Pompey Chimes JUNE.qxd
20/5/04
3:17 pm
Page 7
features
9
Not just yesterday’s church!
YOU know when
you are getting
old,
they
say,
when you feel like
the morning after,
but you haven’t
been anywhere!
Cornerstone Vision, 28 Old Park Road, Peverell, Plymouth PL3 4PY Tel: 01752 225623 www.cornerstonevision.com
There is another sure
way of telling: when you
are patronised (the “little
old lady” syndrome) or
devalued (“it’s a job for a
younger person”) or simply rendered invisible
(restaurant table service is
so much less attentive if
we have grey hair and
wrinkles).
But, hey, we exist –
and are not just an amorphous blob. We are all
individuals and often very
individualistic.
Think Patrick Moore
(81), think Tony Benn
(77), think Joan Collins
(71).
Think of any number
of unsung older people
who comprise our congregations. Think of the gifts
they possess and the stories they can tell.
How old are the elderly? A social worker’s
theBIG
issue
The Ven Peter Coombs, former Archdeacon of
Southwark, now a retired clergyman from Locks Heath
Each month The Big Issue examines social,
moral or spiritual concerns. This month:
what should our attitude be to older people?
recent
definition,
in
answer to my question,
went like this: “the older
person” – note the careful
wording – “is someone
over the age of 65”.
Fine. But my guess is
that 65 is a moving target.
Soon 70 will be the new
65. Then 75 the new 70.
Staying with the numbers game: a 65-year-old
male has a life expectancy
of 81 (2002 figures); the
female equivalent is 84. In
only 15 years time these
figures will have inched up
to 84 and 87 respectively.
Put statistically, the
elderly are an inexorably
growing constituency. Put
dramatically the nation –
and the church within the
nation – is sitting on a statistical time-bomb.
A national daily broadsheet recently carried the
breathtaking
sentence:
“the Church of England’s
biggest problem today is
their old people”.
I rushed a letter to the
editor saying that, on the
contrary, old people are the
church’s greatest resource.
They didn’t publish. But
I’m sure I had a point.
As a resource, however, older people’s gifts can
only be maximised if
attention is given to their
particular needs.
On the sound principle
of “don’t guess what I feel
or need – ask me”, I conducted a mini-survey of
one mainly elderly midweek congregation well
known to me. The points
they were eager to raise
with me – in no particular
order – were:
Mobility: if we are
confined to our rooms or
houses we are virtual prisoners. We love to be
offered lifts or to be visited.
Bereavement: we
need help in grieving; time
rarely heals and, for some,
the process never ends.
Ministry: yes, please
use us both in church and
community, but do remember we have limited time
and energy.
Hearing: many of us
have impaired hearing. In
church, the best hearing
aid of all is the human
voice used with clarity.
Spirituality: we still
have immortal souls and
old age doesn’t necessarily
bring with it greater cer-
tainty about faith, prayer,
death and heaven.
Practical support: at
home many of us are
beyond the DIY stage; it is
a great relief if there is a
familiar person we can rely
upon in need.
Celebration: old age
isn’t catching; activities or
friendships that span the
generations are very stimulating.
Sickness: the incidence of illness, including
dementia, is likely to
increase with age. We need
treating as people, not
patients.
The increasing incidence of older people in
our parishes suggests the
need for a well thought-out
strategy in order to meet
their needs and to deploy
their gifts.
Just as the church has
learned to affirm that children and young people are
not tomorrow’s church,
but part of today’s church,
so we have to learn the lesson that older people are
not yesterday’s church, but
an essential part of today’s
church as well.
REVIEW
Counting
People In
by
Richard
Thomas
AS we think
of the future
Church in our diocese, this is a
thought-provoking book written by the Oxford diocese’s
communications officer.
He argues that the Church
has two kinds of members those that attend church fairly
frequently (about 11 per cent
of the population) and the larger numher who say on the census return they are Christians
(73 per cent).
He looks at the theology of
belonging and what the
Church can do to communicate
with people who rarely set foot
in a church.
It’s not all dry theory. He
makes several practical suggestions. I like the one of inviting
people to join an e-mail list so
they can be sent a copy of the
pew sheet to keep them in
touch with their local church.
This is not a book to dip in
and out of, but one I think all
church leaders should study as
we discuss Kairos.
GORDON UPHILL
Parish resources adviser
“Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the
ltteers in a wrod are, as lnog as the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset
can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it whituot a porblem. Tihs is bcuseae we do
not raed ervey lteter by istlef but the wrod as a wohle.”
That may be true but talking to us could help you communicate more effectively
MARKETING ● PUBLISHING ● PRINT ● DESIGN
Call Ian Pilkington on 01752 225623 or visit www.cornerstonevision.com