Week of Prayer for persons with dementia, 12 - 19 March 2018

Painting owned by Pastoral Care Project

Pastoral Care Project © Charity No. 1094766.  All rights reserved.

There is more on this painting by Sr Annie Bromhan IBVM along with reflections on the Pastoral Care Project website here.

This is an edited version of a post published on 13 March 2013. May I ask anyone who reads this to check out the website of Pastoral Care Project. This wonderful ecumenical ministry, initiated by Mrs Frances Molloy in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, England, focuses on the spiritual needs of persons with dementia.

This is the tenth annual Dementia Prayer Week initiated by Pastoral Care Project.

Long ago I used to be a young man

and dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The Dutchman is a song written by Michael Peter Smith in 1968. It's about an elderly couple living in Amsterdam, Margaret and the title character. The unnamed Dutchman has dementia and Margaret cares for him with a sadness over what has happened to him over the years. It's a story of unconditional love.

Portrait of an Old Man with Beard, Van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

Pastoral Care Project logo

I became involved with The Pastoral Care Project in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, England, while based in the Columban house in Solihull from September 2000 to April 2002 when I moved to Glasgow, Scotland, though I stayed there for only a few months before returning to the Philippines. The mission statement of the Project is above. I first got involved when the founder of the Project, Mrs Frances Molloy, invited me to celebrate Mass in a home for old people.

The mission statement of the Project is above. The focus is on the spiritual needs of those who are frail, especially mentally. The Project also works with carers, not all of whom would understand the spiritual needs of those they are looking after. And the carers themselves need some care too as their work can be very demanding.

Michael Peter Smith's song, sung with such feeling by the late Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem, captures something of what is asked of those taking care of a person with dementia, who is very often a spouse or a parent, in the lines, Long ago I used to be a young man / and dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The Project's Dementia Prayer Week runs from 12 March and ends on the Feast of St Joseph, 19 March. 

I studied Shakespeare's As You Like It in school. (Stratford-on-Avon is in the Archdiocese of Birmingham and not far from the office of The Pastoral Care Project.) I always liked the famous speech of Jacques, The Seven Ages of Man or All the world's a stage. But a 15-year-old cannot fully understand these closing lines:

Last scene of all, 

That ends this strange eventful history,  

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,  

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lined,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

FrMichael McCarthy

(28 October 1939 - 5 March 2018)

Last Friday, on a beautiful early spring day, we Columbans buried one of our confreres, Fr Michael McCarthy, in our cemetery at St Columban’s, Dalgan Park, Navan, Ireland. In his funeral homily his classmate and great friend Fr Noel Daly said, But surely, the biggest challenge he faced was to do all this while fighting bouts of illness and to keep going to the end despite the onset of dementia. And that’s what he did and he did it in style.

Father Noel then told us what Fr Ji Kwang-kyu Peter, a young Korean Columban working in the Philippines who was in Ireland recently to study English, had told him. Father Peter had been a seminarian in Korea when Father Michael was a member of the formation team.

At one of his first meals with the students in the Formation House where people were introducing themselves, the one thing that they remembered Father Michael saying was that he was really looking forward to learning about young people and the new Korea.

Father Noel went on to say, Just a few months ago when Kwang-kyu (Father Peter) came to meet again with Father Michael here in Dalgan, Michael could not remember him. All he said was, ‘I am sorry I cannot remember you now but thank you – I received so much love from people in Korea – I was very happy there’. Father Peter could only say that he hoped he’d be able to say that after a life on mission.

+++

The contact details of Pastoral Care Project are here.

Week of Prayer for persons with dementia, 12 - 19 March 2015

St Joseph with the Flowering Rod, Jusepe de Ribera, early 1630s [Wikipedia]

This is an edited version of a post published on 13 March 2013. May I ask anyone who reads this to check out the website of Pastoral Care Project. This wonderful ecumenical ministry, initiated by Mrs Frances Molloy in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, England, focuses on the spiritual needs of persons with dementia.

Though this post is somewhat late, as the week of prayer is almost over, it is never too late to care for persons with dementia, often family members or individuals we have known in their prime. God calls some to this form of loving service every day.

Long ago I used to be a young man

and dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The Dutchman is a song written by Michael Peter Smith in 1968. It's about an elderly couple living in Amsterdam, Margaret and the title character. The unnamed Dutchman has dementia and Margaret cares for him with a sadness over what has happened to him over the years. It's a story of unconditional love.

