URJ - Older Adults - Sacred Aging

Program Description:
Currently one-fifth of the American Jewish community is over 65, with the fastest growth component being those over 75. They represent the longest-living, healthiest, most educated, mobile, and spiritually-engaged generation of older adults that has ever lived. Just on the horizon, joining them within the decade, are the first wave of the "baby boom" generation. The "new Jewish majority" will change our congregations and Jewish life in dynamic ways. How shall we respond to this "longevity revolution"?

To anticipate these new realities and effectively respond to them, the Union's Department of Jewish Family Concerns has created its program on Sacred Aging. A six part congregation-based program, Sacred Aging looks at the impact of the changing demographics of our community and seeks to enlist congregations in developing and implementing meaningful and creative programs and services for our membership, as well as providing resources for clergy and lay leadership.

To Honor and Respect--A Program and Resource Guide for Congregations on Sacred Aging

Sacred Aging Program Highlights
Sacred Aging will include six components, each with corresponding programs and support materials designed to meet the needs of an aging population. The components and the needs that are addressed include:

Responding to the longevity revolution: A guide for congregational leadership

The congregation as a caring community: Providing support for caregivers

Creating new rituals for our extended lifespan

Helping members make sacred decisions: The impact of medical technology

Life as a sacred journey: Legacy programs that celebrate the "spiritual capital" of older adults

Seeking meaning and purpose in life's third stage: Developing educational models that relate to the revolution in longevity.

Sacred Aging Best Practices

Sacred Aging— a Caring Community response, offers the individual members of congregations the opportunity redefine their synagogue culture as a loving community that sustains the spiritual, physical and mental wellness and growth of its members. Sacred Aging programming is enacted in many Reform Synagogues all over North America with enormous success. To invigorate your efforts in transforming your synagogue into a Kehilat Chesed, we would love to share with you a few successful ideas. Examples...

Caring From a Distance, is pleased to announce Metro Washington’s most comprehensive on-line website for caregivers, both near and far. Caring from a Distance (CFAD) is the nation's first non-profit founded to serve the seven million Americans now caring for family members who live far away. Its user-friendly website www.cfad.org is a road map for family members who juggle work and family while navigating the unfamiliar terrain of elder care. Special features include tips and toolkits, a secure place to store vital information for emergencies, and a service directory for several US locations, including the Washington Metro Area, with detailed, searchable information on 2600 programs and services.