By caring for others, she becomes reconnected to the community and the church, and has found new life. A retiree recently told me, The only reason I am here is to be useful. The day I stop being useful to others, that s the day to pull the plug. In this view, we have value only as long as we are productive, as we are useful, as we can do for others. This view is reflective in an article in a periodical we receive at the church, Church Educator.
Seniors are a plus in any church.
How much the plus amounts to depends on what opportunities they are given. Implicit throughout this article is that the senior set should be welcomed in the church because of all the work we can get out of them, period. This thinking is reflective of a society which values people in terms of what they do, what they contribute to the Gross National Product, what they can give. The problem, of course, is that as we age, many of us lose our abilities to be productive, to do for others, to be useful. Others may have to care for us.