2006 grants support wide range of older-adult ministries
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A UMNS photo courtesy of the Rev. David W. Meister Darian (left) and Justice celebrate Grandparent’s Day with their grandfather, the Rev. David Meister.
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The
Rev. David W. Meister celebrates Grandparent's Day with grandchildren
Justice, 7, (left) and Darian, 9. Meister envisioned Grand Camp as a way
to support grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. Grand Camp
at Wesley Woods Camp in the Western Michigan Conference, is one of 29
programs that have received grants totaling $38,000 from the Committee
on Older Adult Ministries. A UMNS photo courtesy of the Rev. David W.
Meister. Photo # 06517. Accompanies UMNS story #288. 5/16/06 |
May 16, 2006
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — About 100 grandparents in Michigan are going
to have a “grand weekend” thanks to a grant from the Committee on Older
Adult Ministries and the vision of a United Methodist pastor who knows
firsthand the challenges of raising the children of your children.
Grand Camp will be held May 26-28 at Wesley Woods Camp, Dowling,
Mich., in the Western Michigan Conference for grandparents raising
elementary-age children. The grant of $1,500 will be used to help
low-economic and racial/ethnic grandparents afford two days of play and
support, says the Rev. David W. Meister, pastor of First United
Methodist Church, Buchanan.
The camp will include the usual swimming, hiking, canoeing, while
also providing time for grandparents to interact and share with one
another the joys and challenges they face each day.
About 4 million children live with their grandparents, according to
the National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. That number
is probably low, the center says, because many more informal care
arrangements aren’t recorded.
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A UMNS photo courtesy of the Rev. David W. Meister The Rev. David W. Meister and his wife, Denise, are raising their grandchildren, Darian, 9, Justice, 7, and Heaven, 3.
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The
Rev. David W. Meister and his wife, Denise, are raising their
grandchildren, Darian, 9, Justice, 7, and Heaven, 3. Rev. Meister
envisioned Grand Camp as a way to support grandparents who are raising
their grandchildren. Grand Camp at Wesley Woods Camp in the Western
Michigan Conference, is one of 29 programs that have received grants
totaling $38,000 from the Committee on Older Adult Ministries. A UMNS
photo courtesy of the Rev. David W. Meister. Photo # 06518. Accompanies
UMNS story #288. 5/16/06 |
Meister agrees. “A lot of grandparents who are raising grandchildren
will not admit it because they don’t want social services to come in and
take over and have the kids put in foster care.”
The Meisters went through the foster care system and get a stipend from the state. “It’s not much, but it helps,” he says.
“ My wife and I made the big decision several years ago to raise our grandchildren,” Meister says.
After their daughter was no longer able to raise her children because
of drug and alcohol problems, the Meisters adopted them. Darian, 9,
Justice, 7, and Heaven, 3, now have a home with their grandparents who
are also their parents. Meister says his daughter is recovering and
doing well.
“We wanted to keep the kids together,” Meister says. “It is a lot of
work — my wife gave up a really good job to become a stay at home mom —
but you also have the blessings of knowing your kids are safe and out of
harm’s way.”
Grandparents need support, and Meister says “the church is missing out on a large mission field right in their own communities.”
“I am hoping that we will be able to have an impact on the older
population which is raising grandchildren without money or (good)
health. One of the things churches can do is offer support and what I
call respite care. My wife and I have not had a date or dinner out in
two months because we are taking care of grandkids.”
Grandparents raising grandchildren are responding to a problem in the
middle (parent) generation, such as the death of the parent, illness,
divorce, immaturity, incarceration of the parent, parental substance
abuse, child abuse or neglect, says the Rev. Richard H. Gentzler Jr.,
director of the United Methodist Center on Aging and Older Adult
Ministries.
“Grandparents are motivated by the love they feel for their
grandchildren and step in to fill a gap created by the problem,”
Gentzler says.
“If you become a grandparent some day and your grandkids are facing
maybe going into foster care, you would probably do the same,” Meister
says.
The outreach is one of 29 programs receiving grants this year through
the Committee on Older Adult Ministries at the United Methodist Board
of Discipleship. The funds total $38,000.
Grants for 2006
Following is a list of other grants awarded by the Committee on Older Adult Ministries this year.
- Caring Friendship Ministry, Jewell County United Methodist Parish,
Formoso Kan. ($1,375). This program provides in-depth training for
members involved in ministering to older adults living in long-term care
and nursing homes. Both laity and clergy will be involved.
- Key Stewart Older Adult Ministry, Key Stewart United Methodist
Church, Gallatin, Tenn. ($900). The ministry provides an education
program for health/fitness, safety, nutrition and insurance leading to a
health assessment profile for every participant.
- Crime Victims Council, Tarrant County, Fort Worth, Texas, Central
Texas Conference ($1,000). The conference wants to establish a crime
victims’ council to assist older adults to report/respond to crime;
engage local clergy and networks with other organizations; and establish
a hotline and provide pastoral counseling.
- Memory Sharing Connectional Ministry, Red Bird Mission, Beverly, Ky.
($1,625). Ministry does in-home visits to train family caregivers and
help older adults develop/create memory books. Project involves Red Bird
social agencies.
- Kay Senior Care Center Scholarship Program, Church Street United
Methodist Church, Knoxville, Tenn. ($1,500). Program provides
scholarships for caregivers working in a ministry of adult day care and a
ministry for people with dementia, as well as helping those who cannot
afford care services.
- Grand Camp (scholarships), Western Michigan Conference, Buchanan,
Mich. ($1,500). The grant provides scholarships for low-economic and
racial/ethnic grandparents to attend a camp for grandparents who are
raising grandchildren.
