Dementia

Dementia PDF Author: John Swinton
Publisher: SCM Press
ISBN: 0334049644
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
Winner of the Michael Ramsay Prize 2016 Dementia is one of the most feared diseases in Western society today. Some have even gone so far as to suggest euthanasia as a solution to the perceived indignity of memory loss and the disorientation that accompanies it. Here, John Swinton develops a practical theology of dementia for caregivers, people with dementia, ministers, hospital chaplains, and medical practitioners as he explores two primary questions: • Who am I when I’ve forgotten who I am? • What does it mean to love God and be loved by God when I have forgotten who God is? Offering compassionate and carefully considered theological and pastoral responses to dementia and forgetfulness, Swinton’s Dementia redefines dementia in light of the transformative counter story that is the gospel.

Alzheimer's & Theology

Alzheimer's & Theology PDF Author: Thomas Liu D.Min
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1665527315
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 341

Get Book Here

Book Description
The fact that Americans are living longer, healthier lives coupled with his own aging motivated the author to write this book. As Baby Boomers age, more than one in five Americans will be over 65 years old. This increase in the average age of Americans will have a widespread impact on every aspect of society, and is already beginning to be felt. This impact has inspired Dr. Liu to write this book in an effort to relieve the sufferings of those who have been diagnosed with this dreaded brain disease and their caregivers who suffer along with them. The author affirms that it is God’s love through Christ which encourages him to provide reason of hope in God’s remembrance: hope that is from an informed theological perspective, a sense of purpose in the face of this disease. Because of the author’s godly motive and desire to offer help for sufferers, the author provides comfort through assurances that the sufferer’s conditions are not leading to the end of their lives.

What Happens to Faith When Christians Get Dementia?

What Happens to Faith When Christians Get Dementia? PDF Author: 'Tricia Williams
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725272156
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 287

Get Book Here

Book Description
What happens to faith when Christians get dementia? Here, the unique voices of Christians who live with this illness bring insight and prompt theological reflection on the profound questions that dementia asks of faith. Within the boundaries of a biblical agenda, these questions are explored using a model of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation (reminiscent of Brueggemann's scheme), to seek deeper understanding of faith experience and practice. Arising from the research, fresh theological insights and challenges for the church call for new, creative practices to enable the faith nurture of disciples of Jesus living with this disease. Counterintuitively, the study reveals a growing, positive experience of faith in the light of dementia highlighting the significance of Christian hope. Faith does not end with diagnosis of this illness.

God Never Forgets

God Never Forgets PDF Author: Donald K. McKim
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 9780664257040
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 136

Get Book Here

Book Description
Sensing God's presence is difficult when faced with Alzheimer's Disease among family and loved ones. This book brings faith and hope to these trying circumstances, offering the witness of the Bible and the insights of theology to show how God continues to work in people's lives even in the midst of fearful disease.

Forgetting Whose We are

Forgetting Whose We are PDF Author: David Keck
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780687020881
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Get Book Here

Book Description
Alzheimer's disease - a degenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized especially by premature mental deterioration - is the most publicly visible and widely discussed form of a range of disorders known as senile dementia. The nature of Alzheimer's disease, especially its progressive debilitation of the memory, raises key theological issues. What does it mean to be truly human? Does our ability to remember define who we are as persons? When the mind loses its ability to remember, what happens to the life of the soul? When we forget God, does God still remember us? Forgetting Whose We Are offers a Christian understanding of and response to the difficult theological, spiritual, and pastoral problems raised by Alzheimer's disease. Filling an important gap in existing literature by directly confronting the theological challenges of Alzheimer's disease to victims, caregivers, and their communities, the book affirms the classic Christian doctrines that witness to the reality of grace and the promises of salvation even for those who can no longer remember themselves, their families, or their relationship with God.

Ministry with the Forgotten

Ministry with the Forgotten PDF Author: Bishop Kenneth L. Carder
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN: 150188025X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
Dementia diseases represent a crisis of faith for many family members and congregations. Magnifying this crisis is the way people with dementia tend to be objectified by both medical and religious communities. They are recipients of treatment and projects for mission. Ministry is done to and for them rather than with them. While acknowledging the devastation of dementia diseases, Ken Carder draws on his own experience as a caregiver, hospice chaplain, and pastoral practitioner to portray the gifts as well as the challenges accompanying dementia diseases. He confronts the deep personal and theological questions created by loving people with dementia diseases, demonstrating how living with dementia can be a means of growing in faith, wholeness, and ministry for the entire community of faith. He also reveals that authentic faith transcends intellectual beliefs, verbal affirmations, and prescribed practices. Carder asserts that the Judeo-Christian tradition offers a broader lens, defining personhood in relationship to God’s story and humanity’s participation in God’s mighty acts of creation and new creation; thereby contributing to hope, community, and self-worth. Pastors and congregations will be better equipped to minister with people affected by dementia, receiving their gifts and responding to their unique needs. They will learn how people with dementia contribute to the community and the church’s life and mission, discovering practical ways those contributions can be identified, nurtured, and incorporated into the church’s life and ministry.

