Church Army Discovering Faith in Later Life December 2005 Number 4
THE OUTLOOK TRUST Christian Hope and Encouragement for Older People
Michael Collyer CA Researcher: Older People Exploring evangelism, spiritual needs & fresh expressions of church among older people. The Sheffield Centre Church Army’s Research Unit Directed by Revd George Lings Email: ask@sheffieldcentre.org.uk
KICK START Rhena Taylor was the driving force behind the setting up of OUTLOOK with a clear calling from God and a commitment to older people and in particular meeting their spiritual needs. She was very aware that older people themselves can become ‘invisible’ to the church’s policy and decision making in relation to ministry and outreach. Old people have lost their scarcity value and are seen – by their ever increasing numbers – to be an embarrassment to the National Health Service. They are also a group of people we cannot believe we will ever join. The police say that, after a road accident, one of the first things the driver will say is, ‘I never thought it could happen to me.’ The trouble is, old age probably will. Rhena Taylor OUTLOOK is a home mission agency with the aim of relating the Gospel to older people. The idea of an evangelistic mission for the over 55s was conceived in Africa when Rhena Taylor was a missionary (Ethiopia/Kenya 1962 – 1990 working largely in the field of media and communications) serving with BCMS (now known as Crosslinks). She returned to England, to look after her ageing and ailing father, where the concept developed over a period of two years and culminated in the founding of OUTLOOK in 1992. In her book Love in the Shadows1 she recalls the moment OUTLOOK was born. My 'home-made' proposal for the starting of 'Outlook' was passed on to the Help the Aged, Church Development Officer. He suggested we had a talk, which we did, and in the next day or two I received his letter dated 2 July 1992, just two months after father's death. As requested I have been giving OUTLOOK a lot of prayerful thought. Before Help the Aged, or any other similar organisation for that matter, can give OUTLOOK serious consideration, it needs to be a formally constituted legal body - with constitution, officers, a bank account, etc. As an enabling charity I think it falls to us to see that this gets done. Consequently I have reserved Meeting Room 2 in our building for OUTLOOK'S Inaugural AGM to be held at 5 pm on Monday 5th October 1992. Following the official launch of OUTLOOK in the autumn of 1992, the Christian press showed some interest and produced headlines such as New outreach to elderly launched ‘Grey Christians: Reach out now!’ Bringing elderly off the sidelines A new mission to reach the over 50s for Christ Men and women of retirement age, with encouragement, can be mobilised and move into costly front-line evangelism OUTLOOK became a registered charity the following summer with the stated purpose: 1
Alzheimers: A Carers Story, Rhena Taylor (1996), Bletchley: Scripture Union. ISBN 0-9548849-0-6
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The advancement of the Christian religion principally by Evangelism in the UK among those who are aged over 60 years Rhena the visionary, became the Trust’s first Director and consequently challenged by many questions from would be critics and others. Answers to frequently asked questions What follows is Rhena’s response to frequently asked questions followed by some comments of my own. Why approach the elderly as a special group? This is not an isolationist approach. The elderly are seen as a vital part of the whole church of God and those contacted by OUTLOOK will, we trust, be fully welcomed into fellowships of all ages. But even as there are special evangelistic missions and organisations to reach the youth for Christ, so I believe there can be a special thrust to reach the elderly who, humanly speaking, have less time on earth in which to find the joy and security in Christ. In our society older people are undervalued. Here is an opportunity for the church to say that older people have as much value as younger people and value for today’s church. Often older people become invisible and need their spiritual needs met as much as the younger generation. My experience has shown that older people are very keen to share their faith with both young and old given the opportunity and encouragement. I would say that OUTLOOK is a pioneering agency willing to work and partner all the main denominational churches. Why yet another Christian organisation? I have been looking for an already-existing organisation which will take on board this nationwide effort to reach the elderly for Christ but so far without success. So it seems right to start on an interdenominational basis. There have been initiatives in the past to bring the gospel to older people. Church Army evangelists, among its many pioneering activities have been working with older people for over 120 years. Church Army was a founder member of the Older People’s Welfare Committee in the 1940s, now known as Age Concern England. It also founded Church Army Friends of the Elderly in 1905 which became an independent organisation known as Friends of the Elderly2. However, these were never intended to be interdenominational in character. The social context of our society has changed along with the needs of older people who now number over 10 million, representing a significant demographic shift and so an interdenominational approach makes sense with a specific focus on the spiritual needs of older people. Who will be the missionaries? Men and women called to reach their own age-group and above with the Gospel of Christ. Also (as the work develops) third-world missionaries who come into the UK without the negative attitudes to age and ageing demonstrated in the UK. This approach is probably unique in using older people in reaching their own age group but also recognises that older people too have gifts of ministry to which God has called them but until now frustrated by the church with its institutional ageism. For example, there are age
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See www.fote.org.uk
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limits by which older people can be formerly trained to exercise ministry and set ages for retirement from ministry. What strategies do you have in mind? Home visits, music, drama, choirs, Christmas house-parties, summer ‘camps’, lunchtime meetings, archaeological digs, interest groups, support groups and many more. A more focused strategy might have had a greater impact. For instance, to build up and support OUTLOOK groups and to resource them for working out the details themselves locally. This may have been the intention but it is not clear here. However, it is made clearer in their launching publicity (see below). But this is surely being done already? Praise God where that is so! OUTLOOK is not in competition with anyone who already has a ministry to the elderly. But perhaps you would be willing to share your experience with others and maybe you would welcome the prayer-support and fellowship OUTLOOK could give you. It is true that much work is being done already in reaching out to older people, but a coordinating organisation such as OUTLOOK can bring similar interest groups together to enable them to share and grow in their practice and in developing their expertise by sharing together in conferences, seminars and training events.
FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY The concept of OUTLOOK appeared in the form of an advertisement in its launching publicity, appealing for help with making the concept a reality:
SITUATIONS VACANT You thought your active church life was over? It could be just beginning! WANTED AND NEEDED: Men and women over 50 who are willing to be re-trained and re-deployed to reach the elderly in the United Kingdom with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No upper age limit!
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OUTLOOK WILL OFFER YOU: Membership of a new and vital Christian organisation which is coming into being in response to the needs of an ageing population. Prayer support and fellowship with fellow-workers throughout the United Kingdom who will be committed to the same purpose. Training and help in reaching the elderly with the Gospel of Christ in your district. A local ‘small group’ who, with you, will pray and plan together to decide on what strategy in your town or district can reach the old for Christ.
For more details on OUTLOOK’s organisation and structure see Appendix 1 4
OUTLOOK depends on its volunteer members and supporters around the UK with a commitment to evangelism among older people. There are over 700 people on its support mailing list. The office links them together for prayer, keeps in touch with regular mailings and information about new resources, and encourages regional meetings, workshops and seminars. The potential of OUTLOOK evangelistic teams has been recognised and utilised as teams within bigger missions and also individual events (such as the production of a ‘road show’ called Good Heavens). Over 200 members from across the UK are thought of as ‘missionaries’ with others as supporters. The members vary; an 86 year old holding coffee mornings in her retirement complex because she wants to share the Gospel with her neighbours, to a 60 year old who has felt his calling to be in retirement homes and visits 30 a week. They include men and women who run lunch clubs, ramblers clubs and special Holidays-at-Home. They are professional people in charge of the work among the older people in a church or group of churches or just one person with a vision and not much else. These are typical illustrations of what goes on. Such people have not been persuaded into OUTLOOK but have heard of the work and become members and prayer supporters. Letters received by OUTLOOK provide an opportunity for people to share their experiences. For instance, a small group of OUTLOOK members in Weston-super-Mare has been invited to join a mission in Devon with a special mandate to reach the elderly… We were so encouraged and blessed by today’s visit (to a nursing home). Many people were moved to tears. A Methodist Methodist (retired) minister for one, and in particular a lady sitting in the corner. There she was with tears falling falling down her face, and one of the staff thought we had had upset her so she said to her, her, ‘What’s wrong?’ wrong?’ She said ‘Nothing, I’m so happy. I’ve been to church all my life and never heard or understood the love of Jesus Jesus till today!’ today!’ …Apparently …Apparently this lady had been so uncooperative and cold, they thought she had a heart of stone, but praise the Lord, he melted her heart that day. Anglicans for Renewal Magazine – Volume 67 Nov.1996 Edna (83) dictated the following to her friend for sending to OUTLOOK Coming to have Jesus in my life has meant Sunshine and brightness and happiness. The first Alpha get together on the Monday morning was very wet and windy, but as as soon as I came in I felt Sunshine. We had the first video that day, after our lunch together and I heard from Nicky Gumbell the things I wanted to hear. I joined in the prayers at the end, inviting Jesus into my heart…From that time on I have been helped with many things. It started a few months before the Alpha series. The first time I went to the Senior Citizens’ Citizens’ meeting, someone prayed with me for my daughter, seriously ill with cancer, and now through the prayers, still with us. That gave me the confidence confidence to start coming to the Alpha meetings. I’ll never forget that day when I heard the video…
NEW ERA The work of the trust grew steadily and it appointed David Heydon as Assistant Director in August 2000, who subsequently became the Trust’s Director in January 2003 to take the work forward following the retirement of Rhena Taylor.3 3
Author of the book Three Score Years: And Then? - How to Reach Older People for Christ. Monarch Books ISBN 1-85424-521-X. Revised edition available through OUTLOOK Trust Tel 01494 485222 or email mail@outlook-trust.org.uk
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David not only filled a vital need in IT and management but spent two years working closely with the founder in developing a deeper understanding of the spiritual needs of older people and laying the foundation for the growth of OUTLOOK as an organisation. He enjoys working with people and brings a team approach to the ministry and management of OUTLOOK. David is an experienced management consultant, who has spent ten years overseas in different training and management posts in Africa and Papua New Guinea, as well as working with various consulting companies and also independently in the UK. As he grew older himself in his mid fifties he began to recognise that God had a future for him in full-time Christian ministry. His calling was confirmed when in 2002 he was invited by the Trustees to take over the leadership of OUTLOOK. He lives in the small market town of Thame in Oxfordshire with Judith (his wife). They have two daughters, Joanne and Naomi, and David's leisure pursuits include travel, music, walking and gardening although ‘you wouldn't believe it to see the garden!’ said David, i.e. with tongue in cheek! He also especially enjoys fell and coastal walks.
