Safe and Welcoming

Churches in Great Britain, and increasingly in the U.S., have developed ways to become “dementia friendly.” Here are a few suggestions. Visit spiritualityanddementia.org for more information and resources.

• Educate church staff and laity to have at least a basic understanding of dementia and how it affects a person physically, emotionally, and intellectually.
• Ensure that the worship space is safe and welcoming to the elderly and cognitively impaired.
• Provide a volunteer companion for the person with dementia to allow the caregiver to relax a bit and worship.
• Host a monthly Memory Café, a stigma-free social gathering for people with dementia and their care partners, to extend the community of faith to families, caregivers, and neighbors.
• Organize a short monthly worship service for people with dementia; include familiar hymns and scriptures.
• Offer a blessing ceremony when a person with dementia moves into a care facility.
• Join efforts to eliminate disparities in health care. Dementia affects African Americans, Indigenous people, and Latinos at a higher rate than it does Caucasians, and women more than men, but access to services is often less than equitable.