This setting provides a safe place for caregivers of  those with dementia related illness to talk about feelings, explore ways to support one another, pray and be in the quiet.  The group becomes a refuge and a place to be cared for.

This group has been meeting since September, 2011 and while there are many who come each month,there are new faces that continue to join the group.  If you live in the Twin Cities area, you are invited to join us.

Community helps me stay grounded and focused.  That is why it is important for me to be in a community of deacons.  How each of us lives out our diaconal calling is very different, but we all work around the same core values and theological touchstones.

Elliott is a youth minister in a parish in South Dakota.  Ben is a nursing student at Valparaiso University.  I am currently a chaplain in a health care facility but I am also a Lutheran Teacher, a Professor, and a Director of Christian Education.  (Forty extra years gets you a few more certificates and titles.)  The things we do differently are fairly obvious.  What is it that forms us into community?

The Lutheran Deacons in formation recognize that every Christian every Christian is set apart for the diaconal task by virtue of the call that comes through one’s Baptism.  The theological touchstone of the LDA expresses it this way, “The diaconal task belongs to all the baptized.”

Each of the Lutheran Deacons in formation are committed to helping each Baptized person to find and use their gifts in service to others.  I am exploring this in the health care setting and looking for ways to help residents live out their vocation and calling.   In the worship setting, I have residents read the Scriptures and lead the prayers.  Residents have begun baking bread for the communion services and residents make banners for the worship environment.  Residents have helped lead Bible classes and residents are encouraged and supported in  finding ways to care for one another. Residents are encouraged to offer support to one another.

When the Lutheran Deacons in formation meet each Monday night (via Skype) for prayer and support, time is also spent helping each other find ways to affirm the diaconal ministry of those with whom we work and we specifically explore together what this might look like in each of our respective ministries.

As ministers of Word and Service, Lutheran Deacons in formation, are committed to supporting one another in living out the call of God in our respective settings.  This community does help me stay both grounded and focused.

This topic can be explored in a 90 minute session or expanded to greater depths for a one day experience or a retreat.  The time is spent in working to understand the nature of dementia related disease and how one might provide meaningful spiritual care.           

When You Do Your Ministry………I Can Do Mine

This topic emphasizes the need for strong spiritual formation, beginning at birth and continuing  through each phase of the lifespan.  The foundations laid in those years provide the connecting points for those providing spiritual care to those with dementia related illness.  The one with dementia draws upon the resources formed over the years.  Time is spent  exploring ways to form people in the faith over the lifespan, so that they are prepared to face whatever life brings.         

A Time Out For Caregivers

This time together is for those who provide care (paid or unpaid) for those with dementia related diseases.  The experience involves Scripture study, sharing, prayer and quiet rest.  This program can be done in two  hours or extended to an overnight retreat.                 

The Leadership Challenge:  Exploring Ways to Serve Those With Dementia 

Designed for both lay and professional leaders in the Church, this time together will provide support for congregations interested in expanding ministry to those impacted by dementia.  Explore opportunities   to serve a special population.              

For these and other events,  contact Steve Arnold (steve@pivotpointministries.org) or (651-261-9853).

Supervising DCE Interns has been one of the greatest joys of my ministry.  Intern supervision allows for coaching and supporting women and men who are testing their wings as ministers of Word and Service, providing leadership in the lifespan educational ministries of the Church.  The DCE is a diaconal minister, who is a teacher of the faith.

Working with DCE Interns has been a constant source of learning.  One of the joys of this ministry  has been working with DCE Interns  of a variety of ages. The youngest intern to begin service was 20 and, if memory serves me, the oldest began internship at age 52.  What a wealth of questions, transitions, and insights.  The interns and I journeyed together in some rather powerful (and at times  humorous) ways.

The DCE offers a powerful ministry to the Church and I thank God that I have had 42 years of serving through this ministry.  In that span, I have worked with every age group from early childhood to my current work with aging populations.  Most of the time, however, has been spent in youth and young adult ministries.  The interns also served all of those populations (one is now serving in a congregation that offers adult daycare for those with memory loss).

DCE Interns provide strong service to the Church as they learn and grow.  It has been a privilege to walk with them………but, now a new chapter opens.

If you would like to walk with Steve Arnold as your spiritual director please feel free to e-mail (steve@pivotpointministries.org) or call 651-261-9853.  The first spiritual direction session is free.

The Alzheimer’s Association (http://www.alz.org/downloads/facts_figures_2012.pdf) reports “that an estimated 5.4 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s disease in 2012. This figure includes 5.2 million people age 65 and older and 200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s. 

1.  One in eight people age 65 and older (13 percent) has Alzheimer’s disease.Nearly half of people age 85 and older (45 percent) have Alzheimer’s disease.
2.  Of those with Alzheimer’s disease, an estimated 4 percent are under age 65, 6 percent are 65 to 74,  44 percent are 75 to 84, and 46 percent are 85 or older.”

Other estimates project that by 2050 the disease could increase to 15 million people as the boomers age.  Currently over 15 million people provide unpaid care for a person with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. 

In the book The 36-Hour Day : A Family Guide to Caring for Persons With Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss in Later Life by Nancy L. Mace and  Peter V. Rabins, one gets a picture of what it is like to be a caregiver for someone with a dementia related illness.  The title is ascribed to help the reader understand that every day for the home caregiver feels like a 36 hour day.  The information in this book also helps explain why many times the caregiver dies before the one with the disease.  Caregivers are exhausted. 

