Embracing Aging
Resources for individuals and families

Debbie Eisenbise

Picture of elderly woman's hands folded on her lap.

Image courtesy of pixabay.com

Embracing Aging: Families Facing Change is a DVD for churches and families to use as a resource to address and discuss issues of aging.

It runs about an hour so it can be watched and discussed as a whole, or broken down into a 10-part series. Additional content about finances, driving, assessing needs, choosing housing, co-housing, and the role of the church, provide several additional sessions.

While the website noted in the study guide is no longer available, the co-housing community featured now has a virtual tour online: https://www.ic.org/directory/elderspirit-community-at-trail/view (produced in 2012) and more information at http://elderspirit.org.

Anabaptist Disabilities Network has this DVD available in house for $10 plus shipping.

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Adult children and their aging parents would also benefit from Missy Buchanan’s book published by Upper Room, 2015: Voices of Aging: Adult Children and Aging Parents Talk

with God. The author invites both generations to hear each other’s concerns in paired conversations with God. Each conversation includes a scenario, scripture, prayer, and suggestions for considering and working through issues.

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Written by long-time marriage and family counselors, Gerald and L. Marlene Kaufman, Necessary Conversations: Between Families and their Aging Parents, helps aging parents, adult children, other family members and care-givers to talk directly with one another about the decisions that lie ahead as parents age. Gerald and Marlene Kaufman offer workshops on this and other topics. Necessary Conversations is available for purchase online.

In this issue

Are Congregations 'Catching the Vision'?
ADN celebrates 15 years of nurturing inclusive congregations. We ask, are congregations continuing to 'catch the vision'?
Building Community Bridges
ADN Field Associate Kathy Dickson planned a day of conversations and workshops around disability and faith communities. Hosted at Methodist Theological Seminary in Ohio, Kathy shares how this conference was transformative for many people.
Becoming More Accessible
At ADN's 15th anniversary executive director Kathleen Nofziger Yeakey reflects on the important work of this organization and the evolving needs of disability ministry.