May the joy of the angels,
The wonder of the shepherds,
And the peace of the Christ Child,
Fill your hearts this Christmas time;
And may God’s blessing be with you, now and for always. Amen.
We wish you all a peaceful Christmas. Thank you to everyone who has shown interest in our work by supporting one or more of our events over the last five years; a Conference on Ageing, a Retreat Day or a ‘Welcoming People with Dementia’ Day , for example.
As well as a programme of events around the Diocese, we also are working to support best practice in parishes and deaneries through sharing stories, news and resources on our website www.growingoldgracefully.org.uk . It is our hope and our prayer that our work encourages older people to celebrate what has been, rejoice in what is and trust in God for what will be shown to us and through us, in the times to come.
Our plans for the next 12 months are to continue our event programme to offer:
- Retreat Days
- Quiet Days for Carers
- Gatherings to help parishes be more dementia-friendly and Welcome People with Dementia
- Days to reflect on Living Well and Dying Well
We also are hoping to start to recruit a network of Friends who will each help us spread news of events in their parish, as well as helping to gather news of good practice to share in future newsletters and on our website.
Our programme has been shaped by what older people have told us they want and need.
A few years ago, at around this time, John Bell of the Iona Community said “Advent and Christmas… are about old people.” If you find that statement surprising, then you’re not alone. Many of us consider Christmas to be about children, but John Bell reminds us that they don’t feature in the story.
“The Advent stories begin with an elderly couple, Elizabeth and Zachariah, who become parents in their old age
and Simeon and Anna recognise the uniqueness in Mary’s tiny baby,because God will not have people marginalised or written off on account of age.
And when we see three wise men worshipping Jesus and then going home by another way,
we see God’s belief and expectation that older folk can change and will change when they recognise the truth.”
John Bell, Advent Talk on Radio 4
Warmest thanks for your interest in and support of our work across the Diocese.
Every Blessing for 2016.
Pippa Bonner, Trustee Carol Burns, Trustee Anne Forbes, Trustee
Paul Grafton, Chair Cath Mahoney, Trustee Mgr Peter Rosser, Trustee
Rachel Walker, Project Worker Ann West, Trustee