Are We Abondoning the Elderly for Christ's Sake?

Walking distance from my church building stands The Harold & Grace Baker Centre, a nursing home/seniors residence, that for the past 27 years has been ministering to the aged of our neighbourhood during the twilight years of their lives.  Among these frail residents you will find some Roman Catholics, some who are Jewish, some of various flavours of Protestantism, and others without a label to put on their admissions form. However, if truth be told, most of them (whether Christian or not) are just struggling to understand the purpose and meaning of life during what is probably the hardest part of their life's journey.  To help them navigate this difficult journey through the valley of the shadow of death, they have a rich array of caregivers who have devoted their lives to a ministry that pays little and bring few accolades.

When I first arrived at Greenborough, I asked the former pastor to take me to three places in the community that he felt were essential ministries of the church; He took me to the local hospital, the local community social assistance centre and The Harold & Grace Baker Centre.  Since that first visit 10 years ago, the Baker Centre has remained one of those essential ministries for our congregation and for me.  I don't spend a lot of time there (maybe 3-4 hours a month leading in worship, getting to know the residents and staff, and attending their social functions).  They call me the "singing father" (or something like that) because I usually arrive with guitar in hand and a clergy collar around my neck.  During my monthly visits, I try to get into the heads & hearts of these frail saints & sinners and offer my best to them.  I am always humbled by their strength in the face of adversity, yet saddened by their experience of loneliness and abandonment.

Over the past few years I have also noticed that while our Roman Catholic neighbours faithfully minister to these aging residents week after week, it is like pulling teeth to get a Protestant cleric to offer even an hour a month.  After all, we are too busy doing kingdom work.  We have sermons to write, people to lead, churches to grow, lost sheep to find, new believers to disciple, etc.  In other words, we have better places to be and better things to do.

Yet I fear that in the process of seeking out new, exciting and more "successful" ways of doing ministry, we pastors/leaders/clerics have forgotten how to be agents of altruistic service in Jesus' name, serving others with little expectation of church growth or accolades for our efforts.  Instead, we see ministry to the institutionalized elderly as a poor use of our time, maybe even a waste of time.  As pastors, we would rather invest our time on ministries that bring us success in the form of conversions, church growth and enthusiastic disciples. In other words, we have forgotten how to serve altruistically the most vulnerable of our society -- those whom even, we, the church are willing to abandon in our quest for greener pastures for Christ's sake.