Caregivers, Our Aging Loved Ones and Pastoral Care
Everyone ages from birth, however, at a certain time in our lives, we start struggling with what our society calls “aging”. The time when we notice that a lot of things are not going as easily anymore; when our vision and hearing starts declining and the time when we start getting age related illnesses; when we have to downsize, lose our driver’s license and maybe even move to assisted living or Long Term Care Facilities.
Aging does not only affect the aging person; it also affects their spouses and other loved ones. Your parents may be aging; moreover, they may struggle with their aging or you may struggle seeing their decline and your difficulty to help them in practical things and in making difficult decisions. Especially when one of them gets a disease that makes them dependent on their spouse and/or on their children for help and care. Caregivers have a difficult and busy task caring for themselves during their own aging or caring for their aging parents while having a job and taking care of a growing family at the same time.
Also church leaders; ministers as well as elders and deacons play an important role in the well being of those who age. Pastoral visits in which Church leaders guide the congregants in their aging by listening and supporting are very important for the spiritual well being of caregivers and their loved ones.
Are you a caregiver or close to someone who needs help at home or is in a nursing home? Are you a pastor, elder or deacon with aging congregants who need pastoral care? A lot of things may change as people age.
“Caregivers, Our Aging Loved Ones and Pastoral Care”
The aim of the conference is to support both caregivers in their struggles to help their loved ones either at home or in a nursing home as well as church leaders in their pastoral work with all caregivers (spouses/siblings as well as children) and also in the pastoral care for the aging loved ones.
Conference details:
Date: Saturday November 30, 2024
Time: 8:30 am registration; Conference: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Place: Covenant Canadian Reformed Church, 480 Woolverton Rd, Grimsby
Schedule:
8:30 – 9:00 Registration
9:00 – 9:30 Welcome/Devotional/Overview (Dr. Tom McCormick) Biblical norms and values with regards to the care of the elderly and vulnerable, and their caregivers will be pointed out and discussed
9:30 – 10:45 Session 1: Pastoral Care And Support For Our Aging Loved Ones
20-30 minutes: Presentation Pastor Matthew VanLuik (Grace CanRC Brampton)
20-30 minutes: Break-out Discussion in Small Groups
Session Recap
10:45 – 11:15 Refreshments
11:15 – 12:30 Session 2: Pastoral Care And Support For Caregivers
20-30 minutes: presentation Dr. Tom McCormick (Chaplain in the GTA)
20-30 minutes: Testimonies of Caregivers and their experiences
Session Recap
12:30 – 1:30 Lunch
1:30 – 3:00 Session 3: Issues Relating To Grieving, Death And Dying
20-30 minutes: presentation Rick Ludwig
20-30 minutes: q/a about session 3
Panel Discussion: What is going well & opportunities for improvement
Throughout the day, a literature and resource table will be available
A light lunch and refreshments will be served
Registration:
There is a 2-step process to register
1. Please fill out our registration form by clicking HERE
If you are interested, but the registration fee is preventing you from attending, please e-mail us at wsinstitute@outlook.com and we will contact you to discuss a suitable fee.
Note: If you have any dietary restrictions, please notify us on the registration form.
Did you forget to register or are you unable to register and pay online? No problem, walk-ins with payment at the door are welcome!
The Organizers
This conference is offered to you by:
The Word and Spirit Institute is an initiative of Grace Canadian Reformed Church in Brampton to assist those seeking spiritual growth through Biblical Studies at certificate, BA or MA levels as well as conferences; surf through our website to find more information about the Word and Spirit Institute.
Connecting streamsseeks to equip and mobilize churches to help vulnerable groups in the society by connecting the churches with each other and with the vulnerable. Click HERE for more information about Connecting Streams.
NEW COURSE IN THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
That None Should Perish: A Course in Ecclesiastical Discipline
Register by January 4, 2025!
Presented by Pastor John van Eyk
Word and Spirit Institute is offering the next course in Church Leadership. There will be 4 biweekly sessions of two hours each on January 11, 2025, January 25, 2025, February 8, 2025, February 22, 2025 . This is a ZOOM presentation across the continent, therefore the start time is 3:00pm EST.
The course is open to anyone for a fee of $100.00.
We know what the Reformed tradition has said about the three marks of the Church: the pure gospel must be preached, the pure administration of the sacraments must be made use of, and church discipline for correcting faults must be practiced (Belgic Confession, Article 28). Of the three, we are probably weakest in practicing church discipline. We might be tempted to take solace in thinking that ‘two out three ain’t bad’ but we know that won’t do. We dare not neglect any gift of the ascended Head of the Church. Even if we are eager to accept this gift and use it in Christ’s church there are a host of difficulties that confront us. There are many ways to make mistakes while using this important key of the kingdom. In this course we will be looking at what the Scriptures say about ecclesiastical discipline so that we might confidently practice it while carefully avoiding some of the ways in which we get it wrong. We will also be looking at Reformed Church Orders to see the guidelines our fathers in the faith offered to enable the under shepherds to work out the biblical teaching in the nitty gritty of ecclesiastical life with the persistent challenges that living in a sinful world throws up to us.
