Aging & Caregiving
We invite you to join Journey of Faith in helping to change lives in our community.
We have two quick stories that say a lot about an old ministry being given new life.
"Mrs. Taylor is a widow with children who lives out of state. Her children, with busy lives and children of their own, don’t often visit. By contrast, Mr. Jackson has lived in his home since 1950. A church volunteer stops by every week to see how he’s doing."
Ever wonder what story lies behind an older adult who feels alone and isolated, almost every day. Social service practitioners are “seeing more and more families of residents in nursing centers and assisted living centers who stop visiting older adults after a while."
Want to do something about the isolation and loneliness of the elderly?: You can become a volunteer by visiting with seniors and becoming familiar with the resources in the community that serve seniors and share that information with them or their family members.
Our goal is to help seniors stay independent as long as possible. We’re also looking to build caring and loving relationships so that older adults feel vital and connected, as well as, giving their caregivers support.
As Mr. Jackson told us: ”People have to have a reason to get up and get dressed and get out of the house every day." It’s something we hope we can offer.
What to do next?: Explore the ministries below that may align with your gifts and passions. And, yes we need you!
o If you need more information about what’s happening in our community around this issue, click here.
o If you want to immediately begin working to help seniors remain a part of the social fabric of our community and have a positive impact on a senior citizen's ability to stay healthy and independent for as long as possible — here are some practical and easy ways you can get started:
Community Champions: Journey of Faith is already in the process of connecting with community members, different faith communities and social services agencies throughout Washtenaw County to establish a network of resources that are already in place to support seniors’ physical and emotional well-being.
Each faith community will identify a Community Champion to participate in the program. Our Senior Connections programs will train Community Champions on the particular needs of seniors in their communities and the specific resources available to address those needs.
These trained Champions will be able to build better linkages between their faith community, the seniors who are a part of it, the church’s senior neighbors, and the myriad of resources already available in the county.
Friendly Visitors: At the same time, Journey of Faith will train community members both within and outside the congregation to serve as Friendly Visitors, who will visit with one or more seniors, once a week, simply to provide companionship.
This training will include teaching on active listening, “how to help, not harm,” and a condensed version of the resource training that the Community Champions will receive. These Friendly Visitors will meet to share stories, struggles, and support once a month with the supervision of a trained facilitator, likely the pastor. Friendly visiting is an informal sort of spiritual friendship for sharing each others lives.
Do you want to make a donation today to support this ministry?
“To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.” ― Tia Walker
1900 Manchester Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Phone: 734.971.4245 | Email: jofdisciples@gmail.com