Roman Catholic Parishes of the

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http://cluster30stteresa.weshareonline.org (St. Teresa of Calcutta)
http://cluster30stjoseph.weshareonline.org (St. Joseph)

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“As I grow older,” reflected the older gentleman parishioner, “I lose my friends and those life time friendships.  The one relationship I have not lost, is the one I have with God.  That one remains, but it also has changed over the years.”

This was just one of several observations made by parishioners at the inaugural presentation of Catholic Charities Maine’s “Aging Friendly Parishes” workshop held at Our Lady of Ransom Parish Hall  in Mechanic Falls recently.  This 3 hour presentation by the agency’s longtime administrator of services for the Elderly, Don Harden, covers both the practical as well as the spiritual aspects of aging.  This comprehensive look at growing older is designed to create conversations on some of the key questions of aging, including:  How do we live healthy, engaged, secure lives as we age?  How do we perform in the role of caregiver for our loved ones?  What are the spiritual questions of aging?  What are the Blessings of aging?  And, as a faith community, how can we assess the “age-friendliness” of parish and buildings to ensure we all can “age in place” in our home parish.

This workshop provides some interesting statistics about our state’s aging population.  Among them are these facts:  Maine has the oldest median age in the country, the highest concentration of baby boomers per capita, the lowest 0-18 years old population, a high rate of Alzheimer’s and related dementias, a higher than average poverty rate for those over 65, and by 2025, over a quarter of Maine’s population will be age 65 or older.  The impact of these facts on aging and others are covered in the first half of Don’s presentation.  Mr. Harden gives a wide ranging view of the many practical aspects of aging, from medical to financial to family concerns.  The information provided in this section gives the audience an excellent opportunity to both learn and share with one another the helpful tips everyone needs to know to navigate the road to healthy, successful aging.

The second part of the workshop is spent on the spiritual aspects of aging.  Using the book, “The Gift of Years:  Growing Older Gracefully” by Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister, Don leads the group through a discussion on the Blessings of Aging. These “Blessings," according to Sr. Joan’s book, are Perspective, Time, Freedom, Newness, Tale Telling, Relationships and Transcendence.  The group at Our Lady of Ransom had a lively and thought-provoking discussion on these “Blessings."

Also, throughout his presentation, Mr. Harden, provided the group with exercise and survey opportunities to assess how they were doing individually in the aging process, as well as taking a look at how age-friendly their parishes are.  Don’s 3 hour session moved along very briskly and, at the conclusion, participants left feeling that it was a Saturday morning well spent!

.        For more information, call (207) 956-1457 or email psm@ccmaine.org.    
         For the schedule of these workshops in other locations, click here.