LAUNCHING OUT One of David’s first tasks was to re-launch OUTLOOK and to set out its strategy for the future, described more fully below. He stepped out in faith and booked the Swanwick Hayes Conference Centre near Derby. The conference 'Launching Out' which I attended as a researcher took place in September 2003 with over a 100 delegates; the number attending being an indicator that OUTLOOK is a fast growing evangelistic organisation generating a great deal of interest in its concern for reaching the over 55s with the gospel. The conference, full of energy and expectancy, was a great opportunity for me to find out what others are doing in the name of the Trinity in their work with and for older people. There was no lack of sharing ideas and experiences. It was also an opportunity to tell people what was available regarding resources produced by our own Church Army Evangelists through its Older People Focus Area work. Some resource material was on display for people to order, a few copies of 'Evangelism Made Easy: 88 Ways for Older People to Enjoy their Ministry’ were snapped up like ‘hot cakes’! Keynote addresses were given by lan Knox, Director of the 40:3 Trust and author of the book Older People and the Church,4 and also by Dr. Peter Brierley of Christian Research and author of the book The Tide is Running Out5. Both addresses were very thoughtprovoking and challenging as they were able to give the conference an insight into the demographic shift in our ageing population and some supporting statistics. By far the best contribution of the whole conference was a series of Bible Studies led by Rev Roger Hitchings on Jacob in his later years and his godly influence. Roger is an OUTLOOK supporter and speaker at the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) Conferences at Caister for four years running, on aspects of ageing, 1997-2000. The sessions were opened by lively worship led by Roger Jones and a team from Christian Music Ministries from Birmingham. We were also blessed by the presence of Marilyn Baker who was one of the delegates attending as a supporter, not as a presenter. Marilyn 4 5
Published by T & T Clark 2002 ISBN 0-567-08882-0 Published by Christian Research 2000 ISBN 1-85321-137-0
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was persuaded by David Heydon to sing a few popular songs and agreed to be interviewed by him. In the future, she will focus her music ministry towards older people. New enthusiasm for outreach to older people Without doubt the conference generated new enthusiasm for outreach to older people. OUTLOOK received many responses when they asked what action people were going to take as a result of attending the Conference. Here is a sample of them:
Begin organising visiting to housebound ex-members Rethink the mid-week meeting Develop a new ‘OUTLOOK’ at my Church I need to inspire others and try to get them to a future OUTLOOK event Try to spread the vision back home Try to get something more worthwhile happening for the many older people in our own church I am going back to the coal face encouraged Get the church leaders more excited about the elderly. Think ‘Community’ and ‘local area’ more
VISION, MISSION AND CHALLENGE In a promotional leaflet, OUTLOOK has made the following statements about its purpose. Mission: Reaching Older People with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We do this by envisioning God’s people, equipping the church with appropriate resources and sharing good practice. Vision: OUTLOOK’s vision for outreach among the over 55s is that we will be:
Networking with churches and individual Christians engaged in evangelism. Active training and resource facility for outreach. Organising evangelistic events. A catalyst for evangelism in Care Homes.
A Challenge: There are almost 11 million people of pensionable age in the United Kingdom today and the number is rising. The latest research shows that only 16% attend church regularly. Many older people are out of touch with the Christian faith at the very time when they may be seeking an explanation for the difficulties and problems they have encountered in life. In your own church/fellowship how many activities focus on ensuring that older people understand the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection for them? It is our experience that many may have been to church regularly without ever realising that they matter to God and can experience the life changing power of His love personally, which is the heart of the Christian faith. It is clear that vision and mission is aimed at supporting and encouraging inherited church to reach out to older people who are out of touch with the Christian faith. It could also be argued that the Church is out of touch with the needs of older people, especially the young old. The strategy must take account of both the age group and social context from which people lived
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as children. For instance the young old, those say aged 55 to 70, may not have ever related to traditional church and would have experienced, as children or teenagers, the 60s culture of the rock festivals, experimenting with sex, drugs, and new spiritualities, breaking free of Victorian morals and values and even mainline religion. The young old section of the population is likely to be classified as non-churched, whereas the older generation would have retained at least some basic understanding of Christian values and attended Sunday School and Church as children. This group of people would be classified generally as dechurched6 if no longer attending church. Anecdotal evidence and some of the research that I have undertaken suggests that both the churched and de-churched alike have a hunger for understanding the basics of Christian teaching especially on end of life issues. There appears to be a conspiracy of silence on the subject between ministers of the gospel and the elderly both assuming that the other does not want to talk about such issues7. Reaching out to older people therefore will require different strategies in the future. One size fits all is no longer an appropriate philosophy for outreach.
STRATEGY FOR THE FUTURE In an appeal for help David Heydon set out a new strategy for the future. 1. We need to grow OUTLOOK so that we can have a greater impact in bringing the Good News of the Gospel to the over 55s by Working in Partnership with:
(a) Members and Supporters (b) Churches and (c) Other Mission Minded Organisations: Drawing attention to the spiritual welfare of the retired and their need for salvation Providing training on how best to meet this need Conducting Missions, Seminars, Workshops and Conferences Injecting new life into existing church programmes Attracting new members and supporters Making known our needs for financial and human resource support.
