Learn new approaches for strengthening the religious bonds of our aging population! Through Scripture, studies, and the personal experiences of religious leaders and congregants, Practical Theology for Aging offers new concepts for ministering to our older population. Each chapter looks at a different concern for the elderly and addresses it with the assurance that aging is part of God’s great work. From scientific models and case studies to passages from both the Old and New Testaments, this volume illuminates the power of faith in keeping the elderly whole and well. Practical Theology for Aging reveals several barriers to the spiritual wellness of our elders. These include society’s stereotypical views of frailty and incompetence in older people, the lack of common support by communities of faith, and the dissatisfaction of the elderly with outdated, traditional answers to their concerns of aging, suffering, and death. Each barrier can be overcome by utilizing the practical theology you will find in this book. Restated throughout the volume is the message that the journey into old age does not have to be filled with dread and fear but can be seen as a path to spiritual maturity. This book has practical suggestions that address: God’s purpose for aging—why do we have to grow old? sexual health for senior citizens the suffering and physical debilitation that sometimes accompany aging afflictions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and how to minister to the unresponsive the inclusion of spirituality in rehabilitation to heal the whole person after catastrophic illness or injury preaching to senior citizens as opposed to preaching to a younger congregation so much more! Practical Theology for Aging presents tips and strategies for spiritual advisement as well as traditional quotes and references reminding us to respect and honor our aging men and women. Whether you are a religious leader, caretaker, family member, or esteemed elder, this book is vital for strengthening spirituality in the elderly and promoting their inclusion into the religious community.

"Pastoral care and practical theology in the light of age and ageing are the focus of this book. It will help carers in many different settings to understand the elderly and the issues they face. In particular, it looks at how theories of age relate to our experience, and how experience might challenge and shape our theologies. Our shared commitment to an awareness of lifelong learning can help our ministry to be reflective and wise; it can broaden our imagination with sympathy." "The text is grounded in the experience of older people: their hopes and fears, their problems and possibilities. There are exercises at the end of each chapter to help reflection."--BOOK JACKET.

"[These] essays were first presented as lectures as a Conference on the Theology of Aging sponsored by the National Retired Teachers Association and the American Association of Retired Persons during the spring of 1974"--Introduction, page 93.

This book examines the ways religion and spirituality are experienced by aging persons within an aging society. An eminent group of contributors from a variety of disciplines explores this new terrain of an emerging interdisciplinary field. The result is a volume that will be the standard reference work on the relationship between religion and the experience of aging.

This book brings together key scholars and practitioners from a range of fields in order to advance epidemiological and gerontological research into the role of religion in physical, psychosocial and mental health. Part One addresses such issues as hope, forgiveness, the psychodynamics of faith and belief, and coping in a theoretical context. Part Two seeks to advance the methodological sophistication of research in this area, with an emphasis on measurement and design issues.

★ Publishers Weekly starred review Seasoned pastor and church leader Will Willimon excels at creating thought-provoking, accessible books for working pastors and seminarians. In Aging, he takes a theologically rich look at numerous aspects of growing old. Drawing on Scripture, literature, current research, and his experiences as an aging adult, Willimon reflects on aging as a spiritual journey. He explores the challenging realties as well as the rewarding joys of growing old and shows pastors how to help their congregants grow old gracefully and in good Christian hope. Willimon also offers practical advice on helping church members as they encounter retirement, aging, caring for the aging, loss, bereavement, and finding faith in the last quarter of life. This eloquent, delightfully Christian perspective on aging will be of interest to all who care for aging souls--not only pastors but also chaplains and other ministers in hospitals, hospices, and extended care facilities. About the Series Pastors are called to help people navigate the profound mysteries of being human, from birth to death and everything in between. This series, edited by leading pastoral theologian Jason Byassee, provides pastors and pastors-in-training with rich theological reflection on the various seasons that make up a human life, helping them minister with greater wisdom and joy.

Ancient cultures, such as that of the Hebrews, commonly associated wisdom with advanced years. In A Biblical Theology of Gerassapience the author investigates the validity of this correlation through an eclectic approach - including linguistic semantic, tradition-historical, and socio-anthropological methods - to pertinent biblical and extra-biblical texts. There are significant variations in the estimation of gerassapience (or «old-age wisdom») in each period of ancient Israel's life - that is, in pre-monarchical, monarchical, and post-monarchical Israel. Throughout this study, appropriate cross-cultural parallels are drawn from the cultures of ancient Israel's neighbors and of modern societies, such as the West African Yoruba tribe. The overall results are bi-dimensional. On the one hand, there are semantic elements of gerassapience, such as the elusiveness of «wisdom» and the mild fluidity of «old age». Both terms have strong contextual affinity with minimal exceptions. Thus, the attribution of wisdom to old age is evident but not absolute in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). On the other hand, gerassapience is depicted as primarily didactic, through direct and indirect instructions and counsels of the elderly, fostering the saging fear-of-Yahweh legacies. On the whole, socio-anthropocentric tendencies of gerassapience (that is, of making old age a repertoire of wisdom) are checked by theological warrants of theosapience (Yahwistic wisdom). Therefore, in the Hebrew Bible, the fear of Yahweh is also the beginning of growing old and wise.

How can you foster spiritual growth in older people?This multidisciplinary work re-examines issues of aging with dignity and spiritual meaning. Aging, Spirituality, and Pastoral Care: A Multi-National Perspective brings together chaplains, pastors, counselors, and health care practitioners in all walks of gerontology from around the world to present a fully rounded picture of the spiritual needs and potentialities of this fast-growing population. It also includes a study of the spiritual awareness of nurses working in six different nursing homes, as well as a model for a parish nursing practice that focuses on the aged. Aging, Spirituality, and Pastoral Care addresses urgent issues for older people, including: social and spiritual isolation the wisdom of the aging the need for intimacy sexuality among older people living with dementia the spiritual dimensions of caregiving

Gerontology in Theological Education: Local Program Development provides a source book for administrators and faculty in theological schools who are concerned about the increasing number of older persons in congregations and communities. Theoretical, theological, and practical chapters offer guidance to those interested in adventuring into aging for the first time or in revising present commitments.