Care Home Friends
Home and family comes in many different shapes and guises. One village church in Norfolk is making a real impact on the elderly in their community.
In a village of just 1,489 residents (according to the 2011 census), with 20–30 regularly attending their weekly church services, size (or lack of it) has not deterred the team at St Mary’s, Newton Flotman, from making a difference.
Last year they set up a Care Home Friends project, with volunteers going in regularly to visit elderly care home residents.
Volunteers visit weekly, talk about childhood memories or the news, or sometimes take individual residents outside for a walk in their wheelchair. Special boxes, full of objects connected to topics they enjoy, help volunteers initiate and engage in conversation.
Once a month, the church baby and toddler group, Church Mice, meet in the care home. Residents and children sit around, talk and do crafts together. Everyone enjoys singing nursery rhymes together.
A small group from the church visit regularly to lead a communion service, which is well attended by residents. For those unable to join in, the team visit residents in their rooms and are able to share communion and pray with them.
A number of care home residents are picked up and taken to the monthly community lunch in the church room, where they get to meet other village residents, both old and young.
There are occasional outings for the residents, where one of the team drives the minibus to take residents on a day out. A recent outing to the seaside town of Southwold was well received, with beautiful sunny weather being an unexpected bonus.
With loneliness impacting over 8 million people in the UK, the church is involving older people in their community and creating opportunities for friendships to grow and blossom.
This small local church believes and acts on the quote, that “helping one person might not change the whole world, but it could change the world for one person.”
Community outreach worker Andy Cox says;
“We’ve had highs, such as being shortlisted for an award for our work at the Caring UK Awards. I’ve also been involved in end-of-life care for some and been involved in funerals which, although sad, has been a privilege.” Andy is hoping to recruit more volunteers from the local area to help reach more older people in their community.
Head of Care at the home says, “We’re so grateful to everyone who makes such a difference to the daily lives of our residents.”
What’s impressive about what they’re doing is that it’s just a handful of volunteers running everything – from the baby and toddler group, to the Care Home Friends project, the monthly communions and the occasional outings. It’s creating family across the generations.
To find out more about the Care Home Friends initiative, visit their website, or contact wra@rzoenpvatntr.bet.hx
This article is from...
Articles in this issue...
Supporting strangers and sojourners
Sally Clarke, who worships at St Stephens, Norwich, shares her individual approach in offering a home, not only to “regular” lodgers, but sometimes to those who others might think twice about accepting.
More
Creating a home from home
When most people are settling into retirement, one couple took on a major project to provide a home from home for students. Here is their roller-coaster tale of the past two years.
More
Adoption; the core of who we are
Without adoption, our Christian story might have been radically different. Christ’s earliest moments teach us to extend family generously, for our salvation as well as others’.
More
What makes a home?
The cat’s made herself at home. After a year of upheaval, moving from Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, to Norwich (where she was bullied by a streetwise city cat) and then again to Sparham, Mo our 15-year-old cat has decided country life is the thing. She has also set up home in my PA’s office next door.
More
A sense of belonging
Reflecting on home and family, I recall my own happy childhood when I naively believed everyone’s experience was similar. I was wrong. Family and home hold different meanings for people.
More
Faith at home
Research by the Church of England has highlighted that one of the most important factors in enabling children to continue in faith through to adulthood is the support they receive from their family – and yet the Faith in our families report published last year by Care for the Family showed a widespread lack of confidence in parents and a lack of tools to help.
More
Home at the heart of the Cathedral family
Before I worked in a cathedral l had never considered what such a majestic building really meant. Visiting cathedrals as a child I remember feeling unnerved within vast, cold space, stunned by stained glass windows, bemused by weird smells and strange objects. I recall the word “Shush” being used a lot too.
More
The church as home – reflections on Mark 9:33-37
"Breaking down barriers and being a place that recognises that we're all unfit and need God and each other to get better"
More
Our house, in the middle of our street
Not content with opening their home to others, Sue and Gary Moore, member of the Church Army, have gone one stop further by purchasing a second home for the use of those living in their community near Dereham, and calling it 'Our House'. Biddy Collyer went to meet them.
More