2. We need to Bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the over 55s by: Demonstrating God’s love to older people as part of the body of Christ Naming and praying for one or two friends, who God brings to our attention and who we can befriend to demonstrate His love in Word and Power Encouraging each other to persevere in our faith and witness, and to continue using our gifts in retirement Networking and sharing our experiences in home groups, and at regional meeting and conferences. David, in considering future plans, says there is a need to make disciples. The current training pack does not quite fit the vision which includes four main sections; Section 1 What is Evangelism? Section 2 The need for the Christian’s Response Section 3 Preparation and Planning Section 4 Methods of communicating the message 6
See Discovering Faith in Later Life No. 3 under section entitled Meeting the Spiritual Needs of Older People A good resource book for study in groups on this subject is Befriending Death by James Woodward. SPCK 2005 7
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David assesses the need to produce four new training manuals perhaps based on the above sections but more focussed. But first some basic questions need to be asked, namely; ‘who is it aimed at?’ and ‘how do we start to talk to older people about the Gospel?’8 Older people are no longer a monochrome section of our society. Older people now include the young old and newly retired who are still very active. Ministry with older people traditionally within the church has tended to focus on the frail elderly and those in hospitals and care homes. Perhaps we need ask the question: ‘If Mick Jagger of Rolling Stones fame became a Christian what kind of church would he join?’ What would be good news for Mick Jagger and others from the 60s? The need to take account of the cultural context of Britain today, as I have mentioned in my comments above, is an important issue for the church in the context of the growing number of non-churched older people approaching retirement9. There is a need to be in ‘tune’ with the Spirit. In this respect David has been challenged by ‘The Heart of Henry Nouwen’ 10 What challenged me about Henry Nouwen’s book was his empathy and understanding of older people, especially where he talks about the heart being that sacred space within ‘where God dwells and we are invited to dwell with God’ He poses four questions which may help us to turn the conversation towards the Gospel when sharing our faith with older people, e.g. What do you fear? What do you love? What gives you joy? What brings you peace? Another way is to be in ‘tune’ with the membership of OUTLOOK and to consider their spiritual needs in reaching out to older people. In my research Discovering the Spiritual Needs of Older People David agreed to my surveying the membership of OUTLOOK. My questionnaire was distributed with one of their regular mailings. The next section reports on some of my findings.
PROFILE OF OUTLOOK MEMBERSHIP The following is based on a random sample of 50 respondents as an indication of people’s responses which I believe is a good reflection of the general response. A more detailed analysis will take place later for the benefit of my ongoing research. It must be remembered that this study in not in anyway scientific in its approach but in my opinion, a useful guide. The questionnaire had four main sections: Section 1: Personal Details Section 2: Childhood Experience of Religion Section 3: Early Adult life and Church Attendance Section 4: Old Age and Spiritual needs
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A similar question asked by Vincent J. Donovan in the context of his pioneer missionary work an American Roman Catholic among the Masai people of Tanzania as in his book Christianity Rediscovered published by SCM press ISBN 0-334-02855-8. He had to rethink the Gospel in a particular social context. 9 For more on cultural context, and gospel see Church After Christendom, Stuart Murray, Paternoster Press, 2004 esp. p.161 ff 10 By Christensen and Laird. Darton Longman and Todd ISBN 0 2325 2548 X
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The survey showed that the majority of members were in the 65–74 age group (52%) compared with 38% in the 75-84 age range. 10% of the sample group did not state their age group. From the sample 54% were married, 16% were widowed, 24% single, 2% widowers and 2% divorced, 2% marital status not stated. The majority in the base sample attended Sunday School (84%), were taken to Church (68%) as children, and received Christian religious education at school (98%). Most members lived in suburban (38%) or urban (24%) areas as children, others lived in city and village both 14%. 8% lived at the seaside. More than half continued with church membership in their early adult life (54%) and 58% now attend church in their older years and 42% now not attending for reasons not researched in this survey have become de-churched. 60% said their early childhood experience of religion helped them in their early adult life. 50% said this included giving them a foundation and grounding in life and a sense of moral standards and values. Organised religion helped them in their spiritual development (78%) and 60% said that they were aware of spiritual needs as adults ranging from a desire to grow in Christ/God, low esteem and loneliness, overcoming life’s temptations, making a commitment to Christ/God, a search for love, compassion and encouragement as well as help with demanding jobs. The spiritual needs of those now in old age were wide ranging but those mostly mentioned were: to be used in teaching/sharing faith and experience (24%), to be useful to the church (18%) and the need for prayer fellowship and prayer support (14%). 64% said that their childhood experience of faith helped them now, giving them a foundation and structure on which they could build today. Some of the frequently unmet spiritual needs were stated as: to have a soul mate/friend, opportunities to share their faith with young people, continue to grow in the faith/relationship with Christ, to know God even more and to develop prayer life. The most frequently mentioned help with spiritual needs now was a peer bible study group. There is not sufficient space within this paper to give more detail than this but it does serve to give a taste of older people’s experience of spirituality and their needs. The unmet spiritual needs were diverse and therefore represent a small percentage of the total. It would suggest that meeting the spiritual needs of older people almost needs to be tailored to particular individuals. In devising ways of reaching older people, a range of choices need to be given, perhaps another reflection of the post-modern world in which we live where the individual is rated higher than the group in terms of importance! The overall impression I have gained from the questionnaire is that the membership of OUTLOOK are churched people mostly in the 65-74 age range and have been church members for most of their lives. There is a deep desire to grow in their faith and they would like the opportunity to engage in ministry and to feel that they are useful to the church. People who have the potential and the desire to share their faith but need the encouragement and support of the church, together with the necessary training/knowledge in practical skills to enable them to reach and befriend both young people and those who, through age, have become less active and who for various reasons have become de-churched. Perhaps the 65-74 age group should be the target group for OUTLOOK to resource and support.
