We must be sensitive to the minority who need help, but not overlook the strength of the vast majority of elderly who provide the stability and continuity in most parishes. In broad strokes, we can classify seniors' contributions in three categories. These lively elderly frequently shatter stereotypes. What they lack in quick energy they contribute in staying power. What they may have missed in global experience they make up for with a juicy reservoir of personal stories about the details of life as it used to be.
Some seniors have a special gift for reaching teenagers unavailable to the intervening generation.
One church enlisted its youth to repair the homes of elderly. Through this unexpected alliance, the young and old swapped stories and talked about their views of the world. Unfortunately, the lively elderly decline with age and illness. Tobin, Ellor and Anderson-Ray eloquently describe the array of services that churches and their members can provide at low cost and amazingly high rewards for services rendered. These include legal and health services, in-house care, transportation and emergency assistance.