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Ideas for Bible Study in the Nursing Home Setting
This page has some introductory thoughts, then the IDEAS. If you want to go directly to an IDEA, click on the arrow next to it. There is an 'up' arrow to get you back here to the list at the end of each IDEA, so you can skip around if you want. SEND ME MORE IDEAS and check back occasionally for new IDEAS added to the list.
Introduction
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1. Who in the Bible Would You Like to Be?
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2. Putting Them in Order
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3. Do Not Discount the Lecture
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4. Alphabet Soup
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Introduction
Well, where are we going to begin with this? I guess the best place to begin is with the residents with whom we will be working. Who are they? For the most part they are our parents and our grandparents. They did not grow up with Sesame Street and Electric Company (my kids did, and I watched a lot with them), nor did they grow up with Dick and Jane (I did).
They grew up in Sunday Schools, and their parents read the Bible to them for bedtime stories. They are former Sunday school teachers and superintendents and piano players and council members (they were deacons and elders back then). They like to sing the 'gospel songs' and listen to preachers. They know the Bible, or at least they knew a good bit about it at one time. Now, their memory does not work as well as it once did.
Memory. In my experience it seems that this is a key item for us to concentrate on in our Bible Study time with them. Those residents who are alert and oriented, and even some who are not, are aware that their memory isn't what it used to be. It needs prompting and it needs to be exercised. Recent studies have shown that just as muscles in the body need exercise to stay in shape, memory also can be maintained and even improved somewhat by exercising it, that is, by simply using it.
A second key ingredient in our Bible Study time is to be an incarnation of the Word to the residents - to be a 'little Christ,' to use Martin Luther's term. I do not see my role so much as one of teacher, in the sense of bringing new ideas and insight on the text (although some of that may occur), as it is to be with the residents in anaccepting environment. Many residents express that they are embarrassed when they do not remember things. This is especially true when they are sure that what they cannot remember is something they knew very well at one time, and they feel they should remember it now. I try to help relieve that embarrassment by speaking and acting in such a way that hopes to communicate that "it's OK to forget" and "let me help you to remember." Of course, it is a sheer delight for them when I forget and they remember something.
It is human to forget. Otherwise, why would God have had to prompt his people to remember so much? "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." So often the prophets and the psalmists reminded the people of the mighty acts of God in the past in order to admonish and encourage in the present. And, of course, "Do this in remembrance of me" - God's multi-media presentation of the means of Grace. The people of God are a forgetful people - all of us - so having a room full of people who have trouble remembering things is nothing new. Helping them to remember things they already know can be a true joy and a powerful communication of the Gospel.So, if I had to summarize in a sentence what I think Bible Study is all about in the nursing home setting, I guess it would go something like this: to help the residents exercise their memory in an accepting environment, using the resources of the Bible. Note that I use the word memory in the singular. I often try to point out the communal nature of our memory: one person remembers this fact, another remembers another detail of the story, and so on, until we put together a reasonable facsimile of what the Bible story might be. Sometimes we go back to the text to correct our memory; sometimes we don't, for together we know what the Word of God is and our faith is collective. "We believe in God the Father Almighty...."
Well, enough of that. Let's move on to some practical ideas. Here are a few that I have used and/or that others in our conference have told me they have tried. I'll start with these, and you can help add to the list. Send them to me atchold@epix.net
Who in the Bible Would You Like to Be?
When not dealing with a specific text, I have found that a good question can often get things going. This one seemed to work out pretty well. In fact, it was all I needed last Tuesday for both the 1:00 Bible Study and the 2:00 Spiritual Group. (The first is upstairs in the Chapel; the second is in the Hobby Shop downstairs. More about that some other time.) I have used questions like: "What is your favorite Bible story?" and, "Who is your favorite person in the Bible?" Then we try to piece together the story from memory or see what we can remember about the person(s) mentioned.
A couple of years ago we used our memory banks and put together what we could remember of the Christmas story. It turned out to be a composite, of course. But it was an interesting composite, and we published it in our monthly newsletter, The Village Voice, as an article, The Christmas Story according to Our Residents.
The question, "Who in the Bible would you like to be?" produced a different kind of discussion and reflection. After a name was mentioned, we looked at what the residents remembered about that person in the Bible, then moved on into their perceptions of what the experience of being that person might be like, and how that paralleled or diverged from our own experiences. Mary, the mother of Our Lord, was the first one mentioned. First they remembered Mary's presence at Jesus' birth, and the next thing remembered was that she was there at the death of Jesus. This led us into talking about being there at the births and the deaths of our children. Many of the residents, of course, had children who have preceded them in death. They could easily relate to being there with their child to help in the passage from this life - the painful difficulty of the task, yet, how much better to be there than not.