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This survey has shown that most OUTLOOK members lived in suburban and urban areas as children but older people now are more likely to be found in rural areas. The reasons for this difference are not clear. The question needs to be asked, do people as they age migrate to rural and costal areas? National statistics show the highest percentage of retired people live in the mainly rural areas of Hereford, south-west England, the Isle of Wight, Sussex and Kent, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, much of Wales, southern Scotland, Argyll and Bute, Perth and Kinross and the Western Isles. See Map below.11 It has been noted that some of these areas include significant coastal areas!
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Key Population and Vital Statistics: Local and Health Authority Areas, 2003. ISBN 1403990972. Available from the Stationery Office. Tel:0870 600 533. Quoted in Age Concern Information Bulletin July 2005 p.25
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EVANGELISTIC METHOD Active OUTLOOK members engage in various evangelistic activities which can be roughly divided into five main areas and supported by resource material and ideas from OUTLOOK as required. 1. Residential Care Homes: holding services and befriending residents and giving prayer support. 2. Local church people: this takes the form of providing pastoral and spiritual support to the housebound. Providing a range of activities for the more active older people can attend e.g. for fellowship groups. Activities also include outreach events such as Holiday Home and courses such as Alpha. 3. Local Community: networking older people interest groups. Encourage the ‘new old’ to engage with secular clubs for older people with the aim of enjoying the hobby or activity not with the primary purpose to evangelise. 4. Wider Church: provision of training events, seminars and conferences. Raising the profile of the spiritual needs of older people. Encouraging early retired Christians to engage in ministry to this age group. 5. Prayer Ministry: this has taken the form of prayer chains but there is the danger of these becoming a bit like the game ‘Chinese Whispers’. Clearly this list represents the aspirations of OUTLOOK and its members. I wondered which of these activities were the most popular and which activity was the most fruitful in bringing older people to faith. My first impression of OUTLOOK was that a lot of energy is taken up with supporting and encouraging churched people in their faith development and ministry and perhaps less effort involved in reaching the many de-churched older people and the younger non-churched older person. However the account given below tells a different story.
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Imagine my surprise‌ I have been the Administrator at Winchester Baptist Church for the past 10 years, and in the course of my work, became aware that we had older people coming into our church building for an Age Concern Lunch Club, and they were going away with absolutely nothing from us as a church. This worried me and challenged me but I didn't know what I could do about it. I was looking for stepping stones. I shared my concern with the Leadership Team, and following a half night of prayer, it was decided to release me from my post as Administrator for 2 days a week for a period of 3 months to investigate and research ways to taking the God News of God's Love to those unchurched [non-churched] older people. Imagine my surprise, when one of the first things someone from church passed to me was information about the Outlook Trust. I hadn't ever heard about them. There was a conference coming up in Swanage, and there was a place for me to go along with a friend. It was just what I needed to hear and see. I was really excited to learn what they were involved in. The statistics given by David were very helpful for my research, and confirmed the sense I had that time was short and the need to be able to share the gospel with older people was urgent! Seeing 80 year old people doing a drama and taking an active part in the day was inspiring also! I got relevant information, inspiration through seeing some video of the events that had been done for older people as well as talking with others with the same calling to reach unchurched older people, and enough books to keep me busy! It was so good to be with others who were concerned about the same issues as I felt God had laid on my heart. The other exciting thing was that Outlook was reaching out with the Gospel, (and that was very much my brief), not just offering social support. Lots of things have happened since. We now have a monthly Silver Service which takes place after the Age Concern Lunch Club. We are hoping to start a Christianity Explored Group for those who have requested it. We have had a Marilyn Baker gospel concert and an 'All Our Yesterdays' day run on the lines of Holiday at Home. These have followed on partly due to the inspirational day at Swanage and a very helpful and relevant Outlook Conference last year. Early in the year our Baptist Union Regional Minister, Rev Kathryn Morgan heard what we are trying to do at WBC and other churches in the Hants area also contacted her, and asked me if I would help her put on an awareness day for the Hants and Dorset Area she represents. The Caleb Challenge took place at Lock's Heath, when 160 people came and 46 churches were 12 represented. I invited David Heydon from Outlook Trust, and Buddy Reeve from PARCHE who did helpful and relevant presentations as well as 5 of us in the area shared what God is doing in our churches. People were inspired to go and try out some of the suggestions. Liz Stacey OUTLOOK Affiliated Church Administrator
If one was to attach a label to the evangelistic method adopted I would put it into the category of relationship/process evangelism.
