Use your personal faith to spread the health! Health Through Faith and Community is a unique study guide that encourages Christian congregations to enhance the well-being of individual church members as well as society as a whole. Presented as eight study sessions that can be used independently or combined for an in-depth learning process, this notebook-size guide includes unique insights and learning activities from an ecumenical Christian perspective about the physical, mental, social, and environmental aspects of health. This well-referenced book includes more than 50 illustrations, handouts, and figures, as well as numerous resources for prayer, activity, discussion, self-reflection, Bible study, and practical applications that will help connect personal faith with congregations and communities. The study sessions presented in Health Through Faith and Community are arranged in a series that can be easily adapted to adult Sunday school classes, workshops, retreats, and independent study. Sessions focus on individual themes and each builds on the previous one, blending together various learning approaches, including factual information, self-assessment and reflection exercises, small group discussion, and interaction exercises. The book also provides notes and guidelines for a study leader, handouts, overhead projection materials, suggested prayers, and Bible passages, materials for group discussions and exercises, Internet resources, and supplemental activities. Each study session presented in Health Through Faith and Community includes: an opening prayer to reinforce the group's intention to learn together a review of working definitions, concepts, and content, all presented in layperson's terms material from relevant Christian sources-scriptures, personal stories, images, literature, poetry, art introspective activities that can be done in-group settings or privately group interaction-stories, spontaneous dialogue, and interactive exercises a holistic Christian perspective on faith and healing reflections by the session leader on ways to learn more about nurturing well-being in individuals, relationships, and the community The study sessions build to a final session that helps congregations create goals to promote personal and social health in the church community, the local community, and beyond. Health Through Faith and Community is an invaluable resource for pastoral counselors, chaplains, retreat leaders, parish nurses, and faith-based social workers.

Since the 1971 White House Conference on Aging in the United States, the need to move from religiosity into new areas such as Spiritual Assessment and Spirituality has emerged. This movement has picked up momentum among scholars, particularly in terms of research in the area of Spirituality. While spirituality as a term is employed in many new studies, this term continues to defy the quest for a single definition and method. This book is divided into three sections. In the first the authors reflect on the philosophical and theological issues presented by these terms from a variety of both cognate and practical methodological approaches. The second section offers insights from the major professions of sociology, psychology, public health, nursing and social work. The final section offers insight and assistance to researchers and authors on specific religious traditions. This book will be important for anyone working to develop such practical tools as spiritual assessment forms to those who engage in more formal scholarly investigation.

Since the 1971 White House Conference on Aging in the United States, the need to move from religiosity into new areas such as Spiritual Assessment and Spirituality has emerged. This movement has picked up momentum among scholars, particularly in terms of research in the area of Spirituality. While spirituality as a term is employed in many new studies, this term continues to defy the quest for a single definition and method. This book is divided into three sections. In the first the authors reflect on the philosophical and theological issues presented by these terms from a variety of both cognate and practical methodological approaches. The second section offers insights from the major professions of sociology, psychology, public health, nursing and social work. The final section offers insight and assistance to researchers and authors on specific religious traditions. This book will be important for anyone working to develop such practical tools as spiritual assessment forms to those who engage in more formal scholarly investigation.

How can you foster spiritual growth in older people?This multidisciplinary work re-examines issues of aging with dignity and spiritual meaning. Aging, Spirituality, and Pastoral Care: A Multi-National Perspective brings together chaplains, pastors, counselors, and health care practitioners in all walks of gerontology from around the world to present a fully rounded picture of the spiritual needs and potentialities of this fast-growing population. It also includes a study of the spiritual awareness of nurses working in six different nursing homes, as well as a model for a parish nursing practice that focuses on the aged. Aging, Spirituality, and Pastoral Care addresses urgent issues for older people, including: social and spiritual isolation the wisdom of the aging the need for intimacy sexuality among older people living with dementia the spiritual dimensions of caregiving

Use your personal faith to spread the health! Health Through Faith and Community is a unique study guide that encourages Christian congregations to enhance the well-being of individual church members as well as society as a whole. Presented as eight study sessions that can be used independently or combined for an in-depth learning process, this notebook-size guide includes unique insights and learning activities from an ecumenical Christian perspective about the physical, mental, social, and environmental aspects of health. This well-referenced book includes more than 50 illustrations, handouts, and figures, as well as numerous resources for prayer, activity, discussion, self-reflection, Bible study, and practical applications that will help connect personal faith with congregations and communities. The study sessions presented in Health Through Faith and Community are arranged in a series that can be easily adapted to adult Sunday school classes, workshops, retreats, and independent study. Sessions focus on individual themes and each builds on the previous one, blending together various learning approaches, including factual information, self-assessment and reflection exercises, small group discussion, and interaction exercises. The book also provides notes and guidelines for a study leader, handouts, overhead projection materials, suggested prayers, and Bible passages, materials for group discussions and exercises, Internet resources, and supplemental activities. Each study session presented in Health Through Faith and Community includes: an opening prayer to reinforce the group's intention to learn together a review of working definitions, concepts, and content, all presented in layperson's terms material from relevant Christian sources-scriptures, personal stories, images, literature, poetry, art introspective activities that can be done in-group settings or privately

