Dementia is probably the most feared diagnosis in America. The number of people living with dementia in our country is staggering, and it continues to grow.
Unfortunately, many people living with dementia, along with their loved ones, experience a great deal of loneliness because as a person’s cognitive abilities begin to decline, friends and sometimes even family members stop visiting. This withdrawal in in part due to grief, but often it simply boils down to awkwardness. People don’t know what to do or say.
There is a prevailing belief that at some point people with dementia become “empty shells” and it doesn’t matter if we visit or not because they just “aren’t there” anymore. This is simply not true. In fact, the opposite is true. People living with dementia and their families need community more than ever.
Do you know and love someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia? If you are a member of the NPC faith community, the answer is yes.
Join Jill Crunkleton on Wednesday nights during Lent for a four-part series where you’ll learn about the disease of dementia, the DIS-ease that dementia causes, and how we can respond in helpful ways both as individuals and as a community of faith that is always seeking to “widen our welcome.”
Each session will begin at 5:30 pm and conclude with a simple soup supper. Here are the dates and topics:
March 13 – Dementia 101: The Disease
March 20 – The Difference Between Disease and DIS-ease
March 27 – Crossing the Valley of Awkward
April 3 – Being a Church that Re-Members