DIFFICULTIES/BARRIERS As in any organisation there are financial constraints, there is a lot more that could be achieved, namely to be proactive in promoting the work of OUTLOOK. At present OUTLOOK is responding to requests for information resource materials etc. The best way to 12
See Discovering Faith in Later Life No. 1 downloadable from Church Army web site
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publicise the work is to ‘get on with it’ says David and to wait on God for his leadership. Publishing the work in ‘neon lights’ in the Christian press is not always a good thing, and in any case, too much publicity may result in our inability to respond adequately. David is confident that the work will evolve in its own time. Developing networks and partnerships with similar organisations is an effective means of communication.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION In his final analysis of the meaning of mission Bosch (512:1995)13 suggests that mission has to be multidimensional in order to be credible and faithful to its origins and character. In this he says we might be tempted to appeal to images, metaphors, events, and pictures rather than to logic or analysis. He suggests that one way of giving a profile to what mission is and entails might be to look at it in terms of six major ‘salvific events’ portrayed in the New Testament: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
the incarnation of Christ, his death on the cross, his resurrection on the third day, his ascension, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and the parousia.
It might be worth pondering or comparing OUTLOOK’s missionary task with each of these events. Perhaps all of these events are implicit in the task but some may be more appropriate in given contexts. For instance in residential care homes and within the church where the elderly would have a reasonable knowledge of the basics of the Christian faith, a concentration on the meaning of Christ’s death and forgiveness of sins would be good news especially as many in the age group are facing end life issues and need to be assured of a future hope. Likewise, for networking in the community especially among the young old and their interest groups, an incarnational approach would prevail. This would require an understanding of the social context in which these people lived (usually non-churched who lived as children in mid to late 40s and early 50s and teenage years in the 60s) a generation that broke free of traditional Christian values and morals, a generation that experimented with sex and drugs and grew up with the rock culture. Freedom, love, peace and social justice were the keywords. What is good news for this generation? What kind of church would appeal to this generation? When considering the wider church and prayer ministry a concentration perhaps should focus on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for strength and encouragement for those ‘missionaries’ seeking to reach the old with the gospel. My analysis and interpretation of Bosch’s six aspects of mission is not exhaustive but I hope that it will serve to provoke further discussion for those who want to engage with the theological issues of mission to the elderly. It also highlights the need to separate three issues: • • 13
Mission to the already churched with emphasis on Ascension, Holy Spirit and second coming. Bridging the gap to the de-churched with emphasis on Cross and Resurrection.
Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology and Mission. Orbis. ISBN 0-88344-719-3
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• Mission to the non-churched elderly, incarnational in approach. Let me make one more comment. In Bosch’s analysis of the cross in relation to mission he says ‘it tells us that mission cannot be realized when we are powerful and confident but only when we are weak and at a loss’. It struck me that this is the situation in which OUTLOOK finds itself in its desire to reach older people with the Gospel, in that it is not a powerful organisation in terms of finance and human resources like the mainline institutional church. It could be regarded as parachurch but interdenominational in membership, seeking to break out of the straight jacket of traditional church that is failing older people. OUTLOOK appears to have two main thrusts in its desire to reach older people: • •
To acknowledge and discover the latent skills of older people within the church To encourage a commitment to engage in ministry and mission to the hundreds if not thousands of people who have become de-churched people in Britain today.
For example, the following case study, sadly, is typical of what can happen. An elderly lady, Lily, lived some distance from the church. She had attended the church for nearly 60 years. As she became frailer due to infirmity she was unable to get to church any more. Lily stopped sending her collection envelopes. At the end of the year she had a letter reminding her that her envelopes were due. Every year she was asked for her dues. As the months went by and nobody came to see her, she felt very let down. As she prepared for her death she was hurt and isolated. Lily felt that she no longer belonged to the church. She decided that she wanted to have her funeral at the crematorium not at the church. On Lily’s death her daughter rang the minister and asked if he would take the funeral at the local crematorium. He refused, saying that he didn’t do crematorium funerals; he didn’t believe in them. She should get somebody else. A total stranger did Lily’s funeral service. Lily’s family made the decision never to put a foot inside the church again. In Lily’s case there was broken fellowship, not belonging, no affirmation, poor pastoral care, monumental insensitivity. Our survey showed that too many older people felt that they could be abandoned by the church14.
There are many other anecdotal stories of similar cases. There are many reasons why older people become de-churched apart from feeling undervalued, invisible, and no longer included in decision making and lacking in prayer support and fellowship. Other reasons include the death of a partner, moving house, and more significantly when a minister moves and does not pass on the details of the older people s/he has been in contact with. OUTLOOK is an organisation seeking to address some of these issues by resourcing and supporting older people with a mission. One often hears and reads of dwindling congregations and that congregations are largely made up of older people, sensing an innate attitude that somehow older people lack value and they are not a good image for the church! This is a reflection on society’s perspective on age. An image generated by advertisements portraying youthfulness in promoting goods and services. Youth is ‘cool’. Even SAGA magazine promoting holidays, health and adventure use the young old. It is not fashionable to 14
A quote from Older People and the Church edited by Albert Jewell. Published by Methodist Publishing House 2001 ISBN 1-85852-206-4
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promote work with and for older people within and without the church. Older people, if not invisible, are considered to be a problem rather than a challenge. This view is supported by Stanley Hauerwas and Laura Yourdy (169:2003)15 when reflecting on growing old in America. Friendship with the elderly is almost unimaginable, as our very conception of what it means to be old is one of isolation, this isolation compounds with frailty, lack of usefulness to the world, dislocation from home and possessions, forced dependency, and nostalgia to construct a pitiable picture of a person who is unlived and, in many ways, unlovable.
