Nursing Home Ministry

Christmas at Nursing Home – Listening With Our Eyes

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 And he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.  Luke 21:2-3 ESV

Three years ago, we hadn’t met many of our neighbors yet since we had just moved in, so when I saw the teenage boy pull in the driveway across the street I called over “Hey good morning!”, hoping to strike up a conversation. Surprisingly he didn’t even turn his head to look at me, and headed into his house. I was a bit put off and grumbled about that “unfriendly boy across the street” to my wife later. Nancy paused to let me finish griping, then she said, “He’s deaf you know. He can lip read, but he had to be able to see your face.” In an instant, not only did my attitude completely change but I felt pretty silly to boot.

When ministering at nursing homes, whether for Christmas, or any other time, one of the most important things we can do is to listen with our eyes, just as my deaf neighbor would have done if He could have seen me. In this third and final installment on preparing a Nursing Home Christmas program, let’s take time to consider the value of really seeing the people we are called to serve. In the same way that deaf people lip read, we need to pay attention to people’s facial expressions and body language while we are singing, giving gifts or putting on a Nativity play. We shouldn’t just plough through our well-planned program, then announce proudly to others how loving and generous we have been. We need to watch people’s faces to see how they are responding. If someone is just staring off into space, then catch their eyes and smile. If you see those in the back, turning their heads or cupping their ears, move closer as they may not be able to hear the song. Don’t let your “Silent Night” be silent because they can’t hear the notes! Ask God for help to not only listen to the words of greeting as you shake their hands to say goodbye; but take time to see them as Jesus does. Then maybe we will hear more than people’s words. We will see them as God does when we learn to listen with our eyes!

Sharing Christ at Nursing Homes in 21

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And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Yesterday I shared a little about preparing a Christmas outreach into Senior Living communities in your own town. Today I’ll be presenting some practical suggestions that you can use, or re-configure to fit your own situation. Most importantly is that we try to find ways to carry the love of Christ into facilities that are just beginning to open again. Why shouldn’t Christians be the first ones in the door willing to bringing tidings of comfort and joy. this Christmas?

We need to think about how the same old goals of nursing home ministry can be done in brand new ways. When Sunday services in a nice comfortable chapel at a retirement village where I used to visit were cancelled, one of the residents went to the administration and received permission for us to meet outside at a little park area around a fountain. Someone ran a long extension cord out of a nearby building to power the microphone and while others brought beach chairs to supplement the few park benches, we had available. We printed out flyers to advertise our little gathering and prayed it wouldn’t rain. It was both amazing and wonderful how being outside allowed other residents of the village to see that they had somewhere they could go for fellowship, singing and prayer. Some people wore masks, everyone socially distanced and no one became infected by it. Most of all we discovered that the difficulties encouraged us to work together with everyone and that together we could bring the hope of Christ to our community. One woman did the organizing and scheduling; while two retired pastors took turns moderating our meetings, and I only needed lead the songs.

Eventually we were granted the use of a recreational building where we had air conditioning during our hot Florida summer but the lessons we learned at the fountain were precious and will remain with me forever. We are a family and every family has to work together to find unique solutions in different situations. At another facility, the recreation director eagerly invited us to come sing Christmas carols.

Our Florida solution was to do the caroling around the swimming-pool! Residents from the assisted living building overlooking the pool area could hear the music and as we went on our small group grew in numbers considerably. At the end of our time after we prayed, we turned around to leave and were surprised by one of the staff people with a food-cart serving everyone hot chocolate and ice cream! It reminded me of the scene at the burning bush when God called Moses to go to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let the Israelite people go. As you can imagine Moses was less than thrilled about how that was going to play out and God asked him a simple question,” What is in your hand?” and Moses answered, “A staff.” (See Exodus 3:2). In that same way, as we stand in front of our own burning bush, wishing we could pass through those flames to answer our own call to serve and God is asking each of us; “What is in your hand?” What opportunities do you have? Who can you ask to help? What abilities and talents has God given you? The answer may be something as insignificant as the stick in Moses’ hand, but God is not as concerned about what we have, but in how able He is to use anything and anyone that is given to Him in order to share the love of Christ with others.

These are the Sunshine newsletters that we distribute free of charge in several facilities

Getting Ready for Christmas in 21

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And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. Luke 1:26-27 KJV

“What in the world are these guys thinking?” I have often said, when I turn the corner in a store and see people stocking Christmas merchandise right after Labor Day. While it might seem silly to me; the dollars cents that those stores rake in over the holidays show that their Christmas preplanning works and today’s verse tells us that God is into early planning too. Remember that, He sent first angels, then shepherds and finally wise men, to tell people that something amazing was happening in Bethlehem. Why shouldn’t we, who do ministry in nursing homes do some early planning as well? Though Christmas is still seven weeks away it is time to begin planning and putting together a special event for the seniors in those communities that we visit. I began weekly visits into long term care facilities thirty years ago and a lot of things have changed, especially since Covid. Sadly, one thing has remained constant – most seniors will be alone for Christmas. With the old statistic of 75% of residents not receiving a visit over the entire year, made worse by the pandemic, it is more urgent than ever that we prepare as far in advance to make this Christmas different. Let’s mobilize all our forces to share the love and hope that Jesus came to bring to as many as possible!

“Where do I start?” you might ask, and for each of us the answer may be slightly different. Over the next week I will be sharing a variety of practical ideas that we have used over the years and I would love to hear from you any of yours. Please share because what you have learned could be a blessing to others who see the need and wonder how they can make a difference in their city.  Today I have included a video showing what our small prayer group has done this year. We are just a group of 12 people who share an urgency to do what we can, with what we have, to reach our community for Jesus Christ this Christmas. I really would love to hear from you if you are doing outreach into long term care communities (Including prisons) as to what has worked for you and what you have planned for this year. Stay tuned tomorrow as I launch into a nuts and bolts “How to” session on program prep. God bless and have a wonderful day!