Bearing fruit in old age

Amongst the Israelites, old age was held in high regard and respect for the elderly was obligatory. Proverbs 16.31 tells us that, ‘grey hair is the crown of glory.’ As a follicularly challenged minister in his 30s it is easy to subtly downplay the truth of such verses. Unquestionably, modern Western society does not honour old age to the extent to which it once did.

Perhaps it is unsurprising, then, that 1.2 million elderly people in England would describe themselves as chronically lonely, with almost half of those going without seeing anyone for five days out of every week (Age UK). The astounding nature of such statistics is only furthered when one considers that by 2035 almost half of the adult population will be over 65 (Office for National Statistics). While many churches are unquestionably working hard amongst an aging population, Christian resources aimed at the elderly are comparatively sparse.

New initiative

Consequently, on 10 October, I was delighted to have been invited to the launch of ‘Faith in Later Life’ at the House of Lords. This joint initiative of Pilgrim’s Friends Society, The Salvation Army, London City Mission, Mission Care, and Keychange Charity seeks to both redress the balance in Christian resources for the elderly and proffer a biblical view of old age.

Lord Mackay of Clashfern, who hosted the launch, said: ‘Many of these [older persons] will be Christians seeking to know how they can continue to work out their faith in later life. Many [others] are living increasingly lonely, and isolated lives and they need to hear the good news of the gospel.’

‘Faith in Later Life’, helped by London Seminary, has built a library of information and resources which is accessible via the new website (https://faithinlaterlife.org). Dr Garry Williams, who spoke of the ‘gift of older people’ at the launch, underscored the importance of this resource.

The launch was challenging and encouraging. I look forward to seeing how these resources are gathered and utilised in the months ahead. For the increasing millions of elderly people in the UK, I pray it bears fruit over time.