What can congregations do? 

1. Prepare church professionals who understand the dynamics of aging.
2. Prepare church professionals who understand dementia related diseases.
3. Equip laity to provide support to those with dementia related disease.
4. Provide an adult daycare program that can provide a place of enrichment for the one with the disease and a time of rest for the caregiver.
5. Provide volunteers to go to the homes of those with dementia related diseases to stay with the one with the disease so that the caregiver can take a break.                

The person with a dementia related illness is still who they have been created to be and are a part of the Body of Christ.  The church (and especially an aging church) is called to support those in need.  We hear the call of Matthew 25: 39-40, “And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

The Church is called to service, a service of love, to those who are sick and lonely and in need of support.  A great opportunity is being placed before the Church to be that service church.  If you want to discuss  how to respond to dementia related illness, Pivot Point Ministries is available.

I recently saw a sign that said, “People who are always in a hurry work out of a sense of oppression rather than a sense of call.” This is a strong statement, but as I ponder the statement I believe it to be true.

I have been in diaconal ministry for 42 years, and for 25 of those years I was tasked with preparing women and men to serve Lutheran congregations in diaconal roles. Over the years I have been very busy, and for way too many years I reveled in that. I was one of those church workers that seemed to get a high when people commented about how hard I was working. There was no one to confront me, and when our professional groups would meet I, too, would engage in the “I can’t believe how busy I am conversation.”

I have only one response: I repent! 

I have come to realize that hospitality is at the heart of ministry.  In order to proclaim one must be able to connect in ways that makes people feel welcomed.  To be rushing around busy, busy, busy shuts down ministry.

I currently serve as a chaplain to 300+ residents of a facility that includes independent living, assisted living, memory care, transitional care and long-term care. Bottom line: I am busy. 

However, my new plan is to never look busy. If I look busy people don’t feel free to engage with me. When I look busy I communicate that I don’t have time for a person. When I look busy I put up walls and barriers rather than communicate a sense of welcome.

On occasion I now serve as clinical coordinator for chaplains in training through Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). These interns work with me 16 hours per week. The first few days I spend a great deal of time with them and one of the first things I have them practice is how not to look busy. We practice walking slowly through the facility and we engage in focused conversation with each other and with residents. My continual statement to them is, “walk slowly and never look busy.”

This principle of “walk slowly and never look busy” is a key part of learning hospitality. Regardless of where one serves in ministry it is important to be fully present to the moment. In order to be hospitable one needs to learn how to slow it down. 

Prayer and breathing are a central part of slowing down, but first one must see the need for slowing down and then want to slow down. God grants a pace that works.

In a later book (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years)  Miller uses the term inciting incident to describe what I call a pivot point.  The inciting incident/pivot point is a triggering event that forces an individual to react to a need for change.  The pivot point can push the person to begin the transition process that has been delayed by indecision.

Blue Like Jazz, the movie, really highlights the pivot points in Donald Miller’s life.  His sudden insight about his mother and his youth pastor pivots Donald’s life in a whole new direction that would bring him deeper understanding of himself and the human condition.  It was truly a life changing moment when he came to the awareness of what was happening.

People and events contribute to Donald’s transitional journey.

Makes me wonder about the people and events that changed my life.  I think that I can now name most of them because i have spend a lot of time in the past few years reflecting upon those things that I have shaped me into who I am.  Each of these events and people were brought into my life by a God who continually tells me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139).  Sometimes we think that God finished when we were born.  I would say that the shaping, forming and creating action of God goes on in my life every moment of every day.

Take time to reflect each day upon events and people who have shaped your life.

I love this piece about music and dementia for two reasons:

1) It shows that the individual is still alive, still responsive and still who he or she is. We most times fail to remember that this person is still an indiviual with thoughts, hopes, dreams and desires. Music helps us express who we are.

2) I LOVE the emphasis upon individualizing the care plan for the individual. Too often the care plan remains generic and fails to consider the needs and history of the person.

Yes, it takes more time but it is very worth it!

Families………..you can be so helpful. By the time I, as chaplain, get to know your loved one you will note that your loved one cannot always communicate with me what is important. i need you to tell me his/her favorite music and I need you to help me get to know your loved one.

—

For Elders With Dementia, Musical Awakenings

Henry, an elderly Alzheimer’s patient in an American nursing home, recently became a viral star. In a short video that has been viewed millions of times online, he starts out slumped over and unresponsive — but undergoes a remarkable transformation as he listens to music on a pair of headphones.  Continue reading

Steve Arnold will be presenting on the topic Spiritual Care and Memory Loss in two different settings in the coming weeks.

                April 25, 2012    –       St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights, MN

                May   9, 2012       -       University Lutheran Church of Hope, Minneapolis, MN

The program will incorporate a brief overview to the types of memory loss, a review of the stages of memory loss and ways to provide spiritual care in each of these settings.

 If you would like to schedule a similar program in your setting, you may contact Steve Arnold via e-mail:  steve@pivotpointministries.org.

You may also read Steve’s presentation, “Walking the Journey: Spiritual Care To Those Impacted By Memory Loss” here.