Portrait of an Old Man with Beard, Van Gogh,1885

 Rijksmuseum Van Gogh, Amsterdam [Web Gallery of Art)]

I became involved with The Pastoral Care Project in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, England, while based in the Columban house in Solihull from September 2000 to April 2002 when I moved to Glasgow, Scotland, though I stayed there for only a few months before returning to the Philippines. The mission statement of the Project is above. I first got involved when the founder of the Project, Mrs Frances Molloy, invited me to celebrate Mass in a home for old people.

The mission statement of the Project is above. The focus is on the spiritual needs of those who are frail, especially mentally. The Project also works with carers, not all of whom would understand the spiritual needs of those they are looking after. And the carers themselves need some care too as their work can be very demanding.

Michael Peter Smith's song, sung with such feeling by the late Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem, captures something of what is asked of those taking care of a person with dementia, who is very often a spouse or a parent, in the lines, Long ago I used to be a young man / and dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The Project's Dementia Prayer Week has been running since 12 March and ends on the 

Feast of St Joseph, 19 March. .

I studied Shakespeare's As You Like It in school. (Stratford-on-Avon is in the Archdiocese of Birmingham and not far from the office of The Pastoral Care Project.) I always liked the famous speech of Jacques, The Seven Ages of Man or All the world's a stage. But a 15-year-old cannot understand the closing lines in the way Richard Pasco does here:

Last scene of all, 

That ends this strange eventful history,  

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,  

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Portrait of an Old Woman, Peter Bruegel the Elder, c.1564 

Alte Pinakothek, Munich [Web Gallery of Art]

Prayer for Healthcare Professionals © 

O Lord we pray for all those whose work is dedicated 
to the assessment and care of those who experience 
confusion and profound memory loss. 
For all who work as Healthcare Professionals in 
everyday care and research into the causes of 
Dementia of many kinds. 
May they be strengthened in their work of service 
with individuals, families and friends. 
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen. 

Written in 2009 for the Pastoral Care Project by Rev’d Canon Edward Pogmore, 
Chaplain Co-ordinator, The George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and North Warwickshire Primary Care Trust.

At the Pastoral Care Project we are often asked how parishes can respond to  dementia.  One  example where a parish visiting team offers lunch after the regular first Friday Mass. This helps overcome isolation and also provides opportunities for parishioners to contribute; through baking, or serving.

For those whose interest is music and leading services there are also online resources. Music touches people at a very deep level and so sensitivity to the choice of music or hymns is important because of the memories evoked.

Hymns which they would have sung at Mass are helpful; times when they felt God was very close, confirmed by one carer so wisely said “People with dementia have an awareness of God – God is also aware of them.” 

Carers too need support. When a former elderly carer whose wife with dementia was hospitalised he would visit and help feed her and give her drinks and ensure she was well cared for, even though he was frail himself. He would sing songs, hymns and pray with her. After her death he found comfort  through praying and writing poetry; by donating the poems to the Pastoral Care Project he felt solidarity with people with dementia and those in similar caring situations.

The Washing of the Feet, Sieger Koder

The following poem was composed by him as he reflected on the painting of the Washing of the Feet by Sieger Koder during one of the Pastoral Care Projects’ Quiet Day for Carers.

The Water of your Blessing©

Do not kneel, My Lord.
It is for me to kneel
At your feet.
With your loving hands you
Touch my feet…
Loving, gentle hands
Which made those who ail and hurt
Whole and well.
You washed your feet with
Water cool and soothing…
The water of your
Blessings.
You dried my feet with
Linen pure; and gentleness.
But infinitely you washed
My heart…
A heart ‘oft grieved and saddened.
You drew me close and called me Son,
And filled me with your grace,
Your great Amen

The Week of Prayer and Awareness of Dementia 12-19^th March involves us all – for everyone knows someone who is affected by dementia. Think about dementia?  You can’t help but get involved in some small way to make a difference to someone? Baking a few scones, sharing with a neighbour or sell to friends and raise a few desperately needed pounds for the Pastoral Care Project . You will be helping others through us to create opportunities to make the lives of people with dementia more fulfilling

Please contact Frances Molloy, Project Manager at the Pastoral Care Project, St George's House, Gerards Way, Coleshill, B46 3FG, England. telephone 01675 434035,www.pastoralcareproject.org.uk email info@pastoralcareproject.org.uk

'An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream . . .' Sunday Reflections. The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

The Dream of St Joseph, Rembrandt, 1650-55 [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                  

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 (New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, Canada)

Now after the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

Simeon and Anna Recognise the Lord in Jesus, Rembrandt, c.1627

[Web Gallery of Art]

My child, help your father in his old age,
    and do not grieve him as long as he lives;
13 even if his mind fails, be patient with him;
    because you have all your faculties do not despise him.
14 For kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
    and will be credited to you against your sins;
15 in the day of your distress it will be remembered in your favor. (From today's First Reading, NRSVCE).

