We know that after age 65, Americans have
more than a 70% chance of needing some form of long-term care. This is a real wake-up call for all of us to
redouble our efforts to get good information on long-term care financing out
into the community,” says Jim Emerman, Vice President of the American Society
on Aging. “Americans are stuck in a
classic high-anxiety position: knowing
they need to do something, but not quite sure what, or when to get started, or
how to fit it in against other financial needs.”
A major problem is the
confusion over coverage. More than half
(62%) had at least one serious misconception about who provides long-term care
or the conditions under which it is offered.
For example, 40% didn’t know Medicare provides limited coverage for
skilled nursing care.
ASA doesn’t advocate
long-term care insurance for everyone.
Some might be better off funding long-term care through a reverse
mortgage or entering a continuing-care retirement community. For those with few assets, Medicaid will
cover them. But for those who
would benefit from it, they should start thinking about it at age 45 or 50. For more information, contact Jim Emerman at jemerman@asaging.org.
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Resources for Spiritual Renewal
Here’s a noteworthy pair of
books dedicated to spiritual renewal for individuals and groups: Spiritual
Classics: Selected Readings for
Individuals and Groups on the Twelve Spiritual Disciplines, edited by
Richard J. Foster and Emilie Griffen, and Devotional Classics: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups,
edited by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith. Pat Valentine of Presbytery of the James has
used these books very successfully in a retirement community setting and gives
them high marks. Both are published by
Harper SanFrancisco and are well worth $16 each to have in your collection. Spiritual Classics focuses on
twelve disciplines and include Inward Disciplines of meditation, prayer,
fasting, study; Outward Disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission,
service; and Corporate Disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and
celebration.
Devotional Classics includes the following sections: Preparing for the Spiritual Life, The
Prayer-Filled Life, The Virtuous Life, The Spirit-Empowered Life, The
Compassionate Life, and The Word-Centered Life.
Each volume features the
writings of well-known figures in the Christian tradition, such as St.
Augustine, Thomas Merton, Frederick Buechner, Evelyn Underhill, Christina
Rossetti, Thomas More, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Martin Luther King Jr…..to name a
few! There are discussion questions;
individual and group exercises to help guide readers and leaders.
Happy Summer! Jan McGilliard,
Editor