The Leveson Centre for the Study of Ageing,
Spirituality and Social Policy
In a Strange Land:
People with Dementia and the Local Church – a guide and encouragement
for ministry, Malcolm Goldsmith,
4M Publications, 2004, 239 pages, ISBN 0–9530494–6–9,
£14.95
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Review by Suzanne McDonald
As the fruit of Goldsmith’s research and practice over many
years, In a Strange Land provides both a sure guide for those wondering
how to begin to journey alongside people with dementia and a resource
to which those who have shared that journey for longer will want to
turn for further inspiration and encouragement.
His primary intention is to assist churches and their leaders to
minister to people with dementia, their families and carers. Part
one introduces his guiding principles: that the Lord’s song can
indeed be heard and sung in the ‘strange land’ of dementia;
that, daunting as it rightly seems, ministry to those coping with
the daily reality of dementia is within the reach of all congregations;
and that the person-centred approach to dementia care intersects with
the patterns and priorities of the church’s ministry as a whole.
Goldsmith follows this by laying some indispensable foundations for
ministry in this context. Part two provides a highly accessible presentation
of current research concerning the demographics of dementia, and what
happens in the brain and to the whole person as the condition takes
hold, giving accounts of the experience of dementia from the perspective
of people with dementia and their families. Especially valuable is
the highly sensitive way in which Goldsmith deals with the most disturbing
features of dementia, from seeking to understand challenging behaviour
to issues surrounding dementia and sexuality. Similarly, the care
with which Goldsmith explores the demands placed upon families is
essential reading for all who seek to support those closest to people
with dementia.
This section also gives an abundance of tips to facilitate effective
communication and to make the very most of visits, and includes suggestions
to enable people with dementia to continue to do as much as possible
for as long as possible. These range from bringing together the most
widely-recognised ways to prompt and sustain memory to the challenging
checklist of Kitwood’s ‘malignant social psychology’,
as a reminder of the ways in which it is all too easy to disable and
undermine people with dementia.
Part three is devoted to the nature of ministry in the context of
dementia. Goldsmith looks first at the questions most likely to be
asked. Particularly helpful are the sections which ask ‘What
will happen to my faith?’ on the journey into forgetfulness,
and which consider the challenges to faith faced by carers. There
is also a useful discussion of ‘spirituality’, ‘religion’
and ‘faith’ to assist in discerning the differing needs
and expectations of those to whom we minister.
Goldsmith then provides suggestions to facilitate church attendance
for people with dementia, and detailed, sensitive guidance for visiting
and conducting worship at home and in institutional settings, in addition
to advice on how to develop a relationship with local nursing homes.
Three appendices offer further resources. As well as helping to equip
and encourage ‘occasional’ ministry, Goldsmith gives particular
acknowledgement to and encouragement for carers who seek to bring
their faith to their day-to-day ministry.
Finally – and all too briefly – Goldsmith gives further
scriptural and theological pointers to help us to discern the gospel
in the situation of dementia, referring particularly to the Passion
narratives, and returning to the theme of God’s presence in exile
with which he began. Here, perhaps, is a place where readers might
ask for more. We would undoubtedly be the richer for a more fully
developed account of Goldsmith’s theological reflections arising
from his research and experience.
Throughout, Goldsmith provides a wide range of resources, from summaries
of recent work on dementia and dementia care to personal anecdotes,
from the prayers with which each chapter closes to poetry and biographies.
Goldsmith brings together a wealth of information, encouragement and
practical advice not simply for churches and their leaders, but for
all who are engaged in the care of people with dementia. In a Strange
Land also offers family, friends and those beginning to come to terms
with the onset of dementia a clear, honest and sympathetic resource
to help with the questions to which a diagnosis of dementia gives
rise. The riches in this volume serve to give all of us courage –
people with dementia, families, carers, congregations and church leaders
– in the realisation that there is indeed much we can do to ‘engage
the mind, touch the heart, feed the soul’.
Suzanne McDonald (URC ordinand, University of St Andrews)
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by the Leveson Centre
