A Community of Belonging and Burden Bearing The Church: A Community of Belonging and Burden Bearing

Introduction Naomi Feil as Model of Church’s Nature and Mission: Incarnational Ministry Church Uniquely Situated to Lead Society in Addressing Growing Aging Population Where many of the elderly are Steward of the story and truths most needed in relating to the elderly Church provides the lens through which to see the elderly Do the Elderly Belong? What does it mean to “belong”?

Isolation and Loneliness as Threats to Elderly Loneliness Is Epidemic Among Elderly 18 % of seniors live alone, while 43% report feeling lonely, University of California Study Loneliness is a health hazard One in seven people with Alzheimer’s disease live alone Loneliness is contagious: Behave in ways the push people away Two-thirds of people in University of California study who said they were lonely were either married or lived with a partner!

Isolation and Loneliness as Threats to Elderly continued Why Are Older Adults So Lonely? Isolation Institutionalization No longer “belong” John Swinton: Must move beyond inclusion to “belonging”!

Church as Community Where ALL BELONG Church as Body of Christ ALL are valued as persons of worth and dignity ALL barriers are removed: age, class, race, nation, sexual orientation, capacities Least and most vulnerable as special recipients and means of grace

Bonhoeffer God Comes in Vulnerability and Weakness: “Only the humble believe him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that he does wonders where people despair, that he takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous. And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly… God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in. He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them. God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken.” –Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas

Church as Community Where ALL BELONG continued What Does It Mean to Belong Missed When Not Present (Swinton) Accepted for Who I Am: Know my story, Swinton:We are to keep stories of those who have forgotten! Gifts Received and Affirmed Gift of being: The being of others calls forth our being—empathy, compassion, etc Identify gifts/contributions

Dale Sessions

Church as Burden-Bearing Community Fear of Being a Burden Suicide rate among older adults The second highest rate (18.6%) occurred in those 85 years and older. According to the CDC, an estimated 10,189 older Americans (ages 60 and up) died from suicide in 2013. Notably, the suicides are particularly high among older, white males (32.74 suicides per 100,000 people). Fear of being a burden is a major factor Idolatry of Autonomy and Independence Warren Kinghorn: Fear of being a burden is rooted idolatry of individualism, self- determination, and autonomy Denies the dependency which characterizes human life throughout lifespan. Kinghorn: “. . .even at our most ‘self-sufficient’ and ‘autonomous’, humans continue to be deeply bound to other humans and to the earth because we are bodies who inhabit space and place and culture.”

Church as Burden-Bearing Community continued Bearing Burdens Fulfills “the Law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2) Opportunity to grow in grace Story told by Fr. Tom Hopko, now deceased, He related how a woman came to him complaining about growing old and infirm and not wanting to be a burden on her children.  He said, "It really made me angry."  This woman was very proud of her independence.  He told her, "How do you know that your salvation doesn't depend on allowing your children to take care of you?  How do you know that THEIR salvation doesn't depend on them caring for you?  How do you know that this is not part of God's plan for your salvation?"   Grow in compassion, patience, gratitude, humility, love without reciprocity Develop sensitive to and appreciation of simple things: touch, smile, twinkle in the eye, moment of connection. Recognize our own hyper-cognitive and capacities oriented culture and grow in a different way of being in the world: “Knowing with the heart” Confirm the validity of I Corinthians 13:8: “Love never ends. . .” Live fully in each moment

Conclusion

Closing Hymn Blest Be The Tie That Binds Verse 1 Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above

Verse 2 Before our Father's throne We pour our ardent prayers Our fears our hopes our aims are one Our comforts and our cares

Verse 3 We share each other's woes Our mutual burdens bear And often for each other flows The sympathizing tear

Verse 4 When we asunder part It gives us inward pain But we shall still be joined in heart And hope to meet again

Verse 5 This glorious hope revives Our courage by the way While each in expectation lives And longs to see the day

From sorrow toil and pain And sin we shall be free Verse 6 From sorrow toil and pain And sin we shall be free And perfect love and friendship reign Through all eternity CCLI Song # 25369 Johann Hans Georg Nägeli | John Fawcett © Words: Public Domain Music: Public Domain For use solely with the SongSelect. Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 1524077