One person chose Noah, because she was an animal lover and also liked to be on the water. Then we all broke into laughter as she pinched her nose and began to imagine what it must have been like all boxed up in the ark during forty days and forty nights of rain. This was followed up with some serious reflection on Noah's having so much confidence in knowing what God wanted him to do.
Well, you get the idea.
Putting Them in Order.
We've had some fun with this one, and used several variations. The simplest is using a newsprint pad (or a chalkboard, if that's what you have on hand). Ask the residents to give you a list of things - books of the Bible, men in the Bible, women in the Bible, stories in the Bible, etc. (It really injects some humor when you are trying to come up with women in the Bible, and someone shouts out "Moses.") Then try to put them in the order in which they occur in the Bible. This can help in remembering the big picture, seeing the pieces of the Bible in the larger context of the whole story of the relationship between God and his people.
Here's a variation that a pastor down the road used: He prepared the lists beforehand and put each list item on a large card. Some of the cards were handed out to residents and they had to come up front and put themselves in order. (Don't forget that most of these residents are in wheelchairs.) Got that? OK. Next group of volunteers.
I did an intergenerational variation when we had our Senior High Work Campers there. (Sometime I'll tell you about Summer Work Camps at SLV.) I had the residents give me a list, then the each camper had to chose to be someone on the list, and the residents had to tell me how to line them up. "Now, what was your name, young lady?" "Moses." "OK, now where do we put Moses?"
Do Not Discount the Lecture Style.
I know I sometimes get tired of hearing myself talk, but I remind myself that I am working with residents who grew up listening. They remember radio programs; they were used to half-hour sermons and Sunday School lectures; and they listened to lengthy pastoral prayers. They didn't have bulletin inserts with the lessons and prayers printed out when they were kids. (And they probably remember some of their Sundays in church when they were kids better than they remember last Sunday's chapel service.)
Sure, you risk some of the residents falling asleep, but some fall asleep no matter what you do, in case you haven't noticed. Some of the residents, however, may be better listeners than some of the pew-sitters we have trained to expect the 12-15 minute sermons on Sunday. Many residents really do enjoy a verse-by-verse exposition of a text from time to time. If you pay attention to them, you can probably tell if they are paying attention to you. If they're not, you may have to shift into a different gear. That's where I hope some of the ideas that this site might generate may come in handy for you and for me.
Alphabet Soup
The alphabet is one of those things that is deep-seated in the memory banks of the individual. There are a number of ways that I have used the alphabet to get the residents thinking and using what they have little trouble remembering. This involves making lists and then using the lists to further the discussion.
One way is to ask several residents what their first name (or last name) is, and then ask with what letter of the alphabet that name begins. Put the letters on newsprint. After you have a list of five or six letters, then ask if they can think of a person in the Bible whose name begins with the same letter. This can be asked of the same person whose name begins with that letter, or you can field an answer from the group. (The better you know the residents, the better you will know which kinds of questions are non-threatening and which are not. For some residents, just asking their name and the letter it begins with is plenty. Being able to answer a simple question correctly is satisfying; asking another question which seems simple enough to you, but which leaves the person reflecting on the fact that they cannot remember even simple things, is something which you want to try to avoid. When that happens to me, I try to assure the person that it is OK and that there are plenty of times that I forget things too.) Once you have your list of a few Bible names, you're in great shape to move on. Now you can talk about those people in the Bible and see what the group can remember of the Bible stories in which those people appear. That should do it. This can be used if you have a one-shot session with a group or, if you meet again with basically the same group of people, you can solicit names and letters from different people in the next session(s).
Another way I have used the alphabet is to begin by simply asking the group to help you put the alphabet up on the newsprint. Then say something like, "Remember when we learned things like 'A is for apple, B is for ball, C is for cat'? Well let's see if we can create our own A,B,C's of the Bible." Then you simply ask, "Who can give me a name or a place or something in the Bible that begins with the letter A?" You'll no doubt get several answers for some of the letters, just ask the group to pick the one they want to use. Some letters will take a little more thinking. The letter 'X' is a toughie. (One person shouted out "excalibur!" - probably an Arthurian fan.) I suggested "Xerxes" since he is probably the King Ahasueres referred to in the story of Esther. Do you have another suggestion? After you have your list (one group did it in one session, the other group took two to complete the list), maybe you would want to publish is somewhere - like in a daily bulletin or a monthly newsletter.
Well that should be enough to get something started, and maybe you can think of other ways to use the alphabet in your times with your group. Let me know.
Rev. Charles Oldland.