It is significant that the First Reading in today's Mass on the Feast of the Holy Family reminds us of the old and how we should love them, especially our fathers. The most powerful image during the Christmas Season is that of the Infant Jesus and his helplessness, something that today's gospel emphasises. Without the protection of St Joseph, the Husband of his Mother, Jesus would have been killed.

But the First Reading reminds us of the helplessness of many old people, especially those with various forms of dementia. St Luke in his  description of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple shows us an old man, Simeon, recognising and taking the Child Jesus in his arms and praising God, and Anna, a widow aged 84, also praising God and speaking about him. The lives of the very young and the old are intertwined, as this scene shows. But there is a special link when the old become, like the very young, dependent on others and sometimes need the kind of personal care they needed in their first year of life. 

A friend of mine in England, Mrs Frances Molloy, founded the Pastoral Care Project, located in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, the purpose of which is stated below.

Frances sent me this:  

Nativity Reflection

‘Like a weaned child on its mother’s breast.’ Ps 130. 

In the course of my work with the Pastoral Care Project I have been privileged to meet many frail elderly people, many of whom are bearing the illness of dementia. Being with them deepens my awareness of how God reveals his love through them. When these experiences are reflected upon they become a moment of truth and a source of inspiration. I wish to share one such experience with you. 

On one occasion, when I was preparing to lead a time of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament in a Care Home, I noticed a resident as she was being accompanied to her seat by a member of staff, the lady seemed slightly agitated, and I noticed she was holding a bundle of clothes under her arm. It is not unusual in itself to see someone with dementia carrying personal items with them. 

However, she seemed less agitated when my co-leader began playing the guitar and singing the first hymn. As I stood to read, I noticed the lady’s eyes were fixed on me. I had chosen a verse from the gospel of the day John 15:9. As I read, ‘As the Father has loved me so I have loved you,’ the lady repeated those words - her eyes still fixed on me; still holding the bundle of clothes under her arm. Sometimes a person with dementia will repeat what the person before them is saying. 

The musician followed with the next hymn, the Hail Mary. During the hymn I looked around at the people present as they joined in the singing, but my eyes were drawn back to the lady with the bundle of clothes as  she began to unfold them in harmony with the music. She was no longer agitated, she was careful in the way she was handling the clothes; reshaping them and then she then held them close to her, and began rocking as if comforting a child. The shape she had made out of the clothes actually looked like an infant wrapped in a blanket. What was once a bundle of clothes under her arm now resembled an infant being cradled. She sat contented and when the service was over she rose and walked away with confidence saying ‘thank you’ to me, with a wonderful smile – a stark contrast to when she first sat down.

The lady was clearly touched by the whole prayer experience. the co-leader and myself were quite overwhelmed at the time and reflected on it afterwards and in the days which followed. It is a reminder that affording people the time and space to engage with all the senses will help them to remember and participate in their faith. This is very important, even more so for anyone who is living with dementia and unable to ask to join in the community worship. For me this experience is something I cherish and each time I think about it I am still deeply touched, which is why I wish to share it with you. For me I often wonder about what was happening deep within her, was she holding her child, a grandchild or was it totally spiritual; did she feel she was being held by the loving, living God?

I would like to invite you to read and ponder the reflection; the Scripture, sing or pray the Hail Mary, and imagine the lady with dementia holding her bundle of clothes.

There are moments when people with dementia are transformed especially when they are singing or receiving Holy Communion. I hope by sharing this story it will be a source of encouragement for families and those who are apprehensive about pastoral visiting or taking Holy Communion to the sick

Please do write or email me if you have a story or reflection you would like to share. Sharing enables a better understanding of the person with dementia so that we may see God’s beauty in them.

Best wishes 

 

Frances Molloy 

Project Manager Pastoral Care Project, St Gerard’s, Coventry Road, Coleshill, B46 3ED, England, UK 

 Registered Charity 1094766 

 www.pastoralcareproject.org.uk   fmolloy6@gmail.com

Sometimes adult children, and religious superiors, have to make very difficult decisions in order to take care of aged parents or members, decisions that aren't always accepted by the older person. But as the angel prompted St Joseph through a dream as to what he should do in order to take care of Mary and Jesus so will God prompt us when we are faced with the difficulties of caring for fragile older persons, some with dementia. The Holy Spirit prompts us in today's First Reading: 

For kindness to a father (or to any old person in need) will not be forgotten,

    and will be credited to you against your sins;
15 

in the day of your distress it will be remembered in your favor. 

We may hope that in our final moments we will have the same companions as St Joseph had.