We could easily apply this attitude to ageing in British society today not excluding the attitudes found within the church. In this sense older people are not considered as a viable resource for ministry, mission and evangelism even for those recently retired.
GOD OFTEN CHOOSES OLDER PEOPLE This attitude contrasts with the many examples we see in the Bible where God calls older people to engage in mission. The story of Abraham is a prime example. He was called to mission at the age of ninety nine! (Gen.17.1). The Psalmist too recognises need for God’s help in his old age in proclaiming Him as mighty to all generations to come (Ps.71.18). Stanley Hauerwas and Laura Yourdy cited above say that an exploration of the relation of friendship and ageing is long overdue. In relation to ageing and the church, they say that ageing among Christians cannot be a lost opportunity but a transformation of what the world understands to be a loss of power into service for the good of the Christian community. Older (Christians) people are the ones who can help us remember the complexity of the story that constitutes who we are.16 The church as community has an important role of retelling the story of our Christian origins through the faith of its believers as does the liturgy and the repetition of the creeds, hymns, psalms, songs and biblical texts. Older Christians help us to remember the skills necessary for the telling and retelling of the story by sharing their particular journey of faith with all the associated turmoil and at times uncertainty and pain through ill health, bereavement and life’s experiences. Stanley Hauerwas and Laura Yourdy go on to say that, ‘We do not presume that all Christians as they grow old should be wise, but we do expect the church to live as a community that requires the wise, particularly the elderly among us, to exist…So the church must find ways to have children and those we currently call ‘the youth’ sit at the feet of their elders where they learn the wisdom of the past’.
This I think is one reason why older people are important to us and are keen to share their faith with the young as well as the old. How this can work in practice is not clear but what is clear is that OUTLOOK is endeavouring to achieve in its missionary outlook by at least making friends with the elderly and introducing them to the greatest friend of all Jesus (John 3.16). Older people within the Church community need to feel that they belong. In Older People and the Church mentioned above the survey showed that for women in particular belonging was expressed in five ways: • • • 15 16
being known; being valued; feeling accepted;
Growing old in Christ by Stanley Hauerwas et al. Published by Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-4607-6 Stanley Hauerwas and Laura Yourdy op. cit. p. 182
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• being involved; • sense of being where God wants them to be. It is not known whether this also applies to men! Many older people who left the church have lost this sense of belonging. It is clear from my survey, albeit limited, that supporters of OUTLOOK have a deep desire to share their faith which they have known from their youth and wish to engage in mission activities to both young people and those who have become isolated from the church in their older years. These findings are supported in the Older People and the Church17 survey mentioned above. Older people wanted their experience of faith to be heard and valued, and when appropriate still used. Often the church leadership does not have confidence in its older people to engage in mission and evangelism. The table below shows the potential for equipping people to be involved in evangelising, both at home and overseas.
Training opportunities for older people
Sharing your faith with others of the same age Sharing your faith with other age groups Overseas missionary training and opportunities
Church offers Training %
Would like Training %
36
34
29
37
12
7
(Source: Older People and the church.18) OUTLOOK groups have the potential for community and being a fresh expression of church in mission mode to people of all ages but especially in the sharing of their faith to the very young non-churched because older people could be regarded as guardians of the faith as inherited. Young children are no longer being taught the faith by their parents or receiving specific Christian education at school. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that grandparents are now bringing their grandchildren to church and older people in general are returning to church (see below). OUTLOOK also have the potential for being a fresh expression of the church by reaching out to many isolated de-churched. The OUTLOOK Trust do not at present see themselves as a fresh expression of the church but the potential is there. David Heydon is keen to stress that the organisation does not see itself in competition with what the wider church is already doing to meet the spiritual needs of older people and I gain the impression that they do fully support the mixed economy principle. OUTLOOK is key to encouraging older people and their churches to minister to the elderly by providing the ‘tools’ to do so in the form of training materials, seminars, training events and conferences. This is especially relevant as recent surveys show that older people are 17 18
Jewel op. cit. Jewel op. cit.
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returning to the church and is in fact a significant growth area. The number of older people 65 and over, attending church on a Sunday in 1998 was 927,900 compared with 895,400 in 1989, an increase of 32,50019.
SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS • • • • • • • • • •
• •
OUTLOOK sets out to envision the church and promote the skills and hidden potential of older people to engage in mission OUTLOOK was born in 1992 by the initiative of Rhena Taylor, a former missionary, from the experience of caring for her elderly father in his passing years The only national interdenominational Christian home mission agency dedicated to reaching older people with the Gospel It seems that no other already existing organisation was prepared to take on the nation-wide effort to reach out to older people in order to meet their spiritual needs Lay led, over 700 members Not supported financially by mainline denominational churches Supported prayerfully and financially by its members and various supporting churches Provides a forum for older people to share their ideas and experiences Resources both individuals and local OUTLOOK groups on a regional basis National Statistics show that most older people over 65 live in rural areas but anecdotal evidence suggests that OUTLOOK members tend to live in suburban and town areas Is a registered charity with a council of reference There is a need to grow and relate to contemporary cultural context.
