The Clare Community Statement on Elder Care

We believe:

• the elders of our community are a treasury of wisdom who gift us and give witness to God’s faithful love for them and all of us. (“Treasury of wisdom”: ripened with accumulated experience, mature judgment, inclusive understanding, widened empathy and broadened appreciation of diversity and pluralism.)
  
  
• as Christians, the aging process from birth to the fullness of eternal life invites us into the experience of the Paschal Mystery of Christ as we live through times of suffering, growth, loss, change, grief and times of Resurrection and joy.
  
  
• God creates us, calls us, and invites us throughout our lives to realize our potential, delight in our life experiences, grow from them and return to our Source through death.
  
  
• the elder years are a time for “meaning making” for each person out of the past, present and future so there is a sense of peace about who one has become, and a sense of trust and faith that one is united with God.
  
  
• the aging process produces wise and uniquely individualized persons and also involves letting go and adjusting to increased limitations of body and mind.
  
  
• aging becomes a gifted process when the capacity for commitment, responsibility and nurturance is kept alive, and self-confidence, flexibility, tolerance and a sense of humor is operative in accepting all of life experiences.
  
  
• the challenge of elder years is to grow spiritually through embracing lessened capabilities, patience with difficulties and some disillusionments in life while maintaining a sense of optimism, hope, humor and deep faith.
  
  
• the elder years are a time for on-going development, continuing life-long interests or pursuing new ones, and for exploring undreamed of possibilities of living a commitment to Christ, neighbor and self.
  
  
• care in the elder years must be individualized, respectful and supportive of personal choices given the unique history and needs of each person.
  
  
• elders thrive best in a respectful and stimulating environment that provides adequate health care, personal hygiene, nutrition, exercise, rest and educational/recreational/social/spiritual resources.
  
  
• life is precious in all its stages and the degree and amount of technical medical care is an emergency should be guided by the person’s quality of life before the incident, the personal choices and expressed desires of the individual, and an attitude of prudence and compassion for a loved one, if someone given power of attorney must make decisions

Clare Community Animators created this statement of the philosophy of aging and care which espouses a vision of wholeness and a mission of choosing and celebrating life. Provincial Council approved the statement on December 8, 1999