- Health Ministry Team, St. Paul United Methodist Church, Omaha, Neb.
($1,000). This program integrates faith and health by providing
preventive care, including home visits, healing services, grief support
and worship in residential setting. The ministry has the support of the
community medical/support staff.
- Kingdom House Senior Companion Program, St. Louis. ($1,500). The
senior companion program is expanding into two new counties. Seniors
will assist seniors with services such as meal preparation, medication,
chores.
- Moses Lake Senior Homework Team, Moses Lake (Wash.) United Methodist
Church ($1,900). The older adults of the congregation will tutor
students in grades one to five after school. Volunteers will be trained
by the elementary school teachers. Results will be measured objectively
with improvement in school grades from D to C and other tangible
results.
- Beyond Sunday – “New Beginnings for Older Adults,” Plymouth United
Methodist Church, Carver, Mass. ($600). This one-day-a-week ministry for
older adults will include the SENIORS ministry model – Spirituality,
Enrichment, Nutrition, Intergenerational, Outreach, Recreation and
Service.
- Relational Networks in Circuit 25, Winnebago District, Wisconsin
Annual Conference ($1,000). The goal is to provide meaningful contact
through relational networks (small groups, peer mentoring) for senior
singles through social and outreach events.
- The Oil of Joy Ministry, First United Methodist Church, Fredonia,
N.Y. ($1,000). This visitation ministry serves the homebound elderly,
both members and non-members, and includes a plan for assisted living
facilities and nursing homes.
- PluS Project: Praising and Loving Our Seniors, Pine United Methodist
Church, San Francisco ($1,500). This program for Asian-American seniors
will have the twofold purpose of spiritual formation and supportive
fellowship.
- Kor-Sage Senior Ministry, Korean United Methodist Church of Santa
Clara Valley, San Jose, Calif. ($1,500). An outreach ministry for
elderly Korean-Americans, this includes spiritual formation, education
and information sharing, and socialization opportunities.
- Mt. Moriah United Methodist Church Adult Day Care, Jacksonville,
Fla. ($1,000). The grant will help fund the creation of an adult day
service in a predominantly African-American community.
- Cultural Arts for Ages Together, Park United Methodist Church,
Bloomfield, N.J. ($600). This intergenerational ministry includes
cultural and arts activities to a mixed ethnicity and racial population.
- Establish District Older Adult Councils, Rocky Mountain Conference
($1,500). The conference wants to expand older adult ministries in more
districts.
- Silver Angels in Action, St. Paul United Methodist Church, Port
Arthur, Texas. ($1,000). The grant will support church-sponsored health
and financial fairs for people in a “designated” blighted community hit
by Hurricane Rita. This is an inclusive project aimed at older adults
who have suffered great loss.
- Senior-Life Connections, Wayside United Methodist Church, Vallejo,
Calif. ($1,000). This outreach program serves veterans in local
Yountville Veterans Administration Home.
- ROAD – Revitalized Older Adults, Grace Russian United Methodist
Church, Washington ($1,200). Ministry of various small group activities
for older adult Russian immigrants who are isolated culturally and by
language issues.
- Breaktime Club, Blue Ridge Boulevard United Methodist Church, Kansas
City, Mo. ($1,000). Provide a place where care is given to people in
home care while allowing the “home caregiver” a brief respite. It
encourages social contact among seniors with limited mobility as well as
caring for caregivers.
- Third Thursdays at Chestnut Ridge, Burlington District, Burlington
District, North Carolina Conference ($2,500). A year-round program for
older adults at a conference camp, this will include workshops and study
groups on spirituality, intellectual classes, nutrition, outreach with
other cultural groups (especially Latino/Hispanics), recreational
opportunities and service projects. The model could be replicated in
selected church camps across the United Methodist Church.
- Congregational Caregivers Project, Asbury United Methodist Church,
Hood River, Ore. ($1,000). Grant will fund a workshop setting for spring
2007. The congregation has a large number of caregivers and serves a
large Hispanic/Latino population in the community. Local congregations,
community health providers, hospice and other providers will come
together to provide this service.
- Arlington House Adult Day Services, Arlington United Methodist
Church, Bridgeton, Mo. ($1,000). The ministry provides physical,
spiritual, emotional, and social day service, paralleled with a child
day service program and clinical educational practice.
- Healing Place Ministries: Crime Victims Project, Southeast District,
Arkansas Conference ($1,000). A crime victims’ council will assist
older adults in responding to crime. The project will engage local
clergy, establish a hotline, provide pastoral counseling, and form
networks with other organizations.
- Successful Aging, Lincoln Square Arts Center, Berry Memorial United
Methodist Church, Chicago ($2,300). A media production project, the
ministry includes both monologues and dialogues written and produced by
older adults. The project will be aired on a CATV public channel.
- Sage-ing Circles, San Jose District ($1,500). A “course of study”
with professional leadership, this project is designed to address issues
of those entering or already in their senior years.
- Wellness Walk to Optimal Health for Adults, Dixon United Methodist
Church, Dayton, Ohio. ($1,500). A weekly program in an African-American
congregation will provide spiritual formation through Bible study, a
wellness Jazzercise class and nutritional focus.
- Musings: An Outreach to Homebound and Seniors in Nursing Homes,
First United Methodist Church, Greenfield, Mass. ($2,000). This outreach
will include the production and distribution of a newsletter/periodical
written by confined seniors, using their “creative stirrings” and the
wisdom of their later years.
More information on the Center on Aging and Older Adult Ministries can be found at www.aging-umc.org.
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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