Ministry with the Forgotten: Dementia through a Spiritual Lens

by Kenneth L Carder

Dementia diseases represent a crisis of faith for many family members and congregations. Magnifying this crisis is the way people with dementia tend to be objectified by both medical and religious communities. They are recipients of treatment and projects for mission. Ministry is done to and for them rather than with them.

While acknowledging the devastation of dementia diseases, Ken Carder draws on his own experience as a caregiver, hospice chaplain, and pastoral practitioner to portray the gifts as well as the challenges accompanying dementia diseases. He confronts the deep personal and theological questions created by loving people with dementia diseases, demonstrating how living with dementia can be a means of growing in faith, wholeness, and ministry for the entire community of faith. He also reveals that authentic faith transcends intellectual beliefs, verbal affirmations, and prescribed practices. Carder asserts that the Judeo-Christian tradition offers a broader lens, defining personhood in relationship to God’s story and humanity’s participation in God’s mighty acts of creation and new creation; thereby contributing to hope, community, and self-worth.

Pastors and congregations will be better equipped to minister with people affected by dementia, receiving their gifts and responding to their unique needs. They will learn how people with dementia contribute to the community and the church’s life and mission, discovering practical ways those contributions can be identified, nurtured, and incorporated into the church’s life and ministry.

From the

"Bishop Carder has written a generously wise book that is a gift to the church and a healing resource for people living with dementia and all who walk with them and alongside them. Those who are seeking a book on pastoral care and dementia will find here a wealth of theological insight, practical recommendations, and reflections that are grounded in deeply lived experience. But this is not simply a book about living with dementia or caregiving for those who live with dementia, nor simply a book about pastoral care. It is rather a testimony from the wilderness, a memoir of 'trust-end-faith.' It is a book about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in our modern, technological world. It is a book about what it means to be known and loved by God, full stop. It is a book about what it means for love to endure, when all else fails."
–Warren Kinghorn, MD, ThD; Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Duke
University Medical Center; Esther Colliflower Associate Professor of the
Practice of Pastoral and Moral Theology, Duke Divinity School, Durham,
NC

192 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2019

Reviews

[Adam Metz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carder offers us an equally personal, insightful, and academic treatment of an issue that largely remains on the periphery of the church even though it continues to become more prevalent. Having recently begun to work as a chaplaincy in a nursing home, a resident whose wife is in memory care referred me to this book, and it has been a truly great resource in reflecting on the challenges of ministering to those with dementia. Carder has the academic chops to write a deeply reflective book anchored in solid theology (retired pastor and professor) while also possessing the firsthand experience as caregiver and spouse to one suffering from dementia. This book gives the reader a lot to think about into largely unchartered waters, and remains resilient in it's lifting up those affected by dementia as inherently precious as God's children.

Carder's work is valuable for anyone seeking reflection on the challenges dementia brings to families, pastors, and the church. The chapters are short but dense with references, scripture, and firsthand accounts that helps reenvision what ministry with the forgotten can look like. I was challenged and blessed throughout this book.

[Corrica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is fairly good. It would be a great read for someone who is religious and has a loved one experiencing dementia. It has some very practical advice and nice stories. If you are a minister and have people living with dementia in your congregation (which you definitely do) and you haven’t thought about it, or don’t know how to engage with them this book will be helpful. If, like me, you work with people with dementia in a spiritual capacity, this book will be good to help others understand what you do and help you find better ways to relate with others.

[Bev Weiler · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the baby boomers and their parents age, there are a multitude of families who are providing caretaking for their loved ones, especially those with some form of dementia. For people for whom spirituality, especially in the form of Christianity, is an essential part of their lives, this book provides a place to find succor in the their beliefs. In addition, even without the biblical references, Carder provides true insight into the challenges of caretaking for a loved one with dementia.

[Empress5150 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book. Everyone.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving and profound book on interacting with those with dementia.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative book about Dementia from the perspective of a minister caring for a beloved spouse.

[Jackie Machardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was assigned this book for a course. It truly opened my eyes to what ministry with people experiencing dementia can look like. An essential read.

[Colleen Jantzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful