Dates in October to celebrate ageing and older people in our communities
- debbiethrower0
- 22 hours ago
- 2 min read
As many in church leadership are busy planning Harvest festivals - and food deliveries afterwards - two other key dates in October are on the horizon, and might be of interest to our blog readers, the network and supporters.
Wednesday October 1 is International Day of Older Persons, established by the UN General Assembly in the 1990’s as a day to honour the oldest in our communities and caregivers who support them.
Sunday October 5 is the date this year for Age UK’s Silver Sunday: a day set apart for community organisations of all kinds to celebrate ageing by hosting or signposting to events, across the UK. https://silversunday.org.uk/
The Age UK website offers a range of resources and ideas, of which several could be incorporated into a church service, e.g. writing postcards to those older members unable to attend church in person, or hosting a community tea.
As our Pioneer, Debbie Thrower, has said over the years, ‘I don’t believe God loses interest in us as we get older.’ Anna Chaplaincy is, essentially, a ministry of presence which honours those in later life and brings a renewed sense of value and self-worth, where it might have diminished in old age.
Why not take a look at the Easy Guide written by Debbie, called ‘Holding an annual celebration of age service’ for practical ideas and principles for such a service? This framework could combine beautifully with these national and global initiatives in October.
‘If you want to cleverly combine a range of themes in a busy season,’ observes Ministry Lead, Debbie Ducille, ‘why not consider incorporating Harvest, thanksgiving and celebration of God’s faithfulness together with Celebrating Age? The story of Naomi and Ruth comes to mind!’
Do send any pictures and stories of your own Celebrating Age services and ideas through to annachaplaincy@brf.org.uk
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