Jenan Taylor
10 July 2023
Melbourne clergy will have the chance to learn how to provide dementia-specific worship services at an upcoming seminar.
The diocese’s health chaplaincy coordinator the Reverend Dawn Treloar said the Ministry to those living with Dementia workshop was part of a series of training sessions to equip clergy in hospitals and aged care facilities for their roles.
Ms Treloar said it would enable them to feel more comfortable in the dementia care environment and respond constructively to the needs of a growing number of people with dementia.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare recently found there were more than 400,000 people in Australia with dementia in 2022, and that number was expected to more than double by 2050.
Workshop presenter and dementia care specialist the Reverend Samantha Lo said ministry to people with dementia was a massive opportunity for the church, but often clergy were fearful because they were unsure of what to do.
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Ms Lo spent 10 years in aged care facilities and working among people with dementia. She said the cohort usually found it difficult to attend worship services, and were often, unintentionally, excluded from them.
She said there could be long periods of time between church services in residential facilities and those with dementia regularly ended up missing out.
“There could be one or two months between services, and if the person with dementia is sleeping or the doctor happens to arrive at the same time, it could be three months before they get to attend a service again,” Ms Lo said.
She said the specialist ministry would also send a positive and powerful message to families and loved ones about how the Church viewed and treated their person with dementia.
Ms Lo said her workshop presentation would include an array of practical approaches for clergy.
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These ranged from knowing what to do if someone was ill, to how to order a service so that it was more interactive, and awareness of what could trigger negative emotional responses in people with dementia.
“Dementia covers about 10 neurological diseases, but the first thing to disappear in most cases, is the person’s facility with numbers. If you tell them page three, they won’t be able to find page three. But they will be able to find the page with the picture of a tree on it. Basic approaches helps them to be connected, feel able to follow along and be included,” Ms Lo said.
She said clergy didn’t deliberately want to exclude people with the disease but usually didn’t include them because they assumed everything might be beyond them.
“I’ve seen people with dementia sing in the choir. They help in the kitchen; they dry the dishes after morning tea. They can be on the door welcome. They can do the Bible readings, even if it means the pastor or someone has to go up to the lectern with them for the reading,” Ms Lo said.
“So often, we think of leading in worship as some sort of performance. That automatically excludes people who might get stage fright, or who might stumble on their words, or who might have dementia and might need a hand. We have to include people and encourage them to do everything they can still do. We have to not be horrified at this imperfection. It’s okay.”
Ms Treloar said further dementia ministry seminars would depend on the response to the workshop planned for 7 August, from 11.00am to 12.30pm at St Paul’s Cathedral.
For further details, and to book please email dtreloar@melbourneanglican.org.au
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