Finding Sanctuary in the Midst of Alzheimer's: A Spiritual Guide for Families Facing Dementia

By Elizabeth Shulman

Finding Sanctuary in the Midst of Alzheimer’s is currently the only Bible study on the market for dementia caregivers and the communities that serve them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jun 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781631954641

Book preview

PREFACE

Family members provide most of the care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. As symptoms such as forgetfulness, confusion, and personality changes take place, caregivers are left to grieve for a loved one who is physically present yet relationally disappearing. Research has shown that adult children caring for parents often report a deep sense of loneliness and increased conflict with other family members.¹ Many spousal caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients struggle to make sense of their marriage as the disease progresses.²

During times of confusion and anxiety, many caregivers turn to their religious faith or spirituality as a means of coping.³ However, most places of worship are not well equipped to address the impact of dementia on families. Current literature shares that caregivers often feel isolated from others; this includes feeling isolated from their church.⁴ A person is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease every 65 seconds.⁵ With communities supporting an increasing number of aging citizens, it only makes sense that our places of worship would become centers of support for persons with dementia and their family members.

One evening before going to bed I posted this question on a Facebook dementia caregiving page: What would you want your church to know about your experience as a dementia caregiver? When I woke up the next morning, there were 260 responses, and some were entire paragraphs. In sharing their needs, most responders yearned for their church to provide better support. Finding Sanctuary in the Midst of Alzheimer’s is a ministry that helps to fill this void for caregivers who are searching for spiritual support. It also equips congregations with the tools and direction they need to provide better support to caregivers in their communities.

This curriculum is a Bible study rooted in Scripture and framed by the personal experiences of caregivers. The Personal Narratives within this study were gathered from my doctoral research, my work as a hospice chaplain, and interactions with others on various dementia caregiver support groups on Facebook.

This program is meant to offer hope and prompt meaningful discussion. While I have used the Bible as the spiritual context, I hope that people of all backgrounds will benefit from this ministry and from the assurance that there is a higher power overseeing, loving, and providing a sense of meaning, regardless of your faith background.

Ultimately, I pray that these pages bring you encouragement, strength, and newfound meaning for your journey.

INTRODUCTION

Finding Sanctuary in the Midst of Alzheimer’s is a five-week program. The entire curriculum is twofold in its ministry objectives. One purpose of the curriculum is to educate and train pastors and church members to more effectively and compassionately minister to those in their congregation who are caring for a family member with dementia. The other purpose is to create a safe place for family members to gather and share their experiences in a spiritually based environment. Because each section is self-contained, this book can be separated and tailored for individual groups such as senior centers, assisted living facilities, or support groups that would like to integrate a spiritual component. Additionally, I have phrased most of the questions to prompt self-reflection, so that if you are unable to be in a group, you can use this as a personal Bible study. (Note: Some of the scripture and narratives have been repeated for more than one group.) Ultimately, the goal of this ministry, when executed in its entirety, is to create a program that results in churches becoming an important resource for the growing number of dementia caregivers in their community.

Three Parallel Studies

This complete program is composed of three separate groups that each meet for four weeks. Each lesson is designed so that anyone can facilitate it. The only requirements to lead are making sure there are large sheets of paper, markers, and a willingness to read out loud if there are no volunteers. Allow one to one and a half hours for each lesson. After the four weeks, the three separate groups come together for a fifth week to discuss the results from each individual group and begin to create a plan of ministry. The three groups