Old
age? Time for a re-think! - CFN newsletter 70
CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 70
> Grey power says it's time we rethought 'old age'
> Magazine: new Families Together now out
> News:
> New site to crack down on child cruelty
> Marriage preparation videos launched for registrars
> Check out your kids’ workers
> Sites:
> Get stuck into God's Word with CWR
> Online accountability: new software available
> Events: New guide to 2002's festivals/Bible weeks
> Marriage MOT: Saving money as a couple
> Humour:
> Members' Zone latest
Hi all
Standing with the one million gathered by Westminster Abbey on Tuesday for the Queen Mother's funeral, I reflected a little on the concept of 'old age'.
We were reverent, and grateful for a Christian life fully lived, but we weren't really that sad. Why? Because the Queen Mum had lived a marvellous life, and had died peacefully "old and full of years" at 101. What a great way to live, and to die.
So in this week's update, our major article looks at old age and asks some key questions of ourselves and the Church. Every potential problem can be seen as an opportunity, if you approach it from the right angle. Let us know what you think - whether you're caring for elderly parents, or approaching old age as a grandparent yourself.
Remember: each day is a gift from God. What are you doing with the gift of today?
Shalom
Russ Bravo
Christian Family Network
info@cfnetwork.co.uk
http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk
INSIGHT
Old age? It's time for a re-think!
- The proportion of over 60s is growing rapidly and the trend is towards a healthier and longer life. What’s needed now, says MICHAEL HARE DUKE, is a revision in the concept of age
In the 1950s, I became the vicar of a downtown Lancashire parish. I loved my six years there and the people taught me a great deal. One lesson was about family life.
It began
when the church organist, an active 40-year-old mother developed frequent
severe headaches. As we talked about this, she told of how her mother-in-law
had sold up her house and come to live with her and her husband. In
their small terraced house this meant that she occupied the front
room, the rest of the family lived in the kitchen and slept upstairs.
As a result everybody felt crowded. Granny kept watch over all movements
in and out of the house. She checked every visitor, she noted the
time that the teenagers came home at night. Tempers became frayed
and she literally became a pain in the head for her daughter-in-law.
Once schooled to believe in family solidarity, I revised my view,
believing that the sooner the old lady found a place in a home, the
better.
Over the years, I have learned that problems are not solved by the
removal of any one person. The need is for all parties to rethink
the expectations they have, how they see each other and what they
imagine themselves to be missing. This is especially necessary as
the numbers of old people in the population increase in proportion
to their claims for care, cash and attention.
The statistics reflect a dramatic shift; a rising proportion of voters
in the older age brackets so that 'Grey Power' is a force to be reckoned
with when political decisions are made. Meanwhile at the oldest end,
the people over a hundred are increasing by leaps and bounds. Worldwide
the UN estimated that there were 15,000 in 2000: 50 years on the figure
is expected to reach 2 million.
These figures are sometimes described as an "age time bomb"
by the press. Even a serious work on the whole phenomenon talks of
a "demographic rollercoaster" and has the overall title
of Agequake (Paul Wallace, 1999).
A different note was struck by the World Health Organisation in its
1998 report which recorded "the most important pattern of progress
now emerging is an unmistakable trend towards a healthier, longer
life". This is a cause for celebration, not anxiety. With it
there needs to go a new image of age as a time for growth with a confidence
in the contribution that older people can make.
This requires a shift first of all within old people themselves. The
granny in my opening illustration saw herself as a critic of the present.
Of her grandchildren she would have said: "It was not like that
in my day", shaking her head over their clothes, the time that
they got in at night and their lifestyle.
Equally, older people at the workplace can encourage the perception
that they are resistant to change, unable to adapt and therefore a
potential liability. Who holds on to the lazy aphorism that 'You cannot
teach an old dog new tricks'? Is it management who do not want to
retrain older workers or workers who are afraid of unaccustomed demands?
How is
our changing society responding to old age? And what are the opportunities
for God's people? For the rest of this article, head for the Advice
section at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/advice.asp
> THIS WEEK'S NEWS
> New site to crack down on child cruelty
The NSPCC
has launched a new website which will allow children who experience
problems with bullying, relationships, exams, drugs or abuse to talk
direct to an online counsellor.
Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story
> Marriage preparation videos launched for registrars
Community Family Policies have launched a Marriage Preparation promotional video, reports Dave Percival at popular marriage support website 2-in-2-1.co.uk.
Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story
>
Check out your kids’ workers
The Churches' Child Protection Advisory
Service (CCPAS) has urged churches to make full use of their ability
to access the Government's Criminal Records Bureau, which became available
to them from 1 April.
Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story - and news of new online resources for churches
> MARRIAGE MOT
Continuing our partnership with marriage resource site 2-in-2-1.co.uk,
here's their regular marriage tip from Kate:
Marriage can save you money!
Although the government does little to offer any financial incentive
to be married, there are ways in which you can make the most of your
married status to make sure that you make the most of your joint income
and shared expenditure. Here are just a few.
1 Make the most of your employment
The first place to look for marital savings is from your employers.
Take time to compare closely the benefits you are entitled to for
duplication. For example, if your spouse can cover your health insurance,
perhaps you can opt for some of other options such as additional holiday,
supplemental life insurance, or medical coverage.
2 Maximise your relationship with your Bank
Banks today offer lots of different bank account options that you
can chose (a single combined account; two separate accounts; his,
hers, and ours…). Make sure they are linked in the bank's mind
so that you qualify for lower fees or higher rates - which usually
require a minimum deposit across accounts. Perhaps you could manage
with a single account that allows you to write cheques (find one that
doesn’t charge) and put the extra level of money into a high
interest-paying account where you can transfer money at a fixed notice.
Take a look at some of the online banks, which often have lower minimums
and may be more convenient for bill paying.
>
For three more ways to save yourselves money, check out the rest of
this item, plus our archived marriage tips in the Members Zone, plus
stacks more marriage resources at http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk .
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> EVENTS
New this week: summer festivals, single parent events and more. Check
out our Events guide in the Members' Zone at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp
Send your family/church event to info@cfnetwork.co.uk for a free listing.
> SITES WORTH SEEING
Crusade for World Revival
(CWR), "applying God's Word to everyday life and relationships,"
offers samples of the popular Every Day with Jesus devotionals
by Selwyn Hughes in PDF format, as well as samples of youth devotional
material YPs, Topz, Tails and Timez. There's plenty of other resources
from Bible study material to revival news, counselling training to
a women's ministry events calendar. And check out the free, downloadable
Grow
with the Bible for a Month - a collaboration with BRF and others.
Covenant Eyes internet
accountability software monitors your every website visit, removing
any secrecy and temptation to use the internet in an inappropriate
way. CEIA will e-mail a report to accountability partners of your
choice and will help you build "self-control, self-discipline
and personal accountability." Visit the website to read a helpful
article, "Internet Addiction Signs,"
and to see how you, your organization or ministry can use Covenant
Eyes to meet your needs.
> YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH
The burglar
A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his torch around,
looking for valuables, and when he picked up a CD player to place
in his sack, a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying:
"Jesus is watching you."
He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his torch offt, and froze.
When he heard nothing more after a bit, he shook his head, promised
himself a holiday after his next big haul, then clicked the light
on and began searching for more valuables.
Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires,
clear as a bell he heard: "Jesus is watching you."
Freaked out, he shone his light around frantically, looking for the
source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his beam
came to rest on a parrot.
"Did you say that?" He hissed at the parrot.
"Yep," the parrot confessed, then squawked:, "I'm just
trying to warn you."
The burglar relaxed. "Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?"
"Moses," replied the bird.
"Moses?", the burglar laughed. "What kind of people
would name a bird Moses?!"
"The kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus."
from Jim Wright
> CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK THIS WEEK
(MEMBERS' ZONE) - http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/default.asp
> Advice: Rethinking old age - an opportunity for you, me
and the Church
>
Fun: If the Apostle Paul had had a PC
> Definitions: words that could have meant something else
> Signs that you're living in 2002
> Reviews: Adventures in Odyssey story tapes for kids, PLUS
Rob Parsons' The Heart of Success
>
Top sites this week:
>
Get into God's Word with CWR, plus free downloads
> Covenant Eyes: help for men to stay pure online
> Free e-mail software to clean up forwarded messages
> New Vatican report on the Church and the internet
> Events: new guide to 2002's festivals and bible weeks
> Webwatch Index: more than 450 sites at your fingertips
> Site Search Engine: the easy way to trawl our 450-page
plus archives
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