Watch the recording of our May 21, 2024 webinar Disciples DO Meditate: A How-to Guide on Contemplation for Older Adults

Older adults have a legacy to give and a lifetime of experiences to share. The elderly can and do regain significant influence in their lives when they are involved with others. By working with older adults and enabling them to be advocates for their own successful aging, we all have so much to gain.

How do you recognize, honor and utilize the experience, wisdom, and gifts of older adults in our churches? How have you developed ministries that integrate and weave multiple generations together spiritually? How have you found meaningful ways for older adults to live as faithful disciples through liturgy, study, service, witness, and community? These efforts are critical to our ministry.

Our Older Adult Ministries offers many avenues for exploring older adults’ physical and spiritual needs and wishes, and ways to assess congregations’ priorities in developing new ministry programs for older adults, by raising awareness about aging, addressing biblical perspectives and exploring new ministry models intergenerationally and for older adults.

We would love to learn from and communicate with you!

A ministry of the Mid-America Region 

Jan Aerie, family counselor and gerontologist, is coordinator of Older Adult Ministries. She has written numerous resources, and lead many workshops and programs for faith groups and secular service organizations in many states.

Contact: You are invited to utilize the many resources offered here, or contact Older Adult Ministries Coordinator Jan Aerie, or Regional Minister Rev. Dr. Paul Koch via our Contact page.

Watch our video
“Older Adult Ministries and YOU” >

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General Resources

Stress and Your Health
Neuroscience Theatre and Alzheimer’s
Tips to Bring Care and Joy to Older Adults
Chair exercises
Music as Medicine
The Secret Life of the Aging Brain

Caregiving Resources

Starting a Caregiver Support Group at Church
Dementia-Friendly Faith Communities
Decisions for Care-ers
Living the Questions of Ambiguous Loss
Optimism
The Landscape of Reality
Perspectives on Caregiving
Strengthening Caregiving Problem Solving
Two Statements of Faith
Change and Transformation
Dementia and Spirituality
Dementia and Support Groups
Dementia and Worship Tool
First Care for Yourself

Caregiving networks: 
Family Caregiver Alliance
Caregiver Action Network
Village to Village Network
Alzheimer’s Association
Missouri Health and Human Services Dept
The Caregiver’s Voice
Alzheimer’s Caregivers

LBGTQ Older Adults - resource bibliography

Resources in a Time of Isolation - What the pandemic helped us learn
Loneliness: a video (12 minutes)
Caregivers and Coronavirus Stress
Staying in the Moment
Change and Transformation
I Am There
Sanctuary in the Midst of Alzheimer’s
Impacts on Alzheimer’s Caregiving Community during the Pandemic
Loneliness and Memory Loss during the Pandemic
How to Handle Social Distancing Like Mr. Rogers from Guideposts

Watch the video from our virtual Working Group meeting held on February 16, 2023.

Recording of May 14, 2020 Zoom meeting on ministering to older adults during pandemic

Other resources - please utilize this regularly updated list of resources

Suggestions for Book Clubs and Discussion Groups