Introducing . . . . The Rev. Patty Burgess

The first in a series of portraits of interesting people.

Patty claims she is a late developer.  Late at growing up and late in life at being ordained – she was ordained deacon in the Scottish Episcopal Church in 1986 at age 70.  She is a Franciscan Hermit of the Transfiguration – the other two members of this community are Roland Walls and John Halsey.  Some of the history of this community is explained in the book about Roland Walls called A Mole under the Fence by Ron Ferguson published last year.

True to the Franciscan tradition she has lived in a spartan flat in Loanhead for thirty years or more and has a chapel in a shed in her garden where she welcomes all comers to pray and reflect on life.

Patty was born in 1916 in a house called Easter Warriston in North Edinburgh and remembers a happy childhood climbing sooty trees in the area (long before smokeless zones!).   She and her sisters used to walk to St Oran’s School in Drummond Place.  Her family were the last to give up the use of horse and cart in Edinburgh, and she remembers an incident where a train on the North Edinburgh Line to Leith startled their horse and it bolted - they were only saved by a brave man coming out of Waterston’s the printers (beside what is now B&Q) and grabbing the bridle.   Their house Easter Warriston has now become Warriston Crematorium and the original drawing room windows are still in place in the large chapel. 

When I went to visit Patty recently I realised that she had had her hair cut and it transpired that it was for the first time in fifty years!    I asked her how she had decided to take this step.

“One day my fingers would not do what they were told any more.  That morning I could not get my fingers to hold the Kirkby grip which held my long hair in place so I knew the hair had to come off.  I had thought if I had it cut I would have to perm it but I haven’t.  It looks fine just as it is.  I am very glad it’s cut.  I can go out in the wind and it doesn’t matter!”

The hairdresser in Portobello which her daughter recommended really entered into the importance of this occasion and handled it very sensitively.

“It was wonderful, a kind lady washed my hair in a way it had not enjoyed for years, and the final result was liberating.”

She may consider herself a late developer but the ability to change is still with her.

Mary Moffett

The Celebrations and Challenges in the Pastoral Care of Older People

A conference organised by FiOP was held mid-November 2007 at the Eric Liddell Centre and attended by visitors, pastoral carers and carers from a range of denominations. 

The purpose of the day was to stimulate discussion amongst pastoral carers for older people about the education and support they would value in relation to visiting as a vital part of the church’s ministry.

The day was organised so that is was participatory to enable those attending to share their experiences and aspirations; to consider the challenges and possible coping strategies and to help guide the work of FiOP.
The Rev. Alison Newell a Church of Scotland Minister who works for the Ignatian Spirituality Centre in Glasgow introduced the conference with two personal stories about celebratory encounters with older people.  These illustrated the importance of mutuality which she encapsulated in the mnemonic  “SPICE”
S piritual,   P hysical,   I ntellectual,   C reative and   E motional.

The experience might be mutual but it may not be equal. One may have more access to memory, one might be stronger physically, but at a deeper level there can be a giving and receiving on both parts.

However, there are also times of challenge in providing care which often relate to a situation of vulnerability.     If this is met by sensitive responses from the family, church or professional helpers, a whole new vista can open up.

A faith perspective which says that God is known in vulnerability and knows our vulnerability is perhaps illuminative here. Jesus on the cross shares our vulnerability as he bears pain knowing what it is to be pushed to the limit and even feeling forsaken by God. We do not need to hide our vulnerability or be ashamed of it, and as carers we may find that it is as we are supported with sensitivity in our vulnerable, painful places that we become more able to support those we care for in theirs.

Sometimes a new place of strength emerges. This strength which comes in and through sharing our vulnerability and facing our fear is often experienced as a surprising gift and grace.

Alison finished with a quote,  2 Corinthians 4:7 and 4:16.

“So we do not lose heart……. We are afflicted in every way
but not crushed,  perplexed but not driven to despair,
persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed…”

The rest of the day was spent in small groups considering how people had met the challenges of caring; how their spiritual needs had been met as a carer and in proposing actions which FiOP could take in supporting carers. 

These proposals included training and awareness-raising around dementia, communication, listening skills, working within residential care homes; creative activities and opportunities for carers to refresh themselves.

Some of us only show our true colours late on in the season of life.

True, but not the whole truth.

The fact is that there is a beauty related to every age, just as there is a beauty related to every time, whether the morning sunrise or the encroaching darkness of night-time, whether the cold frostiness of winter or the balmy days of autumn.  Each season has its own beauties, its own shortcomings and its own compensations. And so it is with our lives.

The evening’s dusk does not contain the promise of light and the warmth of sunshine, but nor does the break of day promise us the quietness and privacy of the evening.  The autumn does not contain the excitement of new life bursting through, but nor does the springtime offer us the wonderful hues of the leaves as they drop wistfully onto the earth.  And so it is with our lives.

There is never an age which does not contain the possibilities for wonder and beauty, which means that as we grow older we should anticipate and welcome the colours and sounds of ageing, the nuances and textures, the possibilities still open to us and the recognition of our own mortality.   It is a great adventure.  
For everything there is a time and season. The more we are able to appreciate this the more contented we are likely to become.

Malcolm Goldsmith

How beautifully leaves grow old
How full of light and colour are their last days
John Burroughs  
1837 – 1921
US Naturalist & author

“Is there a Retirement Age for Spirituality?” and “What does it mean to have Dementia?’

“Is there a Retirement Age for Spirituality?”

This was the title of the annual Social Care Lecture organised by the Gillis Centre in which Father Gerald Hughes SJ gave an inspiring presentation.

Father Gerry enabled us to think about the theme “is there a Retirement Age for Spirituality?”  To which the answer was a resounding no! We focussed on “Finding God in our Fears” and remembered that the most common words made by God in the Bible are DO NOT BE AFRAID.

“What does it mean to have Dementia?”

On the 27th November Alison Newell represented FIOP and spoke  at the annual conference  for the department of spiritual care in Ashludie Hospital , Monifieth. The subject for the day was
“What does it mean to have Dementia?’

The first speaker was Dr. Dot Weaks, Nurse Consultant in Dementia who gave an informative talk on “Diagnosed with Dementia - what then?”  She was followed by Ms Agnes Houston who has had an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.  Agnes was both courageous and creative in how she was living with the diagnosis and was an inspiring speaker.  Alison Newell spoke on ‘Spiritual care for those with dementia’ and enabled a lively discussion amongst the chaplains. She introduced many to FIOP and promoted FIOP’s courses and materials

Advent Prayer in Action

To see the difference our Advent materials can make was wonderfully illustrated recently.  
The joy it gave to a lady who was stuck in a very bare hospital room was visible.
The outside world with all its hustle and bustle of preparation for Christmas was brought into the quiet and sometimes isolated surroundings of her room.

As we looked through the material and talked about the Christmas tree on the Mound and where she had learned to ice skate she became increasingly cheerful and animated.  
Before I left we stuck the photographs on the wall so she could continue to have happy memories and feel part of what was going on around town.

Faith in Older People (FiOP), produces seasonal material as part of our course on Spiritual Care and People with Dementia and this includes readings, a very short reflection, prayer and some photographs or pictures to stimulate discussion

ADVENT PRAYER

O God our Father
in this season of Advent
we look forward with hope
to the time of Christmas
We know you love us
as you sent your only son to live among us
may your love be like a lit candle to us
banishing the darkness of fear
and filling our hearts with hope.