Do This, Remembering Me

Do This, Remembering Me PDF Author: Colette Bachand-Wood
Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 0819232513
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Get Book Here

Book Description
Memory loss should not be spiritual loss. “What do I do to help?” Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, almost everyone knows someone with some form of dementia, yet few know how to answer that question, and very little material exists on providing spiritual care to adults with dementia-related diseases. Even seminaries rarely provide training or clinical pastoral education in this field. This book is an answer. It provides a hands-on manual that will give clergy, spiritual care providers, and family members an understanding of the ongoing spiritual needs of individuals with dementia, as well as practical tools such as how to create a religious service in a memory care unit and how one might plan a nursing home visit. Accessibly written, with real life applications and sample services for a variety of settings. More than just useful, the book inspires with shared stories that are tender, sad, funny—and sometimes all three at once, encouraging readers to develop spiritual care ministries for people with memory loss in congregations, homes, nursing facilities, or other communities—a ministry that will only gain in importance in the coming decade, as Baby Boomers age and the number of people with Alzheimer’s and dementia skyrockets.

Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia

Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia PDF Author: John Dunlop, MD
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433552124
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Get Book Here

Book Description
There Is Hope . . . When a patient is diagnosed with dementia, it impacts not only the patient but also those who care for them. It can be devastating to watch loved ones lose the independence, personality, and abilities that once defined them, knowing there is no cure. How should Christians respond to a diagnosis of dementia? Experienced geriatrician Dr. John Dunlop wants to transform the way we view dementia—showing us how God can be honored through such a tragedy as we respect the inherent dignity of all humans made in the image of God. Sharing stories from decades of experience with dementia patients, Dunlop provides readers, particularly caregivers, with a biblical lens through which to understand the experience and challenge of this life-altering disease. Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia will help you see God's purposes as you love and care for those with dementia.

Guide to Ministering to Alzheimer's Patients and Their Families

Guide to Ministering to Alzheimer's Patients and Their Families PDF Author: Pat Otwell
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1135696594
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Get Book Here

Book Description
Learn how to develop an effective Alzheimer’s ministry. The Guide to Ministering to Alzheimer's Patients and Their Families examines the importance of spirituality in dealing with the everyday challenges of this mysterious disease. Not a “how-to” manual with step-by-step instructions or tried and true formulas, this unique book instead examines the essential elements of ministering to dementia patients based on the first-hand accounts of family members living through pain and uncertainty. The book explores the stages of Alzheimer's, grief and guilt, available resources, and implications of spiritual care for patients and families. It is equally useful as a textbook for graduate and undergraduate work, a reference for study groups and seminars, and a primer for those with limited knowledge of the illness. Ministers sometimes neglect Alzheimer’s patients and their families because they feel they don’t know what to say or do even though they want to be obedient and faithful servants in this specialized ministry. The Guide to Ministering to Alzheimer’s Patients and Their Families communicates the thoughts, feelings, and needs of those affected by the disease to help ministers feel more comfortable, confident, and competent as they develop a theological understanding of God, Alzheimer’s patients, and their role in ministry. The book also provides models for ministry; role-play scenarios; a sample text for a care facility worship service, a care facility memorial service, and a funeral service for a Christian and a non-Christian as well as a sample clergy seminar program on Alzheimer’s ministry. The Guide to Ministering to Alzheimer’s Patients and Their Families examines: common characteristics of early, mild, moderate, and severe Alzheimer’s general information about Alzheimer’s ethical decision-making support group ministry respite care religious rites faith issues heredity hospitalization of Alzheimer’s patients long-distance caregiving working with other clergy The Guide to Ministering to Alzheimer’s Patients and Their Families also includes a special appendix of selections from the Scriptures. This book is a unique resource for all Christians who desire to minister to those affected by Alzheimer’s—especially pastors, priests, chaplains, pastoral counselors, church leaders, healthcare professionals, and seminary students.

Dignity for Deeply Forgetful People

Dignity for Deeply Forgetful People PDF Author: Stephen G. Post
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421442493
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Get Book Here

Book Description
"A new ethics guideline for caregivers of "deeply forgetful people" and a program on how to communicate and connect based on 30 years of community dialogues through Alzheimer's organizations across the globe"--