Category

For Caregivers

This category speaks to matters especially important to caregivers–family members and perhaps professional caregivers–who help make life full for older adults. If nothing else, this category is one way of saying thanks!

F

The other side of pastoral care

I don’t know for sure, but it feels to me like this pandemic has been especially hard for pastors and other professional church workers. Most professional leaders seem to be enduring all of this—quiet and uncomplaining—even when they might feel alone in keeping their congregations functioning. Many of them have also had to deal with the burden of keeping their congregations financially viableMORE...

Next Avenue: A personal recommendation

  I’ve been meaning to do this for awhile: Invite you to subscribe to a free online newsletter/journal especially written for older adults and their caregivers!  This one-of-a-kind resource can be found at www.nextavenue.org and it’s definitely worth clicking on, worth supporting financially, too. Let me tell you why…. In my experience, Next Avenue is probably the most helpful source ofMORE...

Word therapy?

Over the years, I’ve noticed that the first signs of cognitive decline and dementia often appear as the loss of memory regarding nouns. A key indicator seems to be the substitution of the word “things” in place of the names for ordinary items. Even common synonyms aren’t  available, so “things” becomes the go-to noun. This is a useful work-around, but also can be a signal that word-recallMORE...

Not in polite company

As she grew older, I may have failed *Mabel. Although I tried to keep in touch, visiting and calling her with some regularity, I still let her down in one aspect of older adulthood: I wasn’t honest with her about difficult matters. Instead, I chose always to be positive and helpful, building up what eventually turned into only a façade of normalcy. To be direct: Mabel and I didn’t talk candidlyMORE...

“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen”

First it was Ken who entered hospice. Then Kent. And just yesterday, the news came that Bill has been placed under the care of a local hospice program. In each case, this later stage in personal and medical care has followed years of the quiet agonies that come when dealing with disease. What has struck me in each of these cases is how family members have worked out of sight of most of ourMORE...

Deferring dementia 2

This and the previous entry propose the likelihood that most congregations offer their members—perhaps especially older members—benefits that might help deter or delay the effects of Alzheimer’s dementia. Today several other possible factors that may match your congregation’s capabilities. Socialization No older adult benefits from being unknown. Research across a variety of studies has found aMORE...

Deferring dementia 1

This and the following entry propose the likelihood that most congregations offer their members—perhaps especially older members—benefits that help deter or delay the effects of Alzheimer’s dementia. Perhaps you might see your congregation’s significance in a new light. Today an introduction and one factor that helps me understand Alzheimer’s dementia.. Today I write with observations about howMORE...

Tool and die guy

  Back in the day, “congregational tool and die guy” was my way of describing my role as a resource developer. Alongside other colleagues, I wrote workshop designs, constructed large-scale programs—e.g., The Pelican Project—and set up nation-wide resource introduction tours. The results: curricula, events, replicable workshops, booklets, videos and programs in stewardship, ChristianMORE...

Next Avenue!

Months ago, I extolled the value and virtues of a web site, www.nextavenue.org, that speaks to the realities faced by older adults. Here I want to repeat those positive feelings, and to invite you once again to consider how this unique web site might add to your well-being. To repeat some background, Next Avenue is associated with Twin Cities Public Broadcasting in Minnesota. The organizationMORE...

The zeitgeist of a hospital visit

One of the special privileges of older adult years is visiting folks in the hospital. Like funerals or memorial services, these visits can be exquisite times of spiritual depth—occurring at just the right “god-moment”—that might be hard to capture in words. Let me tell you about a recent hospital visit that might match similar experiences in your life. Perhaps these thoughts might help youMORE...

Bob Sitze

BOB SITZE has filled the many years of his lifework in diverse settings around the United States. His calling has included careers as a teacher/principal, church musician, writer/author, denominational executive staff member and meat worker. Bob lives in Wheaton, IL.

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