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We
Must Spare Time for the Elderly |
One of the tasks of clergy is to be a taxi driver. Actually
I quite enjoy it and often on Sundays someone will telephone
the Parish Office asking for a lift to Church.
Fortunately many people at Church give lifts to others to
save petrol or simply to be kind, but there are people who
simply can’t get to Church without a lift.
Today I collected two ladies for the Church service. One
came to the door in a night dress because she had forgotten
the time, and then I went on to collect another lady who was
late because the staff at her residential home had forgotten
that she was getting a lift.
As a clergyman you have to have lots of patience.
In Norfolk so there is no need to worry too much, time does
not mean anything – we are a holiday area and so people are
very laid back about time.
When I collect people for Church or undertake some
supporting role, I wonder who will help me in years to come.
Will anybody be out there to bother?
My experience of some children is that many are actually
only interested in their own lives, and many elderly people
are left to their own devices, and interest is only shown
when a cheque book is opened, or the Will is read!
On Saturday my wife and I made a house call in Fakenham, and
we were stopped by an elderly neighbour sweeping away glass
from the outside of her house. She told us that years ago
one of the residents had given money to create a bus shelter
for the residents to use whilst waiting for the bus. This is
now used as a place for young people to congregate and
yesterday, at midnight, after lots of drinking, glass was
broken, a girl was thrown into this ladies’ front garden and
in the morning there was blood and glass for her to clean
up. She was afraid to go out as the girl was screaming. She
did not tell the police.
On a previous day, in the same area, I heard from another
elderly couple that a Sky TV aerial had been broken by young
people on their way back from a pub in the town, and that
most of the area around these warden assisted houses for the
elderly was a no go area at weekends, in the evenings.
Having recently received my Focus, Boots and B & Q discount
cards because I have reached 60, I wonder what the future
will behold. There is no doubt that even in a quiet Norfolk
town such as Fakenham that many elderly people are scared to
go out at night and feel abused at times. But about urban
areas?
What is the answer? I believe that we should value our
elderly far more than we do and recently the church has been
given guidance to support those at risk within their
communities. Immediately children spring to mind, but did
you know that as many elderly people are abused as children.
Churches need to set up policies that make sure that elderly
people are treated with respect, have adequate facilities to
enable them to come church and support whilst they were
there.s
At the service today, I was very moved, because I saw one
our ladies who had recently lost her husband from
Alzheimer's finding the hymn number for another lady in the
Church who is showing the early signs of Alzheimer's. If we
all helped one another, and valued one another, society
would be a much happy place.
I am determined that if my health holds up, when I retire I
am going to offer myself to Age Concern or the Hospital Car
Service as a driver. Did you know that most people helping
the elderly are actually elderly themselves? |
