Dear Sir,
In his letter ‘Witness in a care home’ (May en), Anthony Parker implies that it is wrong of elderly believers to ‘retreat into a Christian enclave’. An elderly relative of mine, a fervent Christian, also went into a ‘normal’ care home and had the joy of rekindling faith in one or two of the other residents. But, one day when I visited she whispered that she had been rebuked for saying she wanted to go home and be with the Lord. The carers took it as a slight on their ability to care and she was told not to speak like that again. Yet more than anything, at that time in her life, she needed that ‘hope of glory.’
God hasn’t designed us to be lone rangers in the faith. We all need spiritual support, especially when we are very frail and old. Old age is often a time of repeated loss – of friends, of family and very often of church fellowship, and without the affirmation that comes from other believers, some can lose trust in themselves and in what they believe. It is not true of everyone, of course; residents who are able pray for others, including missionary work both home and abroad.
