Christian Ministry in the 'Second Half' of Life?

HI, everyone!

A couple of years ago, I attended a women's conference with a couple of women from my church, both in their 60's. While we enjoyed the Friday evening service, when it came time to choose workshops to attend on Saturday, we had slim pickins when it came to something appropriate for older women. I contacted the director and offered to come up with some ideas for classes that would appeal to the 'Boomer Women' and up.

Some churches focus on the younger generations, but I hope to show that with our experiences and perspectives, we still have a lot to offer the church in ministry, just in a different way. If you attended a Christian women's conference, what topics would interest you? What are the issues you face that affect how you fulfill your calling or ministry?

Thanks for any feedback!

Did I put this in the right place? Perhaps I should have put it in another category. Suggestions?

Hi, Donna, you ask good questions. In my "old age" I find myself thinking about what kind of memories my grandchildren will have of me, what kinds of lessons my grandchildren will have learned from me when I die, etc. Such thoughts, I'm sure, were behind what happened a few years ago when I stumbled across some verses in Deuteronomy 4 about remembering what we've seen God do, and be sure to tell our children and grandchildren. (There are other Bible verses that encourage us to do that, too.) As a result, I developed a class on writing memoirs based on those verses. A number of people teach such classes, so perhaps that would be an idea for you. I suppose a weekend retreat would limit the time spent on such an endeavor but perhaps it would give people time to get started.

Another idea comes to mind: There's a blog and Facebook page called "My grandmother is ... praying for me," based on a book by the same name. The 3 ladies that run that would be great speakers for a conference like you described.

If I think of more ideas, I'll get back to you. Let me know how your plans fall into place!

Linda

Linda, thank you so much for your feedback! Wow - those few words really got my wheels turning. I'll check out the places you mentioned. Bless you!

Hi, again, Donna. I am glad you have gotten some ideas. I thought of another good idea for you, but am having a senior moment.... sigh.... I can't remember it right now but will get back to you if and when I remember.

LOL!

Well this thread reminds me of Joyce Meyer. She's our age and
is doing a bang-up job sharing God The Father, God The Son and The Holy Spirit with the world. I think a great ministry for
boomer women is visiting nursing homes and sharing love with
those confined in those facilities. Sharing a kind, gentle,
loving spirit with everyone around you, is a wonderful ministry,
IMO!

Linda, I love your ideas. I give a workshop on writing devotionals.The importance of the legacy we leave to our generations to come is at times underestimated. Writing our experiences with the Lord is a great legacy to leave our loved ones.

Prayer as a ministry is a great idea too. So many blessings flow from it. I've seen it in my own ministry.

Donna, perhaps a seminar on cooking nutritious meals would interest older ladies, as their experience is vast on cooking, and helping younger women learn to cook nutritiously can be done as a ministry.

Songbird,
Haven't seen you around here in a while. Glad you're back!
Prayers and blessings...

More great ideas! My mom used to visit the nursing homes when she was my age.

I listend to Joyce almost every day while I'm working. She cracks me up sometimes! But she is very solid in her teaching. And yes - she is inspiring.

One of my ideas had to do with leaving a legacy to children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. We have a couple at church who bring their daughter, then granddaughters, and now great-granddaughters to church.

Good idea about the cooking, too. Just today I was asking my sister about a recipe my grandma used to make when we visited her in Kentucky. I can still see her mixing up that bread. Good memories.

I think a great topic is getting along with your adult children. Also, setting boundaries with your adult children.

I'm heairng about lots of 20-somethings moving back home. Whether they live at home or not, I think our generation of woemn could use some help with this topic. Some mothers are smothers and some aren't involved enough. Where's the balance?

Great idea, Dotsie!

Absolutely! I still find myself wanting to smother my daughter with care and direction. It's difficult.

Have you read the books by Drs. Cloud and Townsend about boundaries? I do believe reading those books changed my life. Here's a link to the first one.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0310247454?tag=...KYP33V7XD6WAKZ4

They have several more like boundaries in marriage, dating, and with your kids.

I'd be interested in topics about how I could make a difference in my community. Volunteer work I could do without having to quit my job and leave the country.

I was so inspired by reading Linda's "Grandma's Letters from Africa," but that sort of life would never work for me and Steve. (He's extremely independent, but he does wear leg braces, so a life in Linda's African outback would be too extreme for us.)

Nevertheless, there are things we can do to help out locally -- and sometimes those needs get overlooked. I like Songbird's idea to help people learn to cook, as well as the devotional concepts.

I am totally amazed at how few young people know how to buy healthy foods and create healthy home-cooked meals.

A mission of training people on how to create healthy, affordable meals will also feed the soul, IMHO!

Everyone wants to run away to some other country to do Ministery work, why??? We have areas in this country where there are no schools, no teachers, people need food, clothing etc. so I thnk there is plenty to do for our own downtrodden right here in America...

I'm with you on this, Chatty, though I don't want to sound like I don't honor and respect the missionary work many of us do in third World countries. My sister in law is one of those dedicated people and I am in total amazement of the work she does.

That said, I used to be a member of the congregation at an Episcopal cathedral, where the Dean and the parishioners were always raising money to build churches, schools and hospitals in Africa - without seeming to notice that the neighborhood our church was located in had become somewhat questionable -- and that a lot of the people living in the neighborhood were barely making it, financially.

I spent some time talking to the Dean about this, and he seemed genuinely surprised by my suggestion that it might be worthwhile to have a simple mitten drive as winter was approaching and there were a lot of kids in the neighborhood who could use coats, mittens, boots, etc...

