Dementia ministry becomes new opportunity for church
By Jessica Brodie
WEST COLUMBIA—A crowd of clergy and laity packed the fellowship hall of Mount Hebron United Methodist Church Sept. 25, all eager to learn more about how their church can be in ministry with people with dementia.
Attendees got the chance to learn from dementia care specialist Tori Anderson of the state Department on Aging a host of truths about dementia—including warning signs, facts about dementia, and the various types of support needed, both for people living with dementia and their caregivers.
They also got to hear firsthand from retired UMC Bishop Ken Carder, whose late wife, Linda, passed away after a difficult battle with frontotemporal dementia.
“This is something we can do, and this is something we need to do,” said the Rev. Bryan Pigford, part of the annual conference’s South Carolina Cognitive Connection Ministry, urging those gathered to turn their focus from the center to the margins and then bring those on the margins to the center.
The Sept. 25 event was one of several events the Cognitive Connection Ministry has been holding in districts around the state to help local United Methodist churches learn how they can offer a dementia care ministry right where they are with the people they already serve.
The next workshops are slated for after the new year. On Jan. 15, 2025, Surfside UMC, Surfside Beach, will host a workshop, and on Feb. 12, Silver Hill Memorial UMC, Spartanburg, will host a workshop (Silver Hill’s event was rescheduled from November because of the ongoing effects of Hurricane Helene).
‘Not normal aging’
Anderson shared that dementia is a general term used to describe symptoms a person experiences that affect their memory and other thinking abilities severe enough to interfere with a person’s daily life. There are many different types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
Areas impacted can include a person’s complex attention ability, executive functioning, learning and memory, language, perceptual motor skills, social cognition and more.
“No form of dementia is a normal part of aging,” Anderson noted, just like cancer and heart disease are not a normal part of aging.
While dementia can hit early, in someone’s 30s or 40s, she said, “Our risks go up as we age.”
Anderson noted a number of common warning signs that can indicate dementia, such as confusion about time or place, misplacing things, losing one’s ability to retrace steps, challenges in planning or problem solving, trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, decreased or poor judgment, changes in mood or personality, difficulty completing familiar tasks, new problems with words in speaking or writing, and withdrawal from work or social activities.
She said it’s important to get help when a person begins experiencing symptoms, as early intervention can ward off progression of symptoms.
Much support is needed
Anderson said the church can play a huge role in helping people with dementia as well as their caregivers.
Those with dementia need things the church can provide, such as informed support and engagement, community, inclusion, purpose and meaning, a safe space, financial security and advocacy.
Caregivers often need education—about dementia and about how to be a caregiver, as well as the various resources available. They also need a break, a safe and supportive social space, support groups and counseling, and assistance in maintaining a positive relationship with their loved one.
“Faith communities are in a unique place to provide this,” Anderson said
‘A collection of losses’
Bishop Carder shared how he learned so much after his late wife, Linda, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. They both experienced much fear in the beginning, and he said fear is the dominant emotion many people express initially.
“Dementia has replaced cancer as the most feared condition in the medical context,” Carder noted.
Much of this fear stems from what people dread losing, including their independence, personhood, control, dignity, relationships and memory.
“It’s a collection of losses,” Carder said.
That’s why the church is so well equipped to be helpful with dementia, as the church by nature exists to be responsive to fear, isolation and loneliness.
Carder noted that the gospel broadens the lens of how we view dementia, incorporating much grace.
“Grace is more than forgiveness. It’s a gift you don’t earn—a gift. God’s presence and power to create, liberate, forgive, transform and reconcile,” Carder said. “Nothing can separate us from God’s grace, not even dementia.”
That’s what the church brings so uniquely to the issue.
Carder said we are more than our capacities or our memories.
“We’re no less a person when our ability to think is diminished,” Carder said.
Bearing burdens
One stumbling block many people face in seeking help with dementia is a wish not to “be a burden” to others, Carder said.
But we need to get over this, he said.
After all, we come into the world a burden—dependent and interdependent. We think we become more independent over time, but we actually become more interdependent, and it often takes time to understand this.
“Jesus said we are to bear one another’s burdens,” Carder said
Carder noted that although his experience walking through dementia with his late wife was difficult, he grew so much through the experience, particularly in his capacity to love as he was able to give love to Linda.
“We are extensions of the incarnational love of Jesus,” he said.
As he noted, Jesus was born a dependent baby. He wasn’t less the son of God when nursing or getting his diaper changed than when he was hanging on the cross.
“If God could come in dependency, is he not calling us to meet him there?” Carder asked.
Next steps
Out of these workshops, the Cognitive Connection Ministry is hoping churches will be led to next steps, such as offering a caregiver support group, plugging into existing care or even creating their own respite care program.
Respite care gives caregivers a much-needed break while their loved one engages in enrichment activities, fellowship and ministry projects in a safe space with trained volunteers.
Any church with a space to gather and the ability to recruit volunteers is capable of hosting a respite care ministry.
To learn more about this work, email [email protected].