A discerning guide through the ups and downs of retirement The number of people age 65 and older worldwide has more than tripled to nearly half a billion over the last 50 years. Spiritual Wisdom for Successful Retirement is an inspirational guide through the journey that begins in life's third stage, when employment is left behind and uncertainty lies ahead. This encouraging and uplifting book travels beyond the financial and emotional considerations of retirement planning to address the real-life issues retirees face, including the loss of identity after leaving the workplace, managing the clock, calendar, and commitments, how to deal with the blues and the blahs, facing the reality of death, adn keeping life in balance. Spiritual Wisdom for Successful Retirement anticipates the changing events and transitions of retirement, focusing on the need to adapt to this work in progress. Retirees struggle with real and symbolic losses as they redefine their identities, face uncertain financial futures, adapt to altered living arrangements, and become more aware of their physical limitations. The disappointments, adversity, and suffering retirees face can throw them into spiritual chaos. This powerful book presents real-life stories of people striving to remain engaged in life, open to possibilities, and experiencing intimations of eternityhere and now. Spiritual Wisdom for Successful Retirement examines: the need for a worldview that helps you take major life transitions in stride specific steps into retirement how to manage your time when every day is Saturday how to identify indicators of depression how caregivers can attend the needs of retirees how to get help when life caves in on you how to live with purpose and courage the significance of family ties the power of relationships, connections, and friendships the dynamics of hope and much more! Spiritual Wisdom for Successful Retirement is essential for anyone living in, or facing, retirement, and for family members of retirees, members of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), and for lay and professional caregivers. It's also a helpful resource for academics working in gerontology or theology.

A discerning guide through the ups and downs of retirement The number of people age 65 and older worldwide has more than tripled to nearly half a billion over the last 50 years. Spiritual Wisdom for Successful Retirement is an inspirational guide through the journey that begins in life's third stage, when employment is left behind and uncertainty lies ahead. This encouraging and uplifting book travels beyond the financial and emotional considerations of retirement planning to address the real-life issues retirees face, including the loss of identity after leaving the workplace, managing the clock, calendar, and commitments, how to deal with the blues and the blahs, facing the reality of death, adn keeping life in balance. Spiritual Wisdom for Successful Retirement anticipates the changing events and transitions of retirement, focusing on the need to adapt to this work in progress. Retirees struggle with real and symbolic losses as they redefine their identities, face uncertain financial futures, adapt to altered living arrangements, and become more aware of their physical limitations. The disappointments, adversity, and suffering retirees face can throw them into spiritual chaos. This powerful book presents real-life stories of people striving to remain engaged in life, open to possibilities, and experiencing intimations of eternityhere and now. Spiritual Wisdom for Successful Retirement examines: the need for a worldview that helps you take major life transitions in stride specific steps into retirement how to manage your time when every day is Saturday how to identify indicators of depression how caregivers can attend the needs of retirees how to get help when life caves in on you how to live with purpose and courage the significance of family ties the power of relationships, connections, and friendships the dynamics of hope and much more! Spiritual Wisdom for Successful Retirement is essential for anyone living in, or facing, retirement, and for family members of retirees, members of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), and for lay and professional caregivers. It's also a helpful resource for academics working in gerontology or theology.

Gain an understanding of the increased role religious congregations now play in providing social support to the elderly Religious congregations and faith-based organizations (FBO) from the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions have worked on behalf of older adults for centuries. But the initiation of President Bush's Office of Faith-Based Initiatives has raised many questions from both the traditional secular and sectarian services as well as many nontraditional services found in each community. Faith-Based Initiatives and Aging Services addresses the issues of the separation of church and state, the concerns involved in developing social services in religious congregations, and the larger public policy implications of this office. This unique book offers perspectives from traditional and nontraditional faith-based groups, as well as experts in volunteerism. The enactment by Congress of the Charitable Choice section of the federal welfare reform law combined with the creation of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in the United States Department of Health and Human Services to signal a high-level of interest in supporting faith-based organizations. Faith-Based Initiatives and Aging Services focuses on the specific applications of services provided by religious congregations. Editors F. Ellen Netting and James W. Ellor conducted an in-depth interview with Elizabeth Seal-Scott, then Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (an edited transcript of the interview is included in the book) to help promote understanding of the development and implementation of faith-based, grass roots programs. Faith-Based Initiatives and Aging Services examines: the separation of church and state Baptist perspectives on faith-based initiatives and religious liberty managing older volunteers faith organizations and ethnically diverse elders the heritage of religion and spirituality in the field of gerontology faith-related agencies and their implications for aging services the role of religious congregations in the social service system Faith-Based Initiatives and Aging Services is an essential resource for anyone interested in developing programs for older adults in religious congregations, for human services staffs seeking to work with faith-based initiatives, and for government workers in need of a better understanding of faith-based services in their community.

Promotes the importance of understanding spirituality and religious belief in health and human service care Although health and human service professionals traditionally receive extensive training in the emotional and physical aspects of caring for a person, they rarely receive adequate instruction in an area often as essential--spirituality and religious belief. Recognizing the importance of religion to a large share of the population, Religious and Spiritual Aspects of Human Services fills this gap in human services literature. James W. Ellor, F. Ellen Netting, and Jane M. Thibault address the challenge of understanding the client's perspective--even when it involves a religious tradition unfamiliar to the practitioner--and consider the impact of the client's needs on the agency and on public policy.

This book examines the ways religion and spirituality are experienced by aging persons within an aging society. It aims to encompass the wholeness of the elder's life, including spiritual yearnings that are often shaped by religious faith and practice. Eminent contributors from a variety of disciplines explore this new terrain of an emerging interdisciplinary field. The result is a volume that will function as the standard reference work in the area, an important tool for professionals and students in health care, psychology, spiritual ministry, and gerontology.