He was a good man, and to his credit, he listened.

Sadly, he's no longer Dean of the Cathedral, I'm not sure he is even living, but I am happy to say that these days, the Cathedral has a thriving program to help those in the neighborhood, including a wonderful day care program which makes it possible for low-income women to work, knowing their children are being safely and well cared for.

I'm all for caring for the world, but I do think we need to help those in our own backyards, as well.

Like that saying: "charity begins at home"

And it's so true!!!! Doesn't it seem like our country bends over backwards helping other countries around the globe, and then slacks off when it comes to assisting our own States? It sure seems that way sometimes!

I deeply respect missionary work and people who forego their
own comfort to help the needy. Missionaries are awesome people!
But this country needs help and we should start here first!
Like all the forementioned posters' have indicated!

I know of a church making a difference in their own backyard. Each Saturday they give out cooked meal and clothes to the needy in their community. They set out tables of clothing next to the church building. They also have inspiring literature for anyone interested in having a relationship with the Lord.

Our church has a Community Service program all year long. We collect food for the needy. And many people receive clothing and other home necessities as well. But we also try to be alert to any of our members in the congregation when they are having a time of need and try to help in any way possible. We need to care for those abroad, but we should not forget those around us.
Missionary work is great and we support our missionaries financially too.

Another idea for MINISTRY is teaching to read and write. You would be surprised to learn how many people need to learn or improve such basic skills.

Learning to make a budget and stick to it would be great for some, given the trying economic times we live in today.

Teaching English as a second language to friends from other countries is a great ministry too!

Donna:
My sister has a Inspirational Card Ministry. She makes her own cards with her own hands and gives to those around her in distress, dealing with illness, loss, discouragement or any other negative situation. She loves to see the smile on the receiver's face when the open it and feel so loved and special.

At times, people ask her to make a special card for a specific situation and they buy it. What she collects from those sporadic sales she gives to help build churches.

She also has her own ministry, helping out college students who lack basic necessities. She regularly makes baskets with lots of goodies including food items, everyday and school items. She only requires of them that once they finish college, the return the good by doing good to another student in need.

I hope one of these ideas helps you.

Believe it or not, there are women, like me, who've never had kids and STILL don't know "what to do" for the Lord.

We never had kids and will never have grands/great grands etc. Ministering to those who continue to flounder when all we see around us are grandmothers. We cannot relate.

Di, I am not my uterus. The world is not divided into grandmothers and other people. We all have skills and good intentions: those are all that's needed to help others.

I have an idea: I'd like to see something about helping older women seek their place as connectors and mentors. All too often I think we're overlooked as no longer cool and young, but we can do all the things mentioned in this thread and more. Helping to set up a community clearing house to match people with needs might be a great way to help some folks step out.

More: staying up-to-date with electronic media. These are just tools that can be used to do research, connect people, disseminate information.

Taking care of our health. If we learn good habits, we can set an example for everyone around us and still keep moving.

Dotsie had a great idea for relating to your adult children, but it could be expanded to include women our age and our relations to everyone else. We're all going through stages in life and adjusting to them can have a huge effect on our relationships to everyone else.

I'd say those are some good ideas worth developing, Ellemm.

I've notice a huge need for residents of nursing homes: they
need visitors. They need a hug now and again. They need to know
others care about them. Many elderly people are put in shelters and then forgotten about. I can't be the only person who thinks
this is a sad situation!

IMO real Christians are targets for evildoers. Christians are
gentle and forgiving; they always try to see the best in people.
The bad guys know this and take advantage of those qualities.
My grandmother said, "Don't get into political or religious discussions; they're really touchy subjects." I suppose I've said that before on here, somewhere. Don't mean to be redundant; but this lady had a lot of common sense. Still, I find myself doing what she told me not to do!

Boomers, I'm taking notes! I do so hope that the Women's Ministry Department will allow me to teach a class on one of these topics. We have a lot of learning under our collective belts (even if we don't wear actual belts any more! ).

-Parenting Classes for Unwed Teen-age Mothers is a good way for "more experienced" women to help others too.

_Also starting a "non christian spouse support group" can help many dealing with the pressure and the ups and downs of such a status. it can be a truly positive outreach and an eye-opener too!

Jabber:
I love your idea to visit the elderly in shelters and nursing homes. So many of them are "tossed away and forgotten" .

This weekend we went to visit an elderly lady from church and she was delighted. Didn't want us to leave. They do get lonely and providing them company does them well!

Hi Donna,

Some ideas suggested are quite good, but I don't think I've seen this suggestion posted. Why not start out with a Senior Symposium, an open forum or meeting of all the seniors in a church. Pose the question to them and see what they come up with. Have a morning brain storming session, lunch, and an afternoon motivational speaker. Subsequent ministries and activities will be tailored to the specific needs of that church. Each church has senior members with different needs,physical abilities and interests. One size may not fit all congregations.
Some may desire a ministry related to physical or health related issues, others may be less mobile and would enjoy a Shawl Ministry (www.shawlministry.com) - a wonderful interactive ministry associated with praying for others. I am a post Boomer Baby and have just reactivated my writing career. I'd loved to see a writing group for seniors in my church. We can suggest ideas, but it all comes down to what will work in a specific church.

Lillian, Author
When Youth Fades - Don't Wither on the Vine

www.oursilverstrands.com

WELCOME lish, I missed your coming aboard.
One of the things I have done for several years now is teach a writing class for seniors at the local Senior Center. I am always amazed at the amount of interest shown by so many.