Death of St Joseph, Giuseppe Maria Crespi, c.1712 [Web Gallery of Art]

Céad Míle Fáilte romhat, a Íosa, a Íosa  

A Hundred Thousand Welcomes, Jesus

This Irish hymn is sung both as a Christmas carol and as a Communion hymn. The English translation below is not meant to be sung to the melody.

SA GHAEILGE / IN IRISH

Céad míle fáilte romhat, a Íosa, a Íosa,
Céad míle fáilte romhat, a Íosa,
Céad míle fáilte romhat, a Shlánaitheoir
Céad míle míle fáilte romhat, a Íosa, a Íosa.

Glóir agus moladh duit, a Íosa, a Íosa,
Glóir agus moladh duit, a Íosa,
Glóir agus moladh duit, a Shlánaitheoir,
Glóir, moladh agus buíochas duit, a Íosa, a Íosa.

Céad míle fáilte romhat, a Shlánaitheoir,
Céad míle míle fáilte romhat, a Íosa, a Íosa.

IN ENGLISH / SA BHÉARLA

A hundred thousand welcomes to you, o Jesus, o Jesus,
A hundred thousand welcomes to you, o Jesus,
A hundred thousand welcomes to you, o Saviour,
A hundred thousand welcomes to you, o Jesus, o Jesus.

Glory and praise to you, o Jesus, o Jesus,
Glory and praise to you, o Jesus,
Glory and praise to you, o Saviour,
Glory, praise and thanks to you, o Jesus, o Jesus.

A hundred thousand welcomes to you, o Saviour,
A hundred thousand welcomes to you, o Jesus, o Jesus.

The Holy Family, Francisco de Zurbarán, 1659 [Web Gallery of Art]

'Long ago I used to be a young man and dear Margaret remembers that for me.' National Week of Prayer and Awareness of Dementia, 12-19 March

Long ago I used to be a young man

and dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The Dutchman is a song written by Michael Peter Smith in 1968. It's about an elderly couple living in Amsterdam, Margaret and the title character. The unnamed Dutchman has dementia and Margaret cares for him with a sadness over what has happened to him over the years. It's a story of unconditional love.

Portrait of an Old Man with Beard, van Gogh, December 1885 (Web Gallery of Art)

I became involved with The Pastoral Care Project in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, England, while based in the Columban house in Solihull from September 2000 to April 2002 when I moved to Glasgow, Scotland, though I stayed there for only a few months before returning to the Philippines. The mission statement of the Project is above. I first got involved when the founder of the Project, Mrs Frances Molloy, invited me to celebrate Mass in a home for old people.

The mission statement of the Project is above. The focus is on the spiritual needs of those who are frail, especially mentally. The Project also works with carers, not all of whom would understand the spiritual needs of those they are looking after. And the carers themselves need some care too as their work can be very demanding.

Michael Peter Smith's song, sung with such feeling by the late Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem, captures something of what is asked of those taking care of a person with dementia, who is very often a spouse or a parent, in the lines, Long ago I used to be a young man / and dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The Project is holding a National Week of Prayer and Awareness of Dementia. One of the activities suggested is Bake 'n' Share. Those taking part are asked to Create something whereby your visit with an elderly person focuses on their interests. The visit can become a hub of activity generating memories of the moment and a feeling of fulfilment.

It doesn't have to be baking but something the older person can be involved in and that will give a sense of purpose to that person, a sense of continuity with the past. The visitor remembers that for me.

I studied Shakespeare's As You Like It in school. (Stratford-on-Avon is in the Archdiocese of Birmingham and not far from the office of The Pastoral Care Project.) I always liked the famous speech of Jacques, The Seven Ages of Man or All the world's a stage. But a 15-year-old cannot understand the closing lines in the way Richard Pasco does here: 

Last scene of all, 

That ends this strange eventful history,  

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,  

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Portrait of an Old Woman, Peter Bruegel the Elder, c.1564 (Web Gallery of Art)

Prayer for Healthcare Professionals © 

O Lord we pray for all those whose work is dedicated 
to the assessment and care of those who experience 
confusion and profound memory loss. 
For all who work as Healthcare Professionals in 
everyday care and research into the causes of 
Dementia of many kinds. 
May they be strengthened in their work of service 
with individuals, families and friends. 
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen. 

Written in 2009 for the Pastoral Care Project by Rev’d Canon Edward Pogmore, 
Chaplain Co-ordinator, The George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and North Warwickshire Primary Care Trust.

The following is a press release by the Pastoral Care Project. Bishop David Christopher McGough is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

National Week of Prayer and Awareness of Dementia takes place 12th – 19th March 2013 and it is the initiative of the Pastoral Care Project.

