Bev shares another story from her work in Rest Homes:
“A gentleman was brought to the service for the first time at a home that I visit regularly. He had been left in his wheelchair at the far end of the room. When I asked if he could be brought to join the group the staff seemed to think he would be happier where he was. We began the service and, although he has very little speech, the gentleman was obviously enjoying the hymns and reading the words. After the service I asked if he used to to go to church and he said that he did and that he was happy to be prayed for. This made him smile and one of the staff at the home, who had been watching him form the other room came dashing over to us. She was blown away by the fact he was smiling and told me what it meant to her to see him smile. I asked if he was a new resident but it turned out that he had lived at the home for eight months. No one had brought him to the service as it had not occurred to them that he had a Christian faith and would like to attend a worship service; he didn’t have the words to tell the staff himself.
It made me wonder how many people there are that are unable to speak for themselves. Having no one to speak for them, how many people are not receiving the spiritual support they need at this crucial time in their lives? With their health failing, they are detached from the support of the church and their church family. Our team try to make contact with as many Christians in the homes as possible. Are you aware of someone in your church who has gone into a home and is unable to tell the staff of their spiritual needs? In our churches we need to keep contact with those who can no longer worship with us and speak up for them so that their spiritual nee