Ba. - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 06, 1995 The elderly shouldn’t be sidelined — — View Point By Marvin Vold Terraceyiew Lodge- The: question’of what to’ do with the -elderly “has . been something that every culture has had to address... This question is particutarly | im- portant today, considering © the ability of. technology jo - Keep oe people alive,’ What todo ‘with ‘our “ever” in- creasing: population ‘of ‘elderly. folk? In such a:short space as this it is: impossible ‘to explore the subject in detail, with | mankind fromthe beginning. It is This being the case, | would. like to focus on two things. First will look at ways :of treating elderly thai: will help to prevent them from feeling dehumanized, useless, or neglected in'any way, Secondly, Iwill state why I be- lieve that the: responsibility of - meeting the social, physical, and spiritual needs of the elderly is in- cumbent upon Christians moreso than any, other group of people. One® sure’ “way to-prevent the ~ elderly from. feeling - totally ‘sidelined’. is to give them a say in what happens to them. As long as they are able to make deci- » sions, they should. be ‘given: the opportunity. to decide which doc- “tor. ‘they want, which foods they want, what kind of clothes they want to wear-and so forth, When usurped, increased dementia is. “ often:the result. Another thing we can do to ensure that life will be.. more “meaningful for the eldeily, is to: "keep them exposed to society. If they can continue. to interact with ' people from all age groups, in different settings, they wilt be. reminded - that even if life-was ~ “great in the: “good old. days, ” life indeed does'go on: Keeping them involved in everyday life not only occupies their lime, but helps to. pique new: - interests, “and even rekindles’ old ones. It is crucial to the well- being of older folks that we Pro- mote a sense of community. Because the elderly are often dependent on their caregivers, it is not unusual to sce them treated as though they were children, We must remember that they are adults and should be treated such. privileges are unnecessarily ; as such. Furthermore,-we should not underestimate their abilities, Looking at what some people have accomplished despite ad- vancing age, we see that George Berard Shaw wrote a play at 94 years of age and at 82, Winston Churchill, wrote.A. History of the English-Speaking Peoples. So why do [ feel that the re- sponsibility of mecting the needs of the elderly falls more upon ’ Christians than any other: group. of people? Because of what the Bible teaches, of course. To begin with, the Bible holds a high view of human life. In Gad’s sight, each living person is of | “-walue. | “Tf each person is important in - God's sight, it only stands to rea-~, son that as Christians we should ‘value each human life, desiring to ~ protect and nurture rather than. neglect or destroy. The ‘Bible also. teaches that younger generations should show respect - for “the - elderly, In: the book of Leviticus (3:19) it says, “Rise in ihe presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God.” Repeatedly we see the elderly sought cout for ad- vice or counsel aid we see God. use elderly people to do His work, such as Abraham, Moses and Zechariah, Finally, the Bible instructs us fo visit people who are helpless and in need, It speaks of helping the fatherless, widows, and those in prison. I believe that-the elderly would fall.into. this category. as well. There are many older folks, who do not have regular visitors and many have no family, friends or visitors at all. _ The opportunities for volunteet- ing to work with and help. the “elderly are endless, Most nursing homes make provision. for people to do so ina variety of ways (one- on-one visitation, helping to feed “those who cannot feed themselves without staff assistance etc.). "As Christians, if we minister to the needs ‘of the aged among us, God will indeed reward ‘us: for it and in the end, we will ‘weap what we sow. The above colin is one in a series of articles from the Terrace . Ministerial Association and ex- Presses the views of the author. ant Only hes : 2041 Hemlock Terrace . Cindy Zaporzan | 638: 2029 invite you to attend their: 5th Annual Kite Festival — ; Date: | Sunday, September 17, 1995. Time: 12:30 pm, to 3 pm... ” Place: Thornhill Je. 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