Nearly one in five people in England are aged 65 and over, with greater than 1 / 4 of the population expected to be above 65 by 2065. Research in quite a few western countries arrives at similar conclusions.
These figures, from the Centre for Ageing Better, illustrate why UK churches have to keep a concentrate on outreach to older people. To ignore them is to miss out on a significant mission opportunity.
The Church of England has proclaimed its objective of becoming ‘a younger church,’ aiming to double the number of youngsters and young energetic disciples by 2030 – but could witness to older people help the CofE and other churches to grow?
Organisations like Faith in Later Life and the Anna Chaplaincy network are helping to advertise and encourage outreach to older members of our communities. They are doing great work across the UK.
Initiatives include lunch clubs, exercise sessions, singing classes, tea and occasional times, outings and a broad range of social activities open to the community. Many churches are offering ‘holiday at home’ projects with special activities organised, and one church even arranges a monthly chiropodist visit.
Earlier this yr, Faith in Later Life published research showing the range and effectiveness of initiatives launched by local churches. It demonstrated the importance of mission and ministry to older people, alongside other church activities.
But ‘later life’ or ‘retirement years’ is a catch-all term that claims little in regards to the fast-growing number of individuals in these age groups. A fit-and-well 65 yr old may be very different to a 95-year-old person living in a care home. A church’s outreach to every of those people can be very different. We have to look beyond the age-based stereotypes.
One – hopefully helpful – way of describing ministry to older people focuses on their health and skill. My proposed categories could be:
The ‘go-go’ people: Men and girls, often recent to retirement, who’re physically and mentally energetic and infrequently on the lookout for opportunities for voluntary service in areas which are perhaps very different to their previous paid work.
This age group is commonly the backbone of many churches, providing the voluntary support for every kind of church activities – from staffing the church toddlers’ group to membership of the church council.
The mission opportunity here might be to encourage energetic people from outside the church to turn into involved in features of the church’s community work and so give them the possibility to fulfill Christians and so consider taking an interest in faith, for instance joining an Alpha Course. Roles would have to be chosen with care but could provide a chance step by step to turn into involved within the lifetime of the church.
The ‘slow-go’ people: Men and girls who aren’t any longer as energetic, perhaps due to illness, adjusting to life following the bereavement of a spouse, or needing to look after a member of the family.
Here the mission opportunity could also be around inviting them to affix in church social events, equivalent to lunch clubs or drop-ins, where they will meet recent people and be drawn into the lifetime of the church. Transport may have to be provided.
Bereavement counselling, reflective remembrance services and support provided by church pastoral visitors will also be helpful.
The ‘no-go’ people: These are older people who find themselves now home-based or living in a care setting. Visits from church members, services held at care homes, and ‘live-streaming’ of church services will also be a link for them to the worshipping community. Many churches have adopted care homes of their area, and supply regular times of worship, and visits.
And then, at the top of life, churches may provide sensitive funeral services, tailored to the desires of the bereaved, and their families. Exercising a sensitive funeral ministry is a significant asset for any church, as often an individual’s funeral can be a memory that can stick with a family for a long time.
A well-conducted funeral also gives the chance for the gospel of hope and salvation to be preached, sensitively, to many individuals who wouldn’t normally come to church.
Ministry and mission to older people may be a part of a church’s strategy of growth, especially whether it is taken forward in an informed way, with the needs of the several age groups in mind.
As Alexandra Huggins, chief executive officer of Faith in Later Life, has said, “There is something very powerful about ministering to those that are very old, including the experience of journeying with someone to the very end of life. The impact on the broader church of mission to older people is critical.”
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
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