From the Pastoral Care Project, 2019:

The Dementia family Ministry Prayer Card marks 25 years of the Pastoral Care Project’s charitable work.

It coincides with Dementia Prayer Week, 12th - 19th March, a national, annual event enabling parishes and schools around the country and elsewhere to use the online resources to participate.

For example, the new word search activity is a reminder of the difficulty the individual with dementia may experience in searching for the right word to say.

With an estimated 800,000 individuals in England and Wales affected in various ways by dementia, this new Dementia family Ministry Prayer Card, sponsored by Day for Life Fund, offers hope.

Hope comes from the prayers by Archbishop Bernard Longley and Bishop David McGough, of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, that inspire more people to be a blessing to the poor.

“Poverty has many faces, one of which is dementia in all its forms. Here that most precious possession, a sense of self and belonging, begins to crumble. To the onlooker it can sometimes seem that the sufferer is dispossessed of everything that makes us truly human,” said Bishop McGough.

“It is a poverty that cannot be contained. Husbands and wives, parents and children, must suffer the loss of so much that gave meaning to their mutual sharing.” Click here

The annual, national Dementia Prayer Week, (12-19th March) now in its 11th year, is an opportunity to create a sense of purpose and meaning.

Our hope is that the new prayer card will encourage people to visit a care home or family and equip them once they are there.

You may just be the answer to a person’s prayer: 'God help me' a familiar cry of the poor, which can be our prayer too!

The prayer of the Pastoral Care Project is that in our own poverty of funds we have become more and more connected with parishes, schools and care organisations who work with us.

We are so pleased to have worked with Redemptorist Publications this last year, for their collaboration on the design and generosity in making this card available from their website.

“Redemptorist Publications’ mission is to support people at every stage of Christian life so working with the Pastoral Care Project is the perfect partnership for us!” said Giselle Beaumont, of Redemptorist Publications.

“Learning about the work that they have been carrying out for 25 years and the success of Dementia Prayer Week has been both inspiring and encouraging. We hope our small contribution will help this mission to grow even further and help more people.”

The profits from the sale of the card will help the Pastoral Care Project support those who contact the office.

Individuals and organisations may wish to be creative by using the Bake and Share or various resources from the website or click here to donate

The Pastoral Care Project is a small charity, with its roots in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, UK, but offshoots have taken root in many dioceses, some overseas; as with anything that is planted it takes different shape according to soil and climate. That is how connections in various areas have grown according to their local needs and traditions.

For further information contact: [email protected] or 01675 434035

Website: www.pastoralcareproject.org.uk

Twitter: @dementiaaprayer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pastoralcareproject