By Keith Purtell
Phoenix Staff Writer
September 06, 2008 11:29 pm
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For elderly people who are no longer able to go to church, keeping their faith may be a challenge.
Ruth Eloise Carter, 86, a resident at Grace Living Center on West Okmulgee Avenue, said her church in Broken Arrow where she once lived sends her a weekly bulletin and prayer chain.
But she said it’s too far for them to drive to Muskogee to visit her. Fortunately there is a regular service at the center.
“Meadowbrook Baptist Church is here once a week,” she said. “They sing a song or two, then he reads from the Bible and talks about it.”
Carter said keeping a spiritual connection alive is very important for older people, especially with physical challenges.
“Oh definitely,” she said. “I don’t know how you would make it without faith. It’s important for everybody, but for the elderly you’ve still got something to hang on to.”
Carter says a prayer she learned as a child at every meal she eats; one way of reinforcing her own beliefs. She has also taken an active role with the other residents.
“I have a Bible study at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon,” she said. “I read from the Bible and we talk about it.”
She’s also a believer in having a good study Bible handy to look up any subject that is on her mind.
“I’m not kidding you; you take the concordance in the back, and in just one Bible you can get a more complete understanding on that subject,” she said.
Author Missy Buchanan, 57, of Dallas has written a book on this topic: “Living With Purpose in a Worn-out Body: Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults.” It’s available through major book sellers.
“My mom is 92 and has moved to a retirement center,” she said. “As she got older, going to church was a physical challenge.”
Buchanan noticed that very few elderly in the retirement center got regular visits from representatives of their church.
“So many churches are failing to keep that connection,” she said. “I looked at the people in the center and saw that they were kind of wandering into a spiritual desert. I went to book stores, but they didn’t have anything on this topic. I started writing my own devotions for my parents.”
Buchanan’s father died, but she visits her mother each day at the retirement center.
“I looked around and thought, ‘These people need encouragement,’” she said. “So, I began to share my devotionals with the folks there.”
Wanting to reach more elderly she went to her church and asked who was in charge of older adults. The person she spoke with read her devotionals and forwarded them to a religious publishing house called The Upper Room.
Soon, Buchanan’s personal project became a popular book in it’s second printing and scheduled for a third.
“I think what’s different about this book is that it’s written in the perspective of an older adult talking to God,” she said. “The approach is kind of like modern-day psalms. There are other books, but they are not easy to read for someone whose concentration is diminished. In my mother’s case, it’s pain medication.”
Buchanan said the elderly population is the fastest-growing in the nation, leaving churches struggling for an effective response.
Her book is an effort to give words to people who feel they have been spiritually isolated.
“The book tries to present what they’re thinking but not able to say,” she said.
Reach Keith Purtell at 918-684-2925 or Click Here to Send Email
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Photos
Buchanan