Dementia - Prayer Week 12th -19th March 2016
'His Mercy is from Age to Age'

Extract from Bishop David McGough's talk on 'His Mercy is from Age to Age' at a Day of Reflection organised by the Pastoral Care Project and East Birmingham Deanery at St Augustine's Church Solihull on 26th September 2015. 

Dementia - Ministry from an Ordained Perspective

This talk given by Rev Martin Hathaway, Church of England Minister.  Rev Martin's  talk on 'Ministry from a Ordained Perspective' was given at the 'Spiritual Care in Confusion Conference' in October 2000 in Nuneaton.  The Conference was organised by the Pastoral Care Project as part of their charitable aims to raise awareness of the spiritual needs of people with dementia.  The conference attracted nationwide attention and welcomed 105 attendees on the day.  Various speakers and workshops and the sharing of personal and professional experiences made this a remarkable day.  The material is as current today as it was in 2000.

Dementia and my Family - 'For  Better, for Worse'

'For Better, for Worse' was produced and directed by Victoria Caldwell as part of her Art, Design and Media Communication Degree at Newman University.  Coming to terms with her grandfather’s dementia, Victoria decided to put her energy into making a short film that would capture the essence of her grandparents’ 65-year marriage, contrasting the fun times of their youth and courtship days of the 1930's with the gradual overshadowing of dementia in their later years.

Seeing young actors step into the shoes of a couple living with Alzheimer’s Disease/dementia lends a particular depth and power to the film, and is a striking reminder that Alzheimer’s Disease/dementia does not take away a person’s essence or their humanity.

Fleeting memories are skilfully recreated through colour and monochrome and set to the song 'The Promise', inviting us to imagine the vivid thoughts that revisit her grandfather’s mind as he sits with his wife (the actors in a film booth).  The booth brings home the current isolation and the difficulty of caring by his wife, Victoria's grandmother.  

This simple yet moving film has been piloted in groups and schools and we can see how it reaches out across generations.

Acknowledgments: We wish to thank Victoria for gifting this film to the Pastoral Care Project and song artist Ben Howard for granting permission to use ‘The Promise’.