Posted: 11/05/04
Chaplain offers exercises to help
ministers relate to effects of aging
Effective senior adult ministry requires an understanding of what it means to grow older.
At a recent Baptist General Convention of Texas-sponsored pastoral caregivers retreat, Judy Collins, a chaplain in the Baylor Health Care System, suggested the following exercises to become more familiar with the effects of aging:
| Judy Collins |
Write while wearing loose-fitting garden gloves to simulate difficulty with hands.
Read with tinted plastic wrap around your head to get a feel for trouble reading.
Listen with cotton balls in your ears to get a feel for being hearing impaired.
Walk with rocks in shoes to know how it feels to have corns.
Collins reminded ministers to keep senior adults in mind when preparing materials. Literature needs to be presented in large, clear fonts. And speaking more slowly, rather than louder, is helpful, she said.
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