Golden Age Ministry

Team:  Dixie Hopple, Ida Mae Speeks, Bob Thompson, Lois Aroian, Lynne Thompson

GOLDEN AGE MINISTRY NEWS -

Resources in Library

Getting to Know the Golden Age Ministry

WHAT IS IT?

The Golden Age Ministry is a network of seniors and those who wish to support them. The Ministry provides practical information, spiritual development, and fellowship opportunities. Our Information Resource Files are now permanently housed in the FPC library. This wonderful array of timely articles and copious references on Senior issues is available to anyone.

Support to seniors and caregivers is our over-arching purpose. How do we plan for our own aging? How can we assist others like us, who are aging? What resources can we assemble and share? We have already started! Will you join us?

WHO IS IT?

All who want to participate in this Ministry are welcome. Contact any of the following members of the GAM leadership team: Dixie Hopple, Ida Mae Speeks, Kay Hollis, Lynne or Bob Thompson.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

• May 18 - Tour the new Fairfax City Regional Library and lunch on the town. After the second service, we’ll convene in the multipurpose room, select a restaurant in Fairfax City from a prepared list, have lunch as a group or separately at a restaurant of our choice(s), and meet afterwards at Fairfax City Regional Library for a tour at approximately 2:30 PM.
• June 1 - In-Process Review Meeting: Where We’ve Been and Where We Should Go Next. This is report card time for GAM! It will be an open discussion. Your participation is needed! This is also Glebe Sunday; we will join the entire congregation for lunch, provided by the Men’s Breakfast team.
• June 12, Thursday - Six-hour Balance and Aging program by Don Rapp, PhD. His program is a lecture-demonstration of ways to improve balance as we age. The program will start at 10 a.m., lunch will be served and the afternoon session ends at 3 p.m.. Tickets are $10 a person and may be purchased starting May 4th in the narthex or from the GAM leadership team. Participation is limited so sign up early.July – Go to a baseball game?
• August and later - To be announced. Ideas?

Come join our GAM group!

Meals on Wheels

Drivers are needed in the Fairfax community. Volunteers can deliver on a weekly, biweekly, monthly or substitute basis and receive mileage reimbursement. Other opportunities include driving people to medical appointments, grocery shopping and friendly visits. Please call the Volunteer Intake Line at 703-324-5406, or email dfsaaavolunteer@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Shepherd’s Center Fairfax Burke

This non-profit interfaith organization serves adults 50 years and older. Its primary purpose is to assist seniors to continue to live independently and to offer programs for enrichment, learning and socialization. Fairfax Presbyterian Church is a supporter of SCFB.

SCFB offers free medical transport, Adventures in Learning and Lunch N’ Life meals with a topical program every other month. SCFB is a great complement to FPC’s GAM programs! The SCFB office is now located in Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 8922 Little River Turnpike, telephone 703-323-4788. Check their web site at http://fairfax-burksc.org.

For further information, please contact Lois , Dixie or Bob through the Golden Age Ministry at goldenageministry@fairfaxpresby.com .

• Information Bank of Available Resources in Church Library

• Fairfax Area Agency on Aging
  CAREGIVER'S CORNER ONLINE
• January 2008
  December 2007

The Shepherd’s Center of Fairfax-Burke will hold Lunch N’ Life on Thursday, March 13 from 12 to 2 p.m. at Lord of Life Lutheran Church for area residents aged 50+. The program will be “Volunteer, Work , Play: Anticipating the Future.” For reservations, call Faye Quesenberry  at 703-620-0161 by March 6. The cost is $8 and checks are to be made payable to SCFB. If transportation is needed, please call the SCFB office at 703 323-4788. Also, see www.fairfax-burkesc.org..

The Shepherd’s Center’s Adventures in Learning provides a variety of classes. The spring session starts March 31 on six consecutive Mondays from 9:30 am to 2:45 p.m., also at Lord of Life Lutheran Church.

The day will begin with Tai Chi followed by a class on Age-Defying Health Secrets. After lunch (bring your own), a variety of topics will be covered in Around the World. Finally, four small groups will meet for an activity of your choice: Bridge, Flower Arranging, Sudoku, or Book Club.

The cost for the six week program is $35, with checks to be made payable to SCFB. Registration will begin on Saturday, March 1. For more information, call Bob Wiles at (703) 323-5886. You can register at the March 13 Lunch N' Life, at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, or by mail to SCFB, 8922 Little River Turnpike, Fairfax, VA 22031.

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Our multigenerational, lay-directed Golden Age Ministry is off to a great start. We are joining together to discern and meet the needs of our senior citizens to enable them to continue to enjoy life and participate in FPC activities. Some of our members are home-bound and unable to participate in church programs. Our network of interested members is already building a sense of Christian community among all who participate, strengthening us as the body of Christ.

FPC already offers monthly blood pressure checks and flu shots. Volunteers are standing by to offer other services, such as transportation and regular phone calls, once we've identified our seniors’ individual and collective needs. An information bank about available resources in our area is set up in the church library and others are on the website including Congregational Emergency Health Contact Form .

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• GAM Sponsored Hospice Talk October 7, 2007. Guest Speaker Adrienne Ash of Capital Hospice discussed Understanding Hospice Care Today:  Services and Support for Caregivers and Anyone with a Serious Progressive Illness and the Five Wishes questionnaire

May 4, 2008