Symposium on Older Adult Ministries for Annual Conference Leaders
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On March 27-29, 2003, a Symposium on Older Adult Ministries for annual conference leaders was held at Scarritt-Bennett Center, Nashville, Tennessee. The United Methodist Committee on Older-Adult Ministries and the Center on Aging & Older-Adult Ministries of the General Board of Discipleship jointly sponsored the event.
The purpose was to provide resource information and training to support older-adult ministry on the annual conference level. Every annual conference received an invitation and information about the symposium. A total of 45 annual conferences were represented with nearly 100 persons, including leadership, in attendance.
The opening plenary speaker was Dr. Jane Marie Thibault, associate professor of clinical gerontology, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky. Jane provided an overview of trends in aging and older-adult ministries. Staff from the various boards and agencies related to the United Methodist Committee on Older-Adult Ministries provided a panel discussion concerning the work each agency is doing in the area of older-adult ministries. Throughout the conference, various workshops on issues pertaining to older-adult ministries on the annual conference level were conducted. In addition, a forum was held to discuss proposed legislation regarding a Conference Council on Older Adult Ministries that will be presented at the 2004 General Conference in Pittsburgh.
Bishop Violet Fisher led a closing worship service, which included Holy Communion and an anointing service for symposium participants. Bishop Fisher challenged the participants to advocate on behalf of older adults and to provide leadership for older-adult ministries in their annual conferences.