CONCLUSION Let me conclude by saying that Rhena Taylor, former professional missionary and committed member of the Anglican Church, in her vision to reach older people and the development of OUTLOOK provides a very good example of one of the most dramatic shifts taking place in the church today; that is the ministry of the lay person. This is one of the paradigm shifts to which Bosch refers (467: 1995)20 . The movement away from ministry as the monopoly of ordained men [women] to ministry as the responsibility of the whole people of God, ordained as well non-ordained, is one of the most dramatic shifts taking place in the church today.
OUTLOOK also serves as a good example of how a particular interest group can be mobilised in a common mission given the right kind of leadership and encouragement in servicing a need and one in which the mainline church appears to be failing. Its continued development since 1992 is evidence of its success, finding ways of overcoming the difficulties of finance and in meeting a very real need among the elderly. My assessment is that OUTLOOK is certainly an expression of a multidenominational movement but is not yet in itself Church. However there are some elements of fresh expressions of church emerging, for example. • Its outreach is based on small groups for discipleship and relational mission • Meetings generally are not based on Sunday gatherings • They do relate to a particular network of people e.g. older people 19
See The Tide is Running Out (p.94) by Dr. Peter Brierley. Published by Christian Research 2000 ISBN 185321-137-0 20 See footnote 9
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•
Groups have links with resourcing networks e.g. OUTLOOK Trust and their own or other denominational networks21
The reason I think that OUTLOOK would not see its movement as a fresh expression of Church yet is that OUTLOOK groups would not consider themselves as ‘alternative’ to inherited church. I have no doubt that it is a movement of the Spirit. It does have links with the Church both through its Council of Reference22 and its individual members who are committed to their own denominational church, in this sense there is ecclesial continuity. Anecdotal evidence suggests that people are coming to faith through a process of growing relationships but more research would be needed to determine the facts. However, OUTLOOK offers a positive contribution to the church which values older people’s spirituality. OUTLOOK, in my interview with David, acknowledges that more work needs to be done in relating the Gospel to the cultural context of older people given that there are huge differences in the needs of older people across what is becoming a wide age range. Old age can no longer be regarded as a monochrome age group but multi-coloured and pluralistic in culture and spiritual needs.
21
For more on fresh expressions of church see Mission Shaped Church Church House Publishing 2005 ISBN 07151-4013-2 22 See Appendix 1 for Organisation and Structure
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Appendix 1 ORGANISATION AND STRUCTURE Finance comes almost entirely from its members and supporting churches. Trust funds have occasionally been sought for special events and conferences. OUTLOOK is administered from its office, based at The Wycliffe Centre, Horsleys Green, High Wycombe, Bucks HP14 3XL and is a Registered Charity, No 1023137. There are seven Trustees managing the project. The trustees employ David Heydon full time as Director with John Taylor as Office Manager. John is described as an accomplished administrator with many years of managerial experience in the book trade both overseas and in the UK. He manages the day-to-day office routine, maintains OUTLOOK’S database and accounts, and provides administrative support as required. Janet Hayward is part time personal assistant to David and is a master of the computer keyboard and has previously worked in postgraduate medical education, charity work …She came to faith though an Alpha course at her local parish church. OUTLOOK is organised into Nine Regions with 34 key contacts representing their local area. There are now over 750 members registered. Groups can also register. There is no longer a distinction between members and supporters. Through its membership OUTLOOK can resource churches in the following ways. • • • • • • • • •
Help to harness and equip older Christians, the church’s ‘hidden assets’ Encouragement & assistance to introduce new activities e.g. Holiday Club for over 55s Ideas to breathe new life into existing activities Resources Books, drama, music Seminars and workshops Training Quarterly mailing and prayer updates The OUTLOOK Newsletter
The Council of Reference is: • Dr Peter Brierley, Founder and Executive Director of Christian Research; • Mr Roger Foster, founder and leader of the ICHTHUS Christian Fellowship; • Revd Steve Gaukroger, Senior Pastor, Gold Hill Baptist Church; • Revd Jim Graham, Director of External Ministries, Gold Hill Baptist Church; • The Rt Revd Michael A Hill, Bishop of Bristol; • Miss Elizabeth-Ann Horsford; • Revd Graham Horsley, Evangelism and Church Planting Secretary, Methodist Church; • Canon Ian Knox, Evangelist and Director of the 40:3 Trust; • The Rt. Revd Gavin Reid, Suffragan Bishop of Maidstone (retired); • The Ven. Norman Warren, former Archdeacon, Rochester.
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OTHER PAPERS IN THE SEREIES Discovering Faith in Later Life No.1 Taking the church into residential care homes in Eastbourne No.2 Christ to elderly and lonely in East Twickenham No.3 Developing work with and for older people in the Edmonton Episcopal Area
This paper was written and produced with the support of the Sheffield Centre, Church Army’s Research Unit. Directed by Revd George Lings. For further information contact ask@sheffieldcentre.org.uk or 0114 272 7451. Also visit www.encountersontheedge.org.uk & www.churcharmy.org.uk
Sharing Faith through Words and Action
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