If we can give our readers something extra, we love to! Here is an extended list of recommended books and videos related to “Can Churches Do Better With Our Seniors?” a Jan/Feb feature story by Lisa Hall-Wilson
By Bill Fledderus
The United Methodist Church, headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., has an Office on Aging and Older Adult Ministries headed by Dr. Will Randolph. It offers a free quarterly newsletter and good blog posts about recommended resources, caregiving, worship and other related topics at www.aging-umc.org. Don’t miss the blog posts “What Shall I Read First?” and “What Shall I Read Second?”
Amy Hanson of Council Bluffs, Iowa, is author of Baby Boomers and Beyond: Tapping the Ministry Talents and Passions of Adults Over 50 (Jossey-Bass, 2010). See her list of recommended resources and more at www.amyhanson.org. Don’t miss her free 16-page PDF from 2007 “Churches Responding to the Age Wave: Top Innovations in Older Adult Ministry.”
A Vision for the Aging Church: Renewing Ministry for and by Seniors (IVP Academic, 2011) is a book by James M. Houston and Michael Parker that challenges the church to embrace and honour the contributions that can be made by its older members while more effectively ministering to their needs. Dr. Houston is an emeritus professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver.
John Roberto of Naugatuck, Conn., edits Lifelong Faith, a journal with many good articles available free online at www.lifelongfaith.com/journal.html. Don’t miss “Becoming Intentionally Intergenerational: Models and Strategies,” a 12-page article from 2009 (vol. 3.1).
Senior Adult Ministry in the 21st Century: Step-By-Step Strategies for Reaching People Over 50 (Wipf & Stock, 2006) is a practical book by David P. Gallagher of Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Intergenerational Christian Formation: Bringing the Whole Church Together in Ministry, Community and Worship, by Holly Catterton Allen and Christine Lawton Ross (InterVarsity Press, 2012), includes theoretical foundations, concrete guidance for praxis and several case studies of local churches.
The Intergenerational Church: Understanding Congregations from WWII to WWW.COM, by Peter Menconi (Mt. Sage Publishing, 2010), examines current generations (GI, Silent, Boomer, Gen X and Millennial) and gives practical ways to involve each in the life of the church.
Catch the Age Wave: A Handbook for Effective Ministry with Senior Adults (Beacon Hill, 2012) by Win and Charles Arn helps in evaluating and restructuring ministry programming.
The Intergenerational Church is a free one-hour webinar from 2013 by Syd Hielema, an Ontario chaplain in the Christian Reformed Church, at Vimeo.com/74927666.
Dr. Carlus Gupton of Memphis, Tenn., offers a helpful list of resources at www.lifeandleadership.com/ministry-resources/generations-multi-generational-issues-in-churches.html.
The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada publishes the quarterly magazine SAGE: Observations from Life in the Wisdom Years www.paoc.org/canada/initiatives/sage.
Dr. Daniel Massey of Arcadia, Calif., offered an excellent resource list at www.50plusministry.org/resources.html, but his website appears to be down (temporarily?).
Do you have resources to add to this list? Contact us at editor@faithtoday.ca.