Introducing the forthcoming Week, Bishop McGough, lead Bishop for the Pastoral Care Project said, "I am pleased to commend the national week of prayer and awareness of dementia. Few of us can imagine the isolation, and consequent anxiety, that this affliction brings both to those who suffer and their families. Through prayer let us ground ourselves in our communion with the Lord, making ourselves one with the many who suffer and those who care for them."

Everyone can participate in this week by visiting  www. pastoralcareproject.org.uk using the resources to organise an event or to join in existing event locally.    

Frances Molloy, Project Manager would like to thank everyone who gave their support last year and is hopeful that this years’ event will be supported more widely.  “It is an important week for people with dementia and for our charity, so, whether you purchase Prayer Cards or  host an event you will be helping to raise awareness and you will be supporting the ongoing work of the Pastoral Care Project.  These are difficult times which have also impacted on the people with dementia and their carers; so making use of these resources may bring about new initiatives in parishes and help to reduce the isolation.  

Reducing isolation is ongoing and to get started we are launching Bake and Share. “wonderful scones mummy used to make”  Face book message.

When you think of home made scones, what memories arise? Bake and Share is a simple way to foster parish friendships and  visit the sick and housebound. What about their carers, and their needs?  Visiting with freshly baked scones; shared over a pot of tea is an enriching experience.

This new initiative has been adopted by  Communitas - an inter-faith project. Their Coffee Morning on 14^th at English Martyrs’, Birmingham will combine Prayer, baking and selling scones to raise funds for the Pastoral Care Project.

Another  known event; Camplehaye Care Home in Devon will be having an ecumenical service on Friday 15^th for the residents, relatives and staff to pray and share friendship followed by Devonshire Cream Tea.

Schools – a few to date in the UK holding special assemblies. Our Lady of the Angel’s Infant School and St Joseph’s Junior School will be contributing to the liturgy and music for the Mass celebrated by Bishop David McGough Our Lady of the Angels, Nuneaton for the deanery on Wednesday 13th March at 11.00am. Prayer intentions for the and the week  should be sent to the Pastoral Care Project.

At the Pastoral Care Project we are often asked how parishes can respond to  dementia.  One  example where a parish visiting team offers lunch after the regular first Friday Mass. This helps overcome isolation and also provides opportunities for parishioners to contribute; through baking, or serving.

For those whose interest is music and leading services there are also online resources. Music touches people at a very deep level and so sensitivity to the choice of music or hymns is important because of the memories evoked.

Hymns which they would have sung at Mass are helpful; times when they felt God was very close, confirmed by one carer so wisely said “People with dementia have an awareness of God – God is also aware of them.” 

Carers too need support. When a former elderly carer whose wife with dementia was hospitalised he would visit and help feed her and give her drinks and ensure she was well cared for, even though he was frail himself. He would sing songs, hymns and pray with her. After her death he found comfort  through praying and writing poetry; by donating the poems to the Pastoral Care Project he felt solidarity with people with dementia and those in similar caring situations.

The Washing of the Feet, Sieger Koder

The following poem was composed by him as he reflected on the painting of the Washing of the Feet by Sieger Koder during one of the Pastoral Care Projects’ Quiet Day for Carers.

The Water of your Blessing©

Do not kneel, My Lord.
It is for me to kneel
At your feet.
With your loving hands you
Touch my feet…
Loving, gentle hands
Which made those who ail and hurt
Whole and well.
You washed your feet with
Water cool and soothing…
The water of your
Blessings.
You dried my feet with
Linen pure; and gentleness.
But infinitely you washed
My heart…
A heart ‘oft grieved and saddened.
You drew me close and called me Son,
And filled me with your grace,
Your great Amen

The Week of Prayer and Awareness of Dementia 12-19^th March involves us all – for everyone knows someone who is affected by dementia. Think about dementia?  You can’t help but get involved in some small way to make a difference to someone? Baking a few scones, sharing with a neighbour or sell to friends and raise a few desperately needed pounds for the Pastoral Care Project . You will be helping others through us to create opportunities to make the lives of people with dementia more fulfilling

Parishes are contacting regularly to update the events calendar, for example, All Hallows in Miskin, Cardiff diocese are having a mass on 19^th March the feast of St Joseph a lovely closing to the week of prayer. 

 

We will help where we can, or let us know what your parish or school might be organising? For further information or donations please contact Frances Molloy, Project Manager at the Pastoral Care Project, St Gerard’s, Coventry Road, Coleshill, B46 3ED, telephone 01675 434035, www.pastoralcareproject.org.uk email info@pastoralcareproject.org.uk