A resource for sufferers and carers offering consolation and support in tough times

Each year in the UK, 225,000 people are diagnosed with dementia. The implications for aging church congregations, and for the Christian mission to people throughout their lives, are considerable. God In Fragments aims to equip those engaged in or preparing for ministry to people with dementia. It explores the theological and spiritual challenges of dementia, suggests practical ways to help those living with dementia participate in worship, and offers a wide range of prayers and worship outlines. • Part One offers theological reflection on living with dementia, spiritual awareness, creating dementia-friendly churches and accessible worship. • Part Two contains services, prayers, readings and activities suitable for those with dementia, for use in formal or informal church contexts, church cafés, care homes and hospitals. In an Afterword, Samuel Wells reflects on unlocking the gates of memory.

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.

‘Many assume that living with dementia is one long term steady decline. Jennifer’s insightful book debunks that myth.’ – Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive, Alzheimer's Society Jennifer Bute was a highly qualified senior doctor in a large clinical practice, whose patients included those with dementia. Then she began to notice symptoms in herself. She was finally given a diagnosis of Young Onset Dementia in 2009. After resigning as a GP, she resolved to explore what could be done to slow the progress of dementia. The aim of this practical book is to help people who are living with dementia and to give hope to those who are with them on the dementia journey. Jennifer believes that her dementia is an opportunity as well as a challenge. Her important insights are that the person ‘inside’ remains and can be reached, even when masked by the condition, and that spirituality rises as cognition becomes limited. ‘The observant physician shines through in Dr Bute's book, while her practical advice reveals the resourcefulness of an inventor. Alzheimer’s disease has surely met one of its toughest ever adversaries!’ – Peter Garrard, Professor of Neurology, University of London

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.

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.

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.

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.

There is hope in Alzheimer's disease, but it isn't where most people look for it... Any form of dementia is terrifying and lonely for both the one suffering it and for those close to them. How do our relationships with those we love change with loss of memory or clarity of thought? What happens to our relationship with God? For those suffering from early-stage Alzheimer's, for their friends and family, community and church, this book will help you understand the disease itself, how to love and care for those affected by it, and how to see the hope that's greater than it: we may forget, but God always remembers. With pastoral tenderness and gospel confidence, Dr. Benjamin Mast shares his expertise on the subject and displays the power of the gospel that remains intact even when memory fades. Second Forgetting provides: Up-to-date answers to common questions about the disease and its effect on personal identity and faith. Personal stories of those affected and the loved ones who care for them and what their experiences were like—where they found hope and how they most needed support. Practical suggestions for how the church can come alongside families and those struggling or hurting. When a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, they face great uncertainty, knowing that they can expect to live their remaining years with increasing confusion and progressively greater reliance upon other people to care for them. Dr. Mast will help you see how Alzheimer's disease cannot have